Page 59 - Clipper Cruise Book

The unique village of Pampaniera has retained its traditional
Berber Architecture – terraced clusters of grey-white box-
shaped houses with flat clay roofs – still commonly found in the

Rif and Atlas Mountains in Morocco.

Next stop is the village of Capileira is at the top of the valley
with its rocky streets, overhanging passageways and sagging
stone houses. The name is an Arabic derivation of the Latin
word for ‘head’ or ‘top’. It is the highest village and the second
highest town in Spain, almost 1,440 meters above sea level, and
has impressive panoramic views to the Poqueira Gorge from
Perchel Viewpoint at the entrance to Capileira.

The crafts in the Alpujarra is not only a tourist attraction, but a
way of life and an important source of income for its
inhabitants. O rgiva and Pampaneira are the two best towns to
buy handicrafts in the Alpujarra. Typical are carpets, tapestries
and jarapas, but wicker baskets and products of esparto, wood,
ceramics, leather and metal are also made.

The Arabs left their eternal legacy in the Alpujarra of Granada.
with the names of the towns, also their architecture staggered in
height; the labyrinthine, winding and narrow streets; the
acequias as a system of irrigation channels and water transport;
and, of course, the popular tinaos and terraos of the
whitewashed houses of an unpolluted white from the Alpujarra.

The terraos in the Alpujarra are the roofs of the houses, which
are staggered and serve to support the next house. Very peculiar
also its chimneys, which provide personality.

As for the tinaos in the Alpujarra, they are an architectural
solution that consists of a system of beams on the street,
creating passages and arcades that are transitable and public,
on which there are built houses or private rooms.

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