THE TREASURE IN THE MIDST OF DESERT AND SNOWY MOUNTAINS

ARAGON LAYS IN THE MIDST OF MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS, WITHOUT BUSTLING TOURIST CITIES, FAMOUS ARCHITECTURAL WORKS OR WHITE SANDY BEACHES. BUT THIS IS TRULY A PEACEFUL LAND.

Aragon lays in the midst of mountains and deserts, without bustling tourist cities, famous architectural works or white sandy beaches. This is truly a peaceful land.

Aremote and vast area of Spain, located south of the Pyrénées, the natural border between France and the Iberian Peninsula, Aragon is rarely visited by tourists. Nature lovers often come here alone or in small groups to enjoy the quiet mountains, walk along the streams that come down from the enchanting blue glaciers and wander by the hills of white almond flowers blooming in the spring. And those who love ancient architecture will fall in love with the poetic, small villages, faraway monasteries and Romanesque castles on the mountainsides.

I love Aragon for its serenity. The scenery here is dyed in nostalgic gray, like an old postcard in a faded book. Amidst the vast nature and open space, people seem to live out of time. On the pristine rocks, you can still hear the singing of the shepherds and the sounds of the dogs herding sheep down the mountain. Rosemary and thyme is blooms on the highlands, under the shade of the centenarian oaks. The trails lead us to small hamlets on the stream banks. Kitchen smoke swirls with the fading afternoon sunlight. It’s so simple and peaceful!

Ever since I first came to Aragon many years ago, I have relentlessly returned here in all seasons. However, I am convinced that I have not been able to fully appreciate the nuances of this simple and mysterious land. The Spanish call the hilly area in the north of Aragon (in Huesca province) terra bravia - the wilderness. The peaks of approximately 3,000 m and cold glaciers gradually descend to the southern slopes of the Pyrénées. Further south, towards the central Spain, high mountains and forests are replaced by shrubs and sand of the arid deserts.

THE SUNKEN VILLAGES

My weekend in Aragon usually starts at the French border. The winding roads take me through the Pyrénées to Spain. While Southern France and

Northern Spain have warm climates, the Pyrénées is a world of snow from the late autumn to the end of spring. Still, the snow and frost never stopped me from coming to Aragon. Across the border, follow the Cinca riverbanks to the south, towards the city of Barbastro and you’ll be captivated by the turquoise color of two huge artificial lakes, Mediano and Grado. When I visited, the lakes were in dazzling shade, reflecting the furthest peaks to the south of the Pyrénées. As hydroelectric lakes, the water level of Mediano and Grado is carefully regulated, rising in the spring when the snow melted and drying up in the middle of summer under the hot sun of the desert.

Looking at Lake Mediano, it is unbelievable that the quiet, mirror-like water hides many memories of the locals. Five villages, including Mediano, have been submerged forever in the lake since

1973 when the Cinca dam was completed and put into operation. Occasionally during the drought years, the bell tower and a part of Mediano village could be seen on the surface of the lake. From the mountain trails, the church yards and the eaves of the houses located higher on the hillside, we are amazed by the charming scenery - beautiful but sad, as if the nostalgia of the past still lingers in the passage of time.

Being an attraction not only by the natural landscape, Aragon is also a treasure of fascinating ancient architecture. Alquézar is a very small village - containing just over 300 people - located on the edge of the vast Sierra de Guara National Park, in the west of Lake Mediano. This place is extremely rustic and simple. Every time I come here, I see an old village on a hilltop, in the heart of a perfect natural setting. Alquézar looks down on the Río Vero, the crystal-clear river winding amidst the majestic limestone ranges of the Sierra de Guara and eroding them into deep canyons - a paradise for adventurers who love canyoning and hiking.

The name Alquézar is derived from the Arabic “alqasr”, meaning fortress, which marked the presence of Muslims in Aragon more than 10 centuries ago. Today, the moorish mansion on the hilltop is no more. Surrounding the ruins of the old castle are the walls and watchtowers of the 16th century church. Beneath, along the windswept hillsides are the ancient houses lined up along small winding alleys, leading us on a time-travel of thousands of years. In the early morning, the rays of the morning sun flashed from behind the stone wall of Sierra de Guara, gradually awakening the sleeping village. It would be even more beautiful to come here at the end of February, right at the beginning of spring, when almond flowers bloom. The spectacle at dawn of the fanciful pink light, the majestic space, the overwhelming scenery and the dreamy flowers will surely make your heart beat fast. Then when the afternoon sunlight begins to descend, Alquézar enters the most poetic time of day. From the church’s walls on the hilltop overlooking the houses below, or from the parking lot on the hillside facing the village and the olive groves, every view is breathtakingly beautiful.

About one hour’s drive from Alquézar is Loarre which is described as a “massive, unique and invincible” castle. The castle was built in the early 11th century to protect the villages in the region from the attack of Muslims. From here on beautiful days, you can look over the whole plains below, and even see the bell tower of the Cathedral-basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar nearly 100 km away. With very high walls, nine sturdy watchtowers and countless stairs, Loarre was designed to have such optimal defensive function that no one would dare to attack it.

By the end of the 11th century, Loarre gradually became a monastery and was eventually abandoned in the 15th century. Perhaps because it was “forgotten”, Loarre was saved and has been kept

BENEATH, ALONG THE WINDSWEPT HILLSIDES ARE THE ANCIENT HOUSES LINED UP ALONG SMALL WINDING ALLEYS, LEADING US ON A TIME-TRAVEL OF THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

intact to this day. Here, you can enjoy the Romanesque castle with its watchtowers, tiny windows and solid stone walls standing alone on the hilltop, among the white almond gardens, like from an old dream.

It takes one hour driving from Loarre to Royal Monastery of San Juan de la Peña, the most special monastery and the treasure of Aragon from the

Middle Ages. This monastery is located deep in the rugged mountains, the heart of the Christian faith in the Pyrénées in the days when the Iberian peninsula was under the Arab rule. The oldest part of the royal monastery of San Juan de la Peña is where the kings of Aragon and Navarre are buried. The royal monastery is very small, nestled in a natural rock cave and thanks to that, it is still intact even though it was built 1.000 years ago. In a yard of only a few dozen square meters, different architectural styles such as Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque illustrate the historic flow of thousands of years that have passed in this land. The pillars erected in the yard depict important biblical events and are not only artistic but also an open book, teaching ancient legends to those who cannot read, like the majority of the European population at that time.