The Albayzín is the medieval quarter located next to the fortress, it was the first district to be built and occupied in the old town, and it was here that the main population dwelt in the middle ages.
At the base of the gorge was the medieval Islamic embarkation point and, to enable the township to have fresh water, a path was built from the spring at the foot of the gorge up the side of the steep rock. It was protected by a wall and had a tower at the top, with access gained only through a portcullis. This pathway was popularly called the ‘moorish path’.
There is little known about the population and its economic activities during the 6th and 7th centuries – from the late Roman Empire to the Byzantine invasion of Hispania.
After many struggles and acquisition of territory by the Byzantian forces in Hispania, the Visigoths finally reclaimed the city of Cartago Spartaria (Cartagena) in 612 – and wrestling back full control of the Iberian peninsula in 624. The Visigoth King Leovigildo allowed marriages with Hispanics, and King Recaredo led the religious unification, with Arianism being abandoned and Catholicism being adopted as the official religion.
But, in the late 7th century AD, there were on-going internal struggles for power between the two major branches of nobility and the clergy. When King Don Rodrigo reached the throne, his rivals joined the Muslim leader Tariq Ibn Ziyad, who, with his victory in the battle of Guadalete (711) had begun to pose a serious threat to the Kingdom.
Between the years of 716 and 725 the Muslims conquered the last Visogothic province (Septimania), ending the days of the Visigothic Kingdom and ushering in the Islamic period in the history of Spain.
The first written references by Arab writers regarding Salobreña start to appear in the 10th century. These come from the hand of Al-Razi, who refers to it as as the castle of Cora Elvira, and the Cordoban chronicler Ibn Hayyan – who tells us that the rebel leader Muqtabis Umar ben Hafsun was in Salobreña during his struggles with Cordoba in 907, and in 918, Abd Al-Rahman III took Salobreña and left with it a military detachment.
During the 10th century the settlement underwent a period of struggle that ultimately led to the imposition of an Islamic state in Al-Andalus. Urban and rural life recovered and reorganised, and agricultural production was diversified; with extensive networks of irrigation and the introduction of crops such as sugar cane. Salobreña, due to its urban status, was the administrative centre of a wide territory. Under its control were found 16 rural hamlets and villages, such as Lobres, Pataura, Molvizar, Balarde, Alhulia and Soluta. Some of which have since disappeared.
The Nasrid dynasty finally lost Salobreña in december 1489 when it came under the Castilian crown.
Close to the radio building and water deposit a Christian cemetery was relocated between 1788 and 1898 when the present cemetery was opened by the Canal Road.
The Albayzín viewing point, at a height of 98 metres, offers outstanding panoramic views of the plains, plantations, the village of La Caleta, beaches, cliffs, suburbs and the Chaparral Hills. On this area you can find Enrique Morente Viewpoint, 98m high, overlooking the sea and the lowlands, you can enjoy the Mediterranean sun and the sea breeze. This viewpoing it is a tribute to the influential Grenadian flamenco singer Enrique Morente.
Albaycin District
