Cartagena, Part 2 of 2.

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Hello friends. In our previous blog we left Ibiza and sailed via a few anchorages on Spain’s East coast to the Mar Menor, where we stayed 10 days at anchor at Los Nietos to visit magnificent Cartagena by train. In that blog we focussed on the Carthaginian (Punic) period when the city was founded. However, most of its ancient monuments date from the time of the Roman Empire when Cartagena flourished. The mines near Cartagena provided silver and lead for all the Roman Empire. Mining revived after the Spanish civil war ended in 1939 and continued until the decline of manufacturing in Europe.

The landscape that we cross by train between Los Nitos and Cartagena is littered with the pockmarks of abandoned mines.

The recently restored Roman theatre of Carthago Nova is prominent and is one of the city’s landmarks. It was build between 5 and 1 BC. The seating area of the theatre is carved in the hill side of Monte de la Concepción, the 5th and largest hill on the South side of the city.

View of the Roman theatre and the ruins of the “Cathedral de Santa Maria la Vieja” as seen from Monte de la Concepción, facing West.

The Cathedral stems from the 13th century and was build over a part of the seating area as can be seen on the photo above. At the time the Roman theater didn’t exist anymore and a marketplace was build on top of its remains.

View of the Cathedral as seen from the West. It has been in ruins since 1939, when it was destroyed when Cartagena was shelled in the Spanish Civil War by Nationalist forces led by General Francisco Franco.

Opposite the entrance to the archeological site is this magnificent town hall or Palacio Consistorial De Cartagena. The city has several of these art nouveau style buildings, built after the civil war ended, when the local mining industry was again thriving.

Somebody got honoured at the city hall. Of course there has to be a brass-band. They follow a similar tradition in the Netherlands as well.

We do not know the occasion. The speeches were in Spanish and the town hall provides a nice decor. Below are some more examples of Cartagena's "modernista" or "art nouveau" landmark buildings from the same period...........
.........Palacio de Aguirre, commissioned by mining entrepreneur Camilo Aguirre, now the Museum of Modern Art.......
...........The Gran Hotel, first owned as a private residence by Spanish businessman and politician José Luis de la Vega...........
.........and the train station.

We take the spiral staircase and follow the footbridge to the top of Monte de la Concepcion. The circular building at the bottom started as the Roman Amphitheater (circular open building for gladiator fights and animal slaying) that was later repurposed as a bull ring. It is currently under restoration to preserve the outer wall.

Conception hill, has in the past been home to, probably a Punic temple, a Roman temple dedicated to Asclepius, a Moorish fortress, a medieval castle and the siren which warned the population for bombing raids during the Civil War.

Liza is posing next to the bust of Hasdrubal the Fair (l. c. 270-221 BCE), the founder of Qart Hadasht that would over time become Cartagena. Hasdrubal was assassinated in 221 by one of his slaves and he was succeeded by his brother in law, Hannibal Barca, who is known for his use of elephants in his battles against Rome.  

A wall of the medieval castle in the background, housing a museum.

The remains of the castle are just a few rectangular "boxes" and are not very photogenic. This is the highest "box". The inside is impossible to photograph without a wide angle lens. Sorry about that.
The park on top of the hill is very tranquil but the trees obscure the castle. The purpose of this tower is not understood. Still this hill is recommendable as the very first site to visit. The views over the city are simply awesome.
View over the marina towards the MED to the South.
Molineta to the left and the Cathedral de Caridad to the right.
Probably the most touching place to visit here is the museum about the civil war housed in the bomb shelter carved into the hill. Note this is an old photo, on display inside the shelter. The bull ring still has its seats and if you look carefully you can see that an actual bullfight is taking place. The spiral staircase is not there yet.
Inside the shelters.

The Spanish Civil War was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republicans and the Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the “marxist – communist” sitting government. The opposing Nationalists were an alliance led by General Francisco Franco. The military uprising started in Melilla, that we visited three years earlier. (https://www.twobatsea.com/melilla-spain/). Cartagena was hard hit since it remained loyal to the Republicans and it was the last city to surrender. The Nationalists won the war early 1939, and Franco ruled Spain until his death in November 1975.

Particularly moving were the drawings about the war made by children.
Time for coffee in Tasca Tio Andress and figuring out where to go next. 

Liza posing in front of the monument in homage to the fallen in the Spanish -American War of 1898, who fought in the battles of Cavite (Manila Bay) and Santiago de Cuba, when Spain lost both colonies.

Cartagena’s deep water port has long been one of the most coveted ports on the entire Mediterranean coast as can be seen in the many fortresses and gun batteries that surround the city. It still houses an important Spanish naval base. The pink arrow points at a submarine, docked in front of a company specialised in submarine electronics. The sculpture of the tail of a whale dives into the now defunct Botes Basin. Would make an excellent marina.

Not surprisingly the city is blessed with a large naval museum. The original building was constructed between 1776 and 1785 as a prison. The prisoners were tasked with the construction of other naval buildings in the surroundings. Between 1946 and 1999 it served as a training centre for young marines joining the Spanish navy. Since 2005 the use of the building is shared between the Polytechnic University of Cartagena and the naval museum. Visitors are greeted by two huge fisherman anchors beside the entrance.

The museum centers around the past successes of the Spanish navy. In the above photo a scale model of the galley “La Real”, the flagship of Don John of Austria in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. Galleys were optimised for propulsion by oars and evolved from the Greek triremes. The Spanish navy supported the fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states, with 49 galleys out of in total 209 ships. The Holy League inflicted a major defeat to the Ottoman fleet in the battle of Lepanto (see also https://www.twobatsea.com/from-gulf-of-corinth-to-gulf-of-patras/). The battle of Lepanto marks the last major engagement to be fought between rowing vessels.

Looking at a part of the time-line of the major engagements of the Spanish Navy with “insurgents and pirates” as the Spanish called them, in Mexico, Cuba, Peru, Italy and Filipinas until its final defeat in the American – Spanish war.

One of the museums’ center pieces is the original Peral submarine with a bust of the designer Isaac Peral in front of it. Unfortunately there is nowhere an opening in the submarine so you cannot peak inside, let alone enter the sub, unlike the decommissioned nuclear sub in Cherbourg, France.  https://www.twobatsea.com/cherbourg-france/. 

The other center piece is arguably the wreck of the Phoenician ship called “Mazzaron 2”, named after the location where two of them were found.

The wreck of the Mazzaron 2 being mapped on the seabed.

The wreck of the Mazzaron 2 on display in the museum. A model of the ship is on display in Ibiza. (https://www.twobatsea.com/from-tunisia-to-the-balearics/).

The cornucopia pictured above is often found in the tourist brochures of Cartagena.

The cornucopia or the horn of plenty, was a symbol of abundance and nourishment. In the day, cone or horn-shaped baskets were carried on the back, keeping both hands free to collect the harvest during autumn. 

This is an artist impression of how the cornucopia is positioned on the statue.
And this is that statue in the position it would have been in the Roman forum.
A computer rendering of the Roman forum at the foot of Molinete.
Frits, trying to paint a picture of the Roman forum in his head. It is really difficult to show our dear readers how it actually looked liked, but if you ever visit Cartagena you should visit the Forum museum.

A very fine attraction to visit is the House of Fortune, a Roman vila in a subterranean museum.

This is the street where the House of Fortune was located. The entrance to the house, into the atrium, is to the right. Note that the Romans already had elevated side-walks.
Layout, with in a separate building the kitchen and (work)shops for the owners business.
The triclinium served as the dining room but also to receive guests and customers.
The original wall frescos in the tablinum, or office of the patriarch. The house had running water and the toilets (balneum) were flushed into the main sewer under the street running along the backside of the house. Cities like London and Amsterdam received a sewer system 1750 years later, after the London great stink of 1858, and cholera became almost pandemic.

Time for dinner in restaurant Nuestra Tradicion. Delicious Jamon Serano, Manchego cheese, bread and a glass of Spanish wine. We heard live music coming from a bar opposite the restaurant. A Spanish ensemble was practising for the coming Carnaval season, when singing contests are held in all of Andalusia. A sort of “Andalusia got talent” for Spanish folklore. We soaked up the atmosphere with another glass of wine before heading back to the boat.

Cartagena turned out to be an amazing city to visit, at least for us. The city succeeded in turning its long history into easily accessible tourist attractions. Down town is blessed with a large shopping district and an array of very good bars and restaurants. Put Cartagena on your travel list.

The next day we will leave the Mar Menor and sail further West, and that is subject for our next blog.

Thank you for reading our stories. Liza and Frits.