Its origins dating back to prehistoric times, this ancient city contains the oldest signs of human settlement in Spain. Remains have been found from the Middle Palaeolithic, Upper Palaeolithic and the Metal Age. One of the reasons is its strategic geographical position.

A visit to this handsome and curious city should start in its hub, the Plaza de la Constitución, the square formerly called “Plaza de las Palomas”. Listed as an Artistic-Historic Ensemble, it dates back to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Nearby is the Plaza de la Catedral, containing the cathedral itself and also the Escuela de Artes y Oficios, (Arts and Crafts School) the Hospital Real de la Caridad (RoyalCharityHospital) and the Iglesia de San José. The cathedral is a handsome building with a nave and two aisles, ambulatory and crossing dome. Striking out from the square we come to the Calle de la Concepción. This street was the old Arab Souk, today containing many noble houses and the church sharing the street’s name: Iglesia de la Concepción. Packed into the district called Barrio de San Miguel, a little more to the north of the city, are the sixteenth-century parochial church with Arab coffered ceilings and the Iglesia de la Magdalena, with its Baroque style main front. In this district stands the tower variously called the Torreón del Ferro or Torre Gorda (fat tower), the only remains of the eleventh-century Arab wall that once ringed the city. To the south of the tower, occupying the old Arab arrabal (suburb) is the Barrio de Santa Ana. This district still retains its original structure, with narrow (Morisco style) streets and whitewashed facades. Right in the centre of this district stands the Iglesia de Santa Ana, a church built over an old Mosque. Walking towards the Plaza de la Constitución we come to the Convento de San Francisco, a convent with beautiful Mudejar architecture. The old Jewish district is in Calle de Santa María, the street also containing the Hospital Real de la Caridad and the Palacio de Villalegre. Above this street is the district of the caves, such a characteristic feature of this town and its past. Curiously enough they were made as human settlements after the conquest but are still inhabited today. In the nearby Calle de la Ermita is the Cueva-Museo, a museum giving a good account of this way of life, featuring two communities characterised by their mutual understanding and common craftsmanship: gitana and paya (gypsy and non-gypsy).