Alpujarras

The Alpujarra (Spanish pronunciation: [alpuˈxara], Arabic: البشرات, romanized: al-bašarāt or al-bušarāt)[1] is a natural and historical region in Andalusia, Spain, on the south slopes of the Sierra Nevada and the adjacent valley.

The terracing and the irrigation of the hillsides (the "Alpujarra alta") was the work of local Spanish Muslim people of Al-Andalus, who inhabited this area for hundreds of years after the initial Moorish conquest of 711 AD.

They also created villages on the hillsides in the style to which they were accustomed in the mountains of North Africa: narrow, winding streets and small flat-roofed houses.

The revolt marked the end of Mudéjar style accommodation in Spain between and the Spanish monarchs saw as only way to deal with the Moriscos by complete Christianisation of what they felt to be an utterly alien element within the political body.

Even after the Nationalist victory in April 1939, guerrilla fighters in the mountains continued their struggle against the Guardia Civil and a locally recruited militia (Somatén) based in the villages.

[citation needed] There are bus connections with Granada and Motril; as the motorway extends along the coast, the airports of Malaga and Almeria are brought closer in time.

The Sierra Nevada and most of the Alta Alpujarra is protected under various national and international schemes, ensuring that the rural and the urbanistic features are preserved.

Michael Tracy's Bubión - the story of an Alpujarran village (Hermitage Books, 2013, ISBN 2930590041) provides historical background, description of local customs, discussion of current issues, and an extensive bibliography.

Elyse Byskof's On Foot in Andalucía: 40 Hiking Excursions in Southern Spain (Granma with a Vengeance) (Volume 1) (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2014, ISBN 1496118189) contains much on the Alpujarras.