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CEHEGIN
Population 15.000+
Click
HERE
for photo gallery of Cehegin
The whole of this
area is layer upon layer of all the various cultures that
established themselves here, the first settlers going back to
2400 BC. Cehegín is one vast hilltop monument.
Its famous medeival
quarter (an Historical and Artistic Ensemble) owes its layout to
the Arab settlements in the upper part of the town, and is a
monumental gallery of stately homes, churches, convents, palaces
and public buildings.
The old town of
Cehegin is currently undergoing a sort of renaissance with
many properties undergoing restoration by their new owners or by
the Town Hall who are justly proud of their heritage. There are
rules set by the Town Hall about any building, restoration or
development in this area that governs the outward appearance of
the properties.
Whilst the historic
district maintains all of its traditional charm, there is a
modern side to Cehegin, the town for example has a full range of
shops, banks, supermarkets, restaurants, bars and all the
support services needed in a thriving community. In addition
there is a selection of schools, a sports centre, indoor and
outdoor municipal swimming pools and even a local Cehegin
football team to support!!
Cehegin maintains a
full calendar of traditional fiestas and festivals
throughout the year with many colourful processions, visiting
fairs, medieval and artesans markets. During the second week of
September Cehegin celebrates with its own week long festival
when lovely lights are put up in the town centre main street and
the historic area main street. At night the town centre is
closed to traffic giving way to a fun fair, market stalls, and
allowing the bars and restaurants to spead out right across the
street. In the local parks and bullring, concerts range from
Cehegins own brass bands to pop groups for the younger people.
Stages are set up not only to accommodate the bands and groups
but also to allow for traditional folk dancing and singing
events. At the end of the week a firework and laser show is
staged in the main street which marks a noisy and spectacular
end to the festivities.
This area of
southern Spain is unusual in that it doesn´t feature the
vast dry and rocky landscapes seen in many other parts of the
country, it is lush and green with forests of pine trees, and
countless fields of olives, peaches, almonds and all manner of
other crops. All around Cehegin the countryside is beautiful
with rolling hills and large lakes ideal for fishing enthusiasts.
There is residential development in the country, but this is
restricted to either restoration of older properties or the
building of individual new villas on large plots of land in
order to prevent large urbanisations being developed in this
unspoilt region.
In terms of
accessability, there is an excellent, scenic and relatively
quiet dual carriageway linking Murcia City to Cehegin and
surrounding areas. Murcia City is a half hour drive away, whilst
the coast and San Javier International Airport is a one hour
drive. Alicante Airport is about one & a half hours drive away.
Construction on a new international airport at Corvera, just
outside Murcia has now commenced and this will be about 40
minutes by car.
Click
HERE for an interactive panorama of Cehegin Town
(Please allow a few
moments to open) |
View over the old town of Cehegin
Medieval Market
Countryside around Cehegin
Cehegin Atletico |
