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00:01Come with me on a voyage through Spain.
00:07Buenos dias, mi capitán.
00:10As I reveal the secrets.
00:12What an amazing building.
00:13That is magnificent.
00:15Of places you think you know.
00:17Look at the size of this.
00:20And the little known regions.
00:23That is spectacular.
00:25Just waiting to be discovered.
00:27This is very nostalgic for me.
00:29Smell the money.
00:31Suddenly we're on the Riviera.
00:33But I'm inside the barrel.
00:35Together we'll go beyond the hotspots.
00:38Absolutely spectacular.
00:39It's so remote.
00:41To the places where the magic is made.
00:44You have to love heat and smoke and flame.
00:51I can't wait to show you.
00:57Today I'll take you to the little known cities of Cartagena.
01:01What a fantastic sight.
01:04And Murcia.
01:05This is so beautiful.
01:07Where surprising delicacies.
01:09We are going to put the brains into the pastel de carne.
01:11Brains.
01:13Ancient therapies.
01:14The creature from the black lagoon.
01:17Ah.
01:17And traditional pastimes.
01:19Oh.
01:20Oh.
01:21Are celebrated proudly and loudly.
01:24Bobby.
01:34Our journey through Spain continues to a stunning region on its southeastern coast.
01:42Where acres of orchards and vineyards set in the mountains and valleys meet around 175 miles of the Mediterranean Sea.
01:52Welcome to the province of Murcia.
01:57Just an hour's drive south of Alicante, at the end of the Costa Blanca, few Britons visit this region.
02:05Its reputation is growing, but I think it's still vastly underrated.
02:10So come with me as I reveal a little of what it has to offer before the crowds discover it
02:16too.
02:18We begin in the region's second largest city.
02:23Magnificent Cartagena.
02:26Have you heard of Hannibal?
02:28He was the Carthaginian general who somewhat took the Romans by surprise by marching with an army from Spain into
02:35Italy through the Alps with a herd of elephants.
02:40Well, it was Hannibal's brother-in-law, Hasdrubal, who founded this great city.
02:45It soon fell to Rome, but that was not the end of its greatness.
02:49Because one civilization after another was magnetized to this natural harbor, built castles on the hills, left their mark on
03:00the city.
03:01But today, somewhat distant from golf hotels and beach resorts, many people have not heard of Cartagena.
03:09But we, with a determination worthy of Hannibal, will storm the city and make it yield its secrets.
03:22Although Cartagena has been inhabited for over 2,000 years, some of its most striking buildings are relatively recent.
03:30They represented a new style of architecture called Modernista.
03:36Rebuilding the city was possible only because of a dark period that had come just before.
03:43Local historian Maria will tell me more.
03:49Quite surprisingly, Cartagena has a lot of interesting buildings from the 19th and 20th century. Why is that?
03:56Oh, that's because the end of the 19th century was a very, very difficult moment here in Cartagena.
04:04It was a local uprising and it wanted to rebel from the state, the Spanish government.
04:13Cartagena wanted to be independent.
04:20In 1873, government forces attacked the city.
04:24And during a six-month siege, 70% of its buildings were razed to the ground.
04:33Many of the buildings in the city centre were destroyed.
04:36So it was really a chance to start new buildings, to start building new palaces like the one we're standing
04:46at.
04:47It's Casa Cervantes, one of the most beautiful buildings that were made in Cartagena.
04:53This is the first building in modernist style to be erected here in the city of Cartagena by the architect
05:00Victor Beltrì.
05:01Very, very famous here.
05:05Victor Beltrì had studied in Barcelona, where he was influenced by the extraordinary buildings of architect Anthony Gaudí.
05:13A central figure in the new modernista or Art Nouveau style growing in Europe and the United States at the
05:20time.
05:24Beltrì returned to Cartagena bringing ideas with him.
05:32What do we mean by modernist style?
05:35It's about using new materials outside the buildings and also mixing reminiscence from classicism, but also with organic forms, which
05:47we have, for example, all these vegetal forms, the palms.
05:52We have also in the iron work, in the carvings, in the wood, we can see all that organic forms.
05:59Every single detail here has been designed just for this building.
06:05The siege created the need and modern technologies the money.
06:11Silver had long been mined in the surrounding area, but during the Roman Empire it had run dry.
06:19Modern methods allowed access to seams deep underground.
06:23And what better way for the city to show off its newfound wealth than with a bold new style of
06:29architecture.
06:31This is such a beautiful building. What is this?
06:35This is the town hall.
06:36I see the date up here. 1907.
06:41Tell me about the styles. It's very mixed, isn't it?
06:43Yes. For example, the French rotundas in the corners that you are seeing over there.
06:49With some elements taken from classicism, from Baroque, everything that you see, it's a mixture, a perfect blend between all
06:57these elements.
06:59I feel that great architecture lifts the spirit.
07:02And I see the people of Cartagena and the visitors just standing here and admiring great buildings.
07:07I love to see buildings like this because it's talking a lot about Cartagena's spirit.
07:16That period of great wealth shaped the modern city.
07:21But Maria wants to show me a recent discovery from a previous period of prosperity.
07:29Oh, Maria. That is spectacular.
07:36A huge Roman theatre.
07:41What a fantastic sight.
07:46And it's in between all the houses.
07:49It's just stuck in the middle of town.
07:53How was it discovered?
07:55By pure chance. 1988.
07:58The theatre is a surprise in so many ways.
08:02Not least its size.
08:04The stage alone is over 40 metres wide.
08:09How big is it? How many people could sit here, for example?
08:12Over 7,000 people.
08:15And that is quite big.
08:16So this suggests that Cartagena was an important place.
08:18It was very important.
08:19And so the Cartaginians could feel like they were in any other part of the Roman Imperium.
08:27When the theatre was built between 5 and 1 BC,
08:31Cartagena was a major Roman port.
08:33Made rich by local silver and lead,
08:36the city wanted a theatre to reflect its status
08:39and modelled on the Theatre of Marcellus in Rome.
08:44These theatres were really important structures.
08:48They were grandiose structures.
08:49Imagine if you came here as a common person
08:52and you see all this luxury, this expense.
08:55It's most impressive, isn't it?
08:56Yes.
08:58In Pink Travertime.
09:00Coming from local quarries.
09:02And also the white Carrara marble coming by sea from Italy.
09:06So this was a prestigious place.
09:09Yes.
09:10This was the luxury people wanted to see in a theatre like this.
09:17When the Roman Empire fell, the city was sacked.
09:20And over the following centuries, most of it was destroyed or left in ruins.
09:25What are these pillars here?
09:27It's a curious story because people in the Middle Ages
09:30found all these columns just thrown around
09:34and they wanted solid material to build their new buildings.
09:39And these columns have been chopped up like a chorizo, haven't they?
09:42Yes, completely like a chorizo.
09:43And this is one of the problems with Roman ruins.
09:46If people knew that they were there,
09:48they used them as a quarry for their new building works.
09:51They just came and looted everything.
09:52Yes. They just came here, they took it.
09:55It was the law of the jungle, as we say it in Spanish.
09:59The law of the jungle.
10:03What seems extraordinary, given its scale,
10:06is that over time the theatre disappeared,
10:09built over by successive city inhabitants.
10:14Then, in the late 1980s,
10:17it was rediscovered by chance,
10:19under a residential neighbourhood.
10:21Tell me about the discovery.
10:23The discovery was in 1988.
10:26But they didn't know nothing about the Roman theatre.
10:30They found a little bit and they had to work away.
10:32Yes, exactly.
10:33They found a little section of the stairs at the lower level.
10:37And then they continued with excavations
10:40until 1990 that they find out that it was a Roman theatre.
10:47Over the next 15 years, the site was excavated and then restored.
10:52The surrounding modern city simply adds to its drama.
10:59Maria, I have a thought.
11:00Shall we test the acoustic of the Roman theatre?
11:03Would you mind going up into the auditorium?
11:05And I will speak to you from the stage.
11:07It's a great idea.
11:13Maria!
11:15You can hear me clearly.
11:17Help!
11:19The acoustics are marvellous.
11:21All the worlds are staged.
11:24And all the men and women merely players.
11:29They have their exits and their entrances.
11:33And one man in his time plays many parts.
11:38His acts being seven ages.
11:49Next, I attend to a delicate delicacy.
11:53You said I'm suffering.
11:55I certainly am suffering a little bit.
11:57And apply a healing therapy.
11:59That's working already.
12:01Really?
12:01It's a hand action.
12:02It's these magic hands.
12:03Absolutely.
12:16I'm showing you Spain's little-known region of Murcia.
12:20We've started in the city of Cartagena on its south-eastern coast.
12:24It's overlooked by most tourists heading for the Costa Blanca next door.
12:28Which I think is a mistake.
12:30Because it has much to offer.
12:35If you drive to Cartagena, you come across a long, flat plain.
12:40And just when you think you're reaching the Mediterranean, boom!
12:44A range of mountains.
12:45And that is the secret of the city.
12:48A port protected on all sides.
12:51In this part of Spain, a cathedral stands where there used to be a mosque.
12:57That, in turn, was once a Visigostic church.
13:00And before that, there might have been a Roman temple.
13:03In Cartagena today, they are excavating beneath the bullring,
13:08where they've found a Roman amphitheatre, suggesting that the same spot has been a place of public spectacle for what?
13:17Two thousand years.
13:22One constant is that Cartagena has always relied on fish.
13:28And in the many tapas bars across the city, one, in particular, appears again and again.
13:36The humble anchovy.
13:42Few are caught here.
13:44Most come from the Cantabrian Sea on Spain's northern coast, where they're salt-cured in barrels.
13:53They're then transformed by hand into delicate fillets.
14:00It's an art reserved for a skilled tapas chef like Adriana.
14:05However, she'll show me the bare bones of the process.
14:09We'll take it.
14:10We'll take it.
14:11We'll wash the network.
14:12We'll hold the anchovy.
14:14We'll hold the anchovy.
14:16Ooh, look at that.
14:18Okay.
14:18That's beautiful.
14:19We'll turn it.
14:21And very slowly.
14:25Adriana makes it look easy.
14:27I'm not convinced that the same will be said of me.
14:30Well, you put it here.
14:31Take it here.
14:32Take it here so it doesn't cost you much.
14:34There.
14:36So, very slowly.
14:39Feeding off the skin.
14:43Turn the fellow over.
14:44Hold him by the tail.
14:47Cantabrian anchovies are considered amongst the best in the world.
14:51And after six months stored in salt, great care is needed to prepare them.
14:57We're opening up the two fillets.
14:58Push with the fingers of the fingers to not break them.
15:02See?
15:03Separate.
15:04The trick here is not to break the anchovy.
15:06Okay.
15:07Yes.
15:07This goes here.
15:09And we take the next one.
15:12The dorsal spine.
15:15Very good.
15:17The number of times I've seen a dried anchovy or a tinned anchovy, I never quite understood how you got
15:24from that to that.
15:26It takes Adriana less than a minute to fillet the anchovy.
15:30Let's see how her apprentice fares.
15:34Now, with any luck, we'll be able to open this up.
15:38Ooh, this is the difficult bit, I think.
15:42Oy, vas a ser muy pocas.
15:46Please, Adriana, this is my first.
15:51Este lo pongo aparte.
15:53Now I'm going to try and get the spine out.
15:57These things are so delicate.
16:00The spine doesn't want to come out without taking all of the fish with it.
16:07Mmm.
16:09Muy bien.
16:10No sé si muy bien, pero no mal.
16:14No se ha roto, está bien.
16:16Mmm.
16:17¿Quieres hacer más?
16:18Supongo que sí.
16:21Okay.
16:24How many anchovies do you prepare in a day?
16:26Los cuatro kilos, cuatro horas.
16:28Four kilos, four hours.
16:30Mucho trabajo.
16:31Sí, mucho.
16:32También te duele la espalda, eh?
16:34Oh, yes.
16:34You get backache from doing that.
16:36At this rate, it will take me four days.
16:45Te voy a sufrir, Michael.
16:53In a world of high tech, there's something charming about the attention that Adriana lavishes on each and every anchovy.
17:01Okay.
17:02Arriba y regresa.
17:03Ya está.
17:05La siguiente.
17:06Arriba.
17:08Okay.
17:09It's come out very well.
17:11Sí.
17:12It's now time to make one of Cartagena's most popular tapas, la marinera.
17:18In the late 1970s, a hungry sailor asked for a bar snack.
17:23In the kitchen, there was a breadstick, Russian salad, and anchovies.
17:30And so the story has it, la marinera was born.
17:35Ta-da.
17:37Muy bien.
17:38Muchísimas gracias a ti.
17:40A ti, Mike.
17:41¿Y ahora?
17:42La marinera.
17:45Exactamente.
17:45Now, time to eat.
17:50I've always thought that one of the great things about a tapa was its simplicity.
17:54I mean, a breadstick, Russian salad, and an anchovy.
17:57Could anything be more straightforward?
18:00Shame on me.
18:01I had no idea that the anchovy had been six months in salt, and it takes me about five minutes
18:08to peel.
18:09So, the tapa is not simple, but it is delicious.
18:15Mmm.
18:18Marinera from Cartagena.
18:22Creamy, crunchy, fishy.
18:28My hunger satiated, I'm heading to one of the region's most spectacular natural landmarks.
18:35Just north of the city, it's Europe's largest saltwater lagoon, the Mar Menor.
18:43It's a body of saltwater.
18:46There's a band of land that almost cuts it off from the sea, but saltwater goes to and fro.
18:52Famous for chameleons and flamingos.
18:59It's also been a source of sea salt since the Roman Empire.
19:03The intense colour of the water is caused by salt-loving microorganisms which thrive in the shallow pools which are
19:12created as the water evaporates, leaving the salt behind.
19:18Sitting on the lagoon's shores is Los Alcáceres.
19:21In the summer, the fishing village is popular with tourists who flock here for the nearby golf courses.
19:29The attraction for me is a dirty secret, found at the end of the jetties that poke into the warm
19:37water of the lagoon.
19:40Hello, gentlemen. What a pleasure. My name is Michael.
19:43So, I find you putting mud on yourselves.
19:46Why are you doing that, may I ask?
19:48Because this is really good for the health.
19:50Yeah? Yeah. It keeps you moisturised.
19:53It has minerals on it.
19:56And it's really good for your bones and your muscles.
19:59Locals say that if you do that six days in a row, you don't get ill during the year.
20:05Do they charge for the mud?
20:08No, you don't have to pay nothing. You can use it wherever you want.
20:12But that's extraordinary, isn't it? Because, I mean, a spa could be very expensive.
20:16But this is for nothing.
20:19Smearing your skin in mineral-rich mud has been practised since Roman times.
20:26Today it's recognised as a therapy for skin conditions and inflammation.
20:31Some believe this mud can work miracles.
20:36I'm meeting regular baither Bernadette, who has chronic arthritis.
20:42Nine years ago when I was diagnosed with this condition, they were really worried that within three years I would
20:48be in a wheelchair.
20:49And that was nine years ago?
20:50Yes. So...
20:51And look at you.
20:52Yeah.
20:53Far from a wheelchair.
20:54And you put that down to the mud, do you?
20:56Yes.
20:57I know. I'm now back cycling.
20:59And, you know, walking long distances.
21:02I want what she's having.
21:07In order to do that, I'll need a costume change and my trusty bucket.
21:12And we're off.
21:17Then you go and pick nice soft mud.
21:23Okay.
21:32Excellent. That's enough now.
21:33Is it?
21:34Yes.
21:35Will that do the two of us?
21:36Absolutely.
21:37There's quite a lot of me, you know.
21:44Tips on application. How do you put it on?
21:47You apply the mud in a light coat.
21:50You go ahead and show me.
21:51Okay, I start it.
21:52I start with my legs.
21:54Mmm.
21:54In a light coat.
21:55It doesn't have to go on very thickly.
21:56Keep all that arthritis at bay.
21:59Yes.
21:59Give the knee a good rub.
22:02I need you to put it on my back.
22:05That's working already.
22:07Is it? Oh, gosh.
22:07Absolutely.
22:08Really?
22:08Well, it's the hands, you know.
22:09Yes.
22:10Nothing to do with the mud.
22:11It's the hand action.
22:11It's these magic hands.
22:13Absolutely.
22:13Yeah.
22:14Would you like me to do something for you?
22:16Yeah, would you mind doing my face?
22:17I will do it.
22:21Can you see me getting more beautiful there by the moment?
22:23Absolutely, by the second.
22:25There's a rather massive area you've not done yet,
22:27which is the nose.
22:30You might need another bucket for that.
22:35You know, Bernadette,
22:36I've just been a little bit worried
22:37that someone I know might see me looking like this.
22:40But, um...
22:41They won't recognize you.
22:42Well, that's true.
22:43But you won't tell anyone, would you?
22:44Because my name would be mud.
22:46My lips are sealed.
22:50It seems to me that as it dries,
22:52it kind of tightens on your face.
22:55Yes.
22:55You feel a little bit tingly.
22:57Yes.
22:57Is that what you get as well?
22:58Yes.
22:58Bit of a tingle.
22:59You know it's working then.
23:00All right.
23:02The creature from the Black Lagoon.
23:07Next, an extraordinary boudoir.
23:09This is so beautiful.
23:11And an awful meat pie.
23:13Is that a complete brain?
23:15The hard one.
23:16That's a heart brain.
23:17Yes.
23:27Our journey through Spain continues along its southeastern coast,
23:31through the little-known region of Murcia,
23:34where we're heading away from its second city
23:36and on towards its first.
23:42The capital is also called Murcia.
23:46It is a city with a reputation for being very hot.
23:49It's set in a bowl of mountains.
23:51It has a very beautiful cathedral.
23:5630 miles inland,
23:59the city of Murcia sits on the fertile plain of the Segura River.
24:07Founded as a provincial capital by the Emir of Cordoba in 825,
24:13Murcia later became a centre for silk production,
24:16connected to the Silk Road,
24:18a trading route that linked China to the west.
24:21The city still has vestiges of that industry and its successors.
24:28Some of the streets in Murcia are named after the trades
24:32that were conducted there in the Middle Ages.
24:34Caboneria, soap makers.
24:37Plateria, silversmiths.
24:39And traperia, well, that was tanners and then suppliers of cloth.
24:44And that street has an interesting history
24:46because King Jaime I built a wall to separate Muslims from Christians.
24:50The wall was not very popular.
24:53It didn't last very long.
24:54And when it came down, it left a straight and wide void,
24:58which is today probably the city's most popular shopping street.
25:07Calle Traperia leads onto the city's most famous landmark, Murcia Cathedral.
25:15But before I take you there, behind closed doors,
25:20there's the most surprising of buildings.
25:24Oh, Christina, this, this is so beautiful.
25:29What a fantastic place.
25:34Helping me to explore the extraordinary Royal Casino of Murcia
25:38is local historian Christina.
25:42This building is a social club to hide society of Murcia from 19th century.
25:52Casino, in this case, means a members club, not a place for gambling.
26:00Its construction began in 1847.
26:02Their inspiration for its interiors was drawn from further back in Spain's rich history.
26:11They wanted to copy different places from different periods of history.
26:17So here it's like we're travelling to La Alhambra in Granada.
26:22And it's very interesting to me that as late as the 19th century,
26:26Christian architects are still copying the Islamic style as a tribute and a sort of nostalgia too.
26:33Yes, in the 19th century there was a romantic moment about the past.
26:39Yes.
26:40People started to look back and wanted to copy those societies.
26:46If you read around the perimeter of the room,
26:49we can read all the time nothing greater than Allah.
26:54Think about that Catholic society.
26:56They didn't know what they were writing.
26:59They wanted to copy it exactly.
27:01And it was a Catholic society.
27:04Doesn't make sense.
27:07Each room we enter is another surprise.
27:11Oh!
27:13A pretty and highly decorated room.
27:17This room is really beautiful.
27:19Yeah.
27:20This is the ladies dressing room.
27:22But it was a gentleman's club.
27:23But in the year 1920, it changed.
27:27Women could become full members of the casino.
27:31Aha.
27:31So they decided to create a room for them.
27:35With a very beautiful ceiling.
27:37Quite interesting because one thinks of Spain as having a lot of machismo.
27:42I mean, married women couldn't have bank accounts until relatively recently.
27:47So I'm amazed that in 1920 they were full members.
27:50We can say that 1920 and especially 1930s were very progressive if you compare it with what happened later with
28:02the dictatorship.
28:05After 1939, such progressive changes came to an abrupt halt.
28:10When under General Franco's nationalist government, women lost their right to vote and other freedoms.
28:19They were fully restored only in 1978.
28:25My father was a member of a casino and it was a very valuable thing to him.
28:30He would go down to the casino to have a coffee or whatever.
28:34But I think most of all for conversation.
28:37What he would call a tertulia.
28:40Yes.
28:40So he and a group of other friends regularly would meet for conversation at the casino.
28:45Mm-hmm.
28:46The casino is an important part of their daily life.
28:50They come here, have a coffee, talk with friends, different things.
28:55And they share knowledge.
28:57Thank you so much.
28:58I've enjoyed the tour of the casino.
29:00Not just for the appreciation of the building, but I think also it's an insight into a Spanish way of
29:07life.
29:08Yes, it's a secret that we have here.
29:15There's no secret about the city's most prominent landmark, which must be viewed and appreciated.
29:24Constructed in the Middle Ages, it marked Murcia's transformation from a Muslim into a Christian city.
29:32The cathedral has a facade in that over-the-top style known as Baroque.
29:39But behind here is a much older cathedral.
29:42Indeed, it used to be a mosque.
29:44And when the Christians took over from the Muslims, they converted it into a cathedral and created a beautiful square
29:50so that people could see it.
29:53The facade was added in 1751.
29:56Some 230 years later, the cathedral still towers above the surrounding city.
30:03The cathedral has a lovely bell tower, which took centuries to complete.
30:08But when it was finished, it turned out to be the second highest in Spain, beaten only by that in
30:14Seville.
30:14It has a set of bells, including Nona, which weighs more than a tonne, four foot in diameter, and it
30:21sends out over all the city the most marvellous, resonant...
30:35..the bells, resonant...
30:56generation of his family to bake them here how old is this pie ah it's like uh at least more
31:05than 300 years old that's extraordinary yeah how do you know that hay un documento que su
31:12explica la manera de hacer los pasteles de carne esto es de 1695 y es es una orden del rey
31:23wow
31:26king carlos ii of spain's decree specified every detail even down to the exact dimensions of the
31:35case and the quality of the flower that would be used to create the pie carlos has agreed to
31:42reveal the secrets of how he makes it keep this this way okay yeah the other way
31:50is it vale let's see how you do it i want michael
31:56poco a poco poco perfecto muy bien michael
32:01what do i do at the end here don't worry
32:03good it i just cut it
32:05ole michael muy bien tío that's not too bad actually no no
32:11y tú lo que tienes que hacer es suave con posas
32:17ah that's so interesting vale you're using dough almost like a sponge
32:25to press down on the other dough yeah and make these nice shapes yeah after that you have to
32:31mean while i finish that so that cuts the pastry doesn't it
32:41next in goes the filling minced beef and salt sliced hard-boiled egg and then normally chorizo
32:51today carlos is making an especial
32:57we are going to put the brains into the pastel de carne brains brains pork brains pork brains
33:05pork brains
33:05ah is that a complete brain the half one it's a half brain it's half brown oh poor little piggy
33:12so
33:13how much of this do we put in everything what everything in one pie yeah yeah yeah yeah wow what
33:19kind of flavor does this add it's like
33:21hierro like iron yeah it's quite disgusting i don't like it at all but people go crazy with this
33:30flavor really yeah what's your busiest day el entierro de la sardina the burial of the sardine yeah
33:37we celebrate the end of the easter yes when we left the fish and we're going to start to eat
33:42meat yes of course the end of lent the end of the period when you can't eat meat so you
33:47bury the
33:48sardine you go back to meat this special day to celebrate the pastel de carne murciano
33:56was introduced in 2009 how many pies do you sell that day close 1 000 that's extraordinary and and
34:04they're all made by hand yeah yeah what in my mind makes the pie stand out from other spanish pies
34:12that i've enjoyed is its lid rubbed with pig fat the pastry is then tightly rolled before being sliced
34:20like a stick of rock and stretched by hand 25 minutes in the oven and it's ready for me to
34:29try
34:33that is really crunchy this is the most spectacular puff pastry it has this spiral doesn't it it's so
34:42good looking that's a great pie covers and this is a pie for all occasions for rich for poor for
34:54home for
34:54picnic congratulations to you and generations of your family on this amazing meat pie
35:04next i learned the look
35:10excellent and taste a tasty pastry trouble is you get it on your nose
35:26no
35:27although my journey through spain's little known murcia region is coming to an end
35:31there's still time to show you a couple of special places
35:36in spain families are extraordinarily united and close it's typical for older relations
35:46who may be um invalids to live with the family communities are also very strong people of all
35:55generations come together habitually but also more broadly i think people of all generations
36:02are really interested in sustaining customs and traditions and they do so wholeheartedly and unitedly
36:18i've heard that 15 minutes drive from the city center in the town of la alberca there's what's
36:24called a peña huertana that's been keeping alive ancient traditions
36:39that's what's called a peña huertana
36:50that's what's called a peña huertana
37:01the word huerta means an orchard
37:07what sort of orchard was there here
37:10huerta la palabra huerta significa lo que ha sido en la subsistencia
37:14de todos los murcianos era donde se cultivaba el arroz las verduras
37:20berenjenas pimientos tomates y gusanos de seda que por eso es la palabra de peña la seda
37:28up until the arrival of the islamic empire in the eighth century
37:32the art of silk making was unknown in spain
37:37centuries later it would become murcia's main source of wealth much of it manufactured by families
37:44living off the land growing mulberry trees like these to feed the silkworms
37:50here you've made silk
38:10now huama tell me about your clothes what are you dressed in
38:21and what about the hat
38:22sombrero el sombrero típico murciano
38:25y póntelo póntelo póntelo
38:29it's a beautiful hat
38:30typical murcia hat my head is a little bigger than yours
38:34además así no el sombrero que calárselo calárselo así el plan es chulo no no no no bajito chulo mirada
38:41mira mirada mirada mirada así mira la mujer así ahí ahí ahí ahí vale
38:50since 1975 members of this peña have dressed danced played and eaten to ensure that their
38:59ancestors customs are sustained hola pilar hola michael
39:04what is what we are doing here we are doing paparajotes
39:09paparajotes yes
39:10what does it consist of paparajotes is a potter that is prepared with a lemon leaf
39:16it is boiled in a bowl
39:18then it is fried and when they are fried
39:21it is boiled in sugar with canela
39:23thought to have been introduced by sephardic jews
39:27during the muslim rule this is a local delicacy with a north african twist
39:32and let's try them shall we try them
39:34let's go
39:35let's go first
39:36let's go
39:38let's go
39:39let's go
39:39so um you don't eat the leaf do you
39:41the leaf doesn't eat the leaf
39:43no no no no
39:43the leaf doesn't eat the leaf
39:47it's um it's um it's very sweet of course it's lovely crisp
39:53lemony what a shame that you can't eat the leaf as well
39:55what a shame that you can't eat the leaf as well
39:58it's good
39:58excellent
39:59good
40:00hmm
40:01probably as you get it on your nose
40:04you have put it on your nose
40:05um i think there are lots of hungry mouths over here let's see who would like one
40:16the game of bolos huertzlanos is traditional to the region of murcia
40:21very good very good all you have to do is knock over one of the nine pins
40:26what could be simpler
40:29yes sir
40:30yes sir
40:32to this side
40:33the more you go to the wall
40:35come on let's see if it's true
40:38oh you've seen it
40:40you've seen it
40:43you're a good teacher
40:44you're a good coach
40:45okay
41:01my time in the unfamiliar region of murcia is all but over i'm drawn towards the sanctuary of our
41:08lady of the fountain named after the patron saint of the city below it seems the perfect
41:15place to look back over this much underrated region
41:22it's only quite recently that they discovered the roman theater at carter henna
41:29and at this moment they're still excavating digging deeply through layers discovering history
41:36that spans many dynasties and that i think is how you have to approach this corner of spain
41:43willing to dig under the surface to find out what people eat what games they play
41:51and how they dance whether you come to this little known region in search of beautiful buildings
41:59like the cathedral and the casino in murcia or to test the healing powers
42:05of the sulfurous mud baths there's so much to unearth surprises are plenty and lots of fun
42:15next time
42:16so the journey starts i'm in ibiza can you just show me your technique
42:23hello form and terror
42:26this is a first for me our lady's looking very fertile you've got a nice cage on it now in
42:32case
42:32any guests behave badly it's time for me to take a walk on the wild side
42:42and portillo in ibiza is a must-see next thursday at eight it's battle of the brains as jeremy
42:47vine leads out the team captains carol vorderman and sally lindsay a new celebrity puzzling starting
42:52monday at seven and over 26 years later steve wright recently confessed to a sixth killing murder
42:58to trial the suffolk strangler is brand new next
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