If there is an abiding symbol of Spain, it’s the tall, thin man in armour sat upon his skinny horse, and the short, stout man beside him on a little donkey. Driving southeast out of Madrid I start to see them everywhere: they appear as decal silhouettes on the walls of small-town bars, cartoon cut-outs in the shop windows, semi-abstract sculptures mounted on roundabouts.
I go out of my way to look at Picasso’s ink drawing of these two figures at the 16thcentury Church of Santa Cruz, in the walled city of Cuenca. Such a charismatic image, familiar even to those who have never read The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, by Miguel de Cervantes. Most Spaniards haven’t read the novel either, admits my guide, Pablo Moya. It’s too epic, too archaic. “But they still take pride in it,” says Pablo. “Especially people who live in La España Profunda.”
“The Deep Spain”, as Pablo calls it, is a socio-literary term for the Cervantine landscape of Castile-La Mancha. Places like Cuenca look more or less the same as they did some 400 years ago, when the author and his wayward fictional adventurers roamed the area. The old town hangs, UNESCO-protected, above a limestone gorge, its Renaissance churches and monasteries largely intact.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 2021 من National Geographic Traveller (UK).
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 2021 من National Geographic Traveller (UK).
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
HOW I GOT THE SHOT
PHOTOGRAPHER MATT DUTILE ON SNAPPING THE FROZEN CONTINENT'S CHARISMATIC WILDLIFE FOR OUR MAY ISSUE
THE EVOLVING GAP YEAR
FROM ENHANCING A CV TO BENEFITTING A LOCAL COMMUNITY OR TRAVELLING WITH PURPOSE, THE MOTIVES FOR STUDENTS TO TAKE A GAP YEAR ARE INCREASINGLY NUANCED.
VALLETTA
In Malta’s harbour-framed capital, a rich and evolving art scene unfolds among honeyed baroque facades, echoing the global influences that have shaped the city over the centuries
A timeless city
Wander through artistic alleyways and along modern beachfronts in South Korea’s second city — a place where tradition and innovationgo hand in hand.
SANDS OF TIME
COVERING AROUND 800,000 SQUARE MILES, ALGERIA'S SHARE OF THE SAHARA TAKES UP OVER 80% OF THE COUNTRY - THE VOLCANIC PEAKS, CANYONS AND VAST SAND SEAS FORM A STRIKING BACKDROP TO OASIS CITIES AND UNIQUE NORTH AFRICAN CULTURES
Sumitra Acharya
THE HIMALAYAN TREKKING LEADER IS PART OF A NEW GENERATION OF NEPALESE WOMEN CLAIMING THEIR SPACE AMID SOME OF THE WORLD'S HIGHEST PEAKS
WHERE TO STAY ADELAIDE
A clutch of new design-led hotels pays tribute to the South Australian capital's landmarks
MUMBAI
Inventive chefs are sharing their stories through food in India's ever-evolving west coast metropolis, but the city's appetite for street food, thalis and Parsi dishes remains a comforting constant
FLINTSHIRE
Visit this North Wales county to sleep on a former prime minister's country estate, hike mountains and go foraging or wild swimming
Scandi cool
EXPLORE THE NORWEGIAN COASTLINE’S NEW OPENINGS AND CULTURAL EVENTS UNDER THIS SUMMER'S MIDNIGHT SUN