Arab engineering devised a complicated and effective defensive structure surrounding the whole city, the remains of which we can see today.
Attacking forces would successively be confronted with an outer defense system including a moat, the wall around the outskirts, the city wall and lastly the castle wall with its eleven towers. The enormous main gate is protected by two towers. All systems were linked to each other to give maximum protection.
Within the castle walls there are two cisterns.
The Cistern of the legendary Moorish Girl; her cries and sighs can be
heard on the 24th of June, Saint John's Day, around midnight. Seated in
a silver barge with gold oars, she eagerly awaits a Moorish prince to
come and break her spell.
The second one is the very deep Cistern of the Dogs; legend has it reach
the river.
The castle and its red sandstone walls enclose
an area of 12000 m² and were restored in the 1940’s
This is one of the visits that you cannot afford to miss.