Welcome to Alcala De Guadaira in Seville Province. Only 10km southeast of Seville, this town is rapidly being swallowed up by Seville's suburbs. It used to be known as Alcalá de los Panaderos (Alcala of the bakers) because it provided most of Seville's bread. The town is located close to the banks of the Guadaira river; since the time of the Moors, there have been watermills along here, used producing flour. You can still see some today if you walk along the river. Apart from a few that have been restored, most of them are in ruins. Today, Alcala De Guadaira is better known for its magnificent castle and extensive defensive walls, which gave the town its name (castle means al-kalat in Arabic). One of the most important fortifications in Seville province, the castle was constructed by the Almohads and modified by the Christians, who conquered the town in the mid 13th century under Fernando III.

On the road to Utrera at Km 2 is the sumptious Hacienda La Boticaria, a five-star rural hotel on a country estate. In town on Avenida Portugal is Hotel Oromana, set in a pine forest. Five kilometres from Alcala De Guadaira on the road to Morón de la Frontera is the 14th-century Marchenilla castle, one of the province's best preserved fortresses. It has a long history; archaeological remains of a Roman building have been discovered within the castle walls. Although privately owned, the castle is open to the public on Saturday morning, 10am-2pm. The tourist office (turismo) is in the Casa de Cultura on Calle General Prim in Alcala De Guadaira, 955 616 843. From Alcala De Guadaira is a 28km-long greenway to Carmona, the Vía Verde of the Hills, which you can cover on foot, bicycle or horseback. Graphic sourced with thanks from http://usuarios.lycos.es

Wikipedia articles for Alcala De Guadaira

• Alcalá de Guadaíra