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A. T’SERSTEVENS,
BELGIAN TRAVELLER, WRITER AND JOURNALIST, WAS A FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT
DURING THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR. AUTHOR OF NUMEROUS TRAVEL BOOKS,
HE TRAVELLED THROUGH SPAIN AT THE END OF THE FORTIES. AS A RESULT
OF THIS JOURNEY HE WROTE Le nouvel itinéraire espagnol (París,
1952), FROM WHICH THIS EXCERPT.
Coming back to Río de
Aguas, we descend towards a narrow, rocky valley, lacking in any
attractions. But all of a sudden, as we cross over a stone bridge
spanning a dry stream bed, the cliffs of Sorbas appear before us.
It’s a strange town, built on a sort of rocky island surrounded
on all sides by a natural ravine. The sandy rock forms a hundred
metre sheer cliff lined along the top with low, white houses and
long draping cacti. We arrive at the village by means of a dyke or
embankment which runs accross the ravine: the embankment’s
giant slopes are covered entirely with prickly pears and aloe cacti.
It reminds me of Cuenca, the extravagant town belonging to New Castille
which also lies perched on the top of a sheer cliff; the houses and
their terraces, jutting out over frightening precipices, supported
merely by worm eaten beams. |
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Sorbas
and the gorge over the river Aguas. Fotografía: A. Martín-Editor,
h. 1909.
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