À propos de ce lieu
The Casa del Rey Moro, the House of the Moorish King, is a house and garden perched on the edge of the gorge in the old town, famous above all for an extraordinary feat of engineering hidden beneath it, the Mina de agua, the Water Mine. This is a secret stairway, some two hundred and thirty steps, cut down through the solid rock of the cliff from the house all the way to the river at the bottom of the gorge. It was created in Moorish times to guarantee the town a supply of water during sieges, when the enemy controlled the lands above. Captured Christian slaves were forced to climb these steps endlessly, hauling water up from the river in a human chain, and many are said to have died in the ordeal. Today visitors can descend the dramatic, damp and dimly lit staircase for a unique view of the gorge from the bottom. The house also has a lovely terraced garden designed in the early twentieth century by the French landscape architect Forestier.
À retenir
- 230 steps — The secret Water Mine stairway descends some 230 steps through the rock to the river
- 14 century — The water mine was cut in Moorish times to supply the town during sieges
- 1 garden — The house has a terraced garden designed by the landscaper Forestier
📍 Calle Santo Domingo 9, 29400, Ronda