Requena has a very pretty (walled) old town ...but don't go there on a Monday (like I did), because nearly everything appears to be closed! The narrow streets (right) are typical of the old town.

The old town also has a cave system which I would've liked to have seen ...but that too is closed on a Monday. The caves appear to run under the houses! I got an inkling of the complexity when I passed some demolition work on the edge of the old town and witnessed up to four layers of subterranean rooms extending down into the ground from otherwise innocently small houses!

I imagined the nightmare faced by anyone thinking of invading this town ...the battle would be far from over when you got past the city walls. You then had an enemy who could, quite literally, pop up out of the ground!

I happened upon this charming plaza (above) and thought how nice it would've been to have sat, sipping a cool beer and taking in the tranquillity. But, of course, part of the reason for the tranquillity was that everything was bloody-well shut ...including the bars!! 

Naturally, there is a newer part of town and there are some pictures of this on the next page.

Requena's old town narrow streets pose some interesting problems for the jobbing photographer. You either have to be one of those nerds who has a lens for every occasion ...or do what I did to make the shots of the gate and church (above). I took two photos and 'stitched' them together later!

Someday all websites will be like this; informative, engaging and not plastered with advertising!