PRIVATE APARTMENTS NEAR MAR MENOR

Mar Menor

Private apartments near Mar Menor and Orihuela in Alicante, Spain. Apartment rental by owner along the Costa Blanca coast in Cabo Roig.

If you are on holiday on the Costa Blanca it's a must to visit Mar Menor. From Cabo Roig a natural inland salt water lagoon of about 170 square kilometres, is only 30min drive away.

The coastline is more than 70 km long and one will pass many nice villages as San Pedro del Pinatar, Los Alcazares, Islas Menores and Playa Honda. In the vicinity of Loan Pagan Mar Menor offers the largest therapeutic open-air mud bath of Europe.

The Mar Menor waters, rich in magnesium, calcium, sodium, bromide, iodine and fluoride, are very effective against arthritis, rheumatism, tendonitis, nervous and articulator disorders.

Flamingos are the kings of the area, because of their spectacular nature. They arrive here at the end of the Summer to hibernate.

The private apartments near Mar Menor bring you close to two bird watching areas from which you can observe these and many other birds, such as herons, eaglets, owls, storks, storklets (himantopus himpantopus) seagulls, charranes (sterna hirundo) chorlitos patinegros (charadrius alexandrinus) and avocetas (avosetta recurvirostra) among other species.

ORIHUELA

Human settlements in the area of Orihuela can be traced back as far as the second half of the third millennium BC. In the 8th century Orihuela was an independent capital extending over the provinces of what are now now Alicante and Murcia. At this time it was the seat of the dukedom of Teodomiro, a Christian ruler who enjoyed an autonomy pact with the Moors following the Islamic conquest. It's status of capital was diminished when Alicante took over as the regional capital.

Orihuela has gained a certain amount of fame from being the birthplace of Miguel Hernandez, a radical poet and shepherd who died in prison after the Civil War. You can visit his birthplace in Calle Miguel Hernandez which is open every day between 10am - 2pm & 4pm to 7pm. Other noteworthy men from Orihuela include the painter Joaquín Agrasot, the cardinal Desprades (first Apostolic Nuncio) and the archbishop Loaces amongst others.

It also served as the geographical inspiration for the novels of Alicante born Gabriel Miró (1897 - 1930), Nuestro Padre San Daniel ("Our Father, Saint Daniel") and El Obispo Leproso ("The Leprous Bishop").

From the private apartments near Orihuela there are many sights to see in Orihuela from the Cathedral and museum to the Colegio de Santo Domingo (an old convent & university) to the underground Museo de la Murailla. The town possesses five national monuments including 'The temptation of Saint Thomas Aquinas' by Velázquez, the statutes of the Sacred Family by Salzillo, and the 'Diablesa' by Bussy.

The Segura River provides boundaries to the city and is the source of the rich 'huerta' (irrigated land) of the Bajo Segura. Today the river marks the border between the old city and the newer commercial centre, which originated in 1884 with the construction of a railway station linking Orihuela with Murcia, the city with which Orihuela is closely joined via its economy and the Segura River.

Orihuela includes the second largest palm forest of the Alicante region as well as three golf courses, 16 km of town beaches including La Zenia and Dehesa de Campoamor. A walk through Orihuela should not be hurried. Most of Orihuela's glorious architecture can be traced back to either the late gothic, the Renaissance or the Baroque periods. The Cathedral of San Salvador whose museum contains the Velázquez painting is worth a visit.

Also take the time to visit the two most typical churches of Orihuela, the gothic Santas Justa and Rufina with gargoyles and a tower and Santiago (St James'). The latter contains the status of the Sacred Family by Salzillo and is the place where the Catholic Monarchs convened a general parliament (Cortes) in 1488 for the purpose of gathering funds to finance a military sortie that would culminate in the seizing of Granada in 1492.