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Alicante, spain
La Costa Blanca or White Coast is a section of the Mediterranean coast which corresponds to Alicante and it has two differentiated scenic sectors. In the North, mountains running parallel to the sea, in some areas forming cliffs; to the South, a vast plain of sand patches and palm trees : the beaches. Travellers can choose any of the corners of this coast, from the most cosmopolitan to those which still have their rural air beside the sea.
The temperatures are usually mild -the annual average is around 17ºC- and rain is scare, though the pluvosity is logically higher in the mountainous northern sector, in comparison with the lowlands which surround Elche and Orihuela.
A representation of the typical Mediterranean countryside is what the visitors are going to find here:Fields of almond trees, the vineyards and the fruit orchards. From the valleys, covered with stepped orchards and keeping alive its Moorish past, to the palm trees of African origin, the Costa Blanca offer the most varied attractions.
The Costa Blanca's history is similar to another places of the Mediterranean coast: Iberians, Phoenicians and Greeks settled in the ports, creating merchant cities and leaving important naval bases here before they were turned over to Rome. This area then belonged to Byzantium, and the Visigoths, and after the 8th century it was a part of the rich region of al-Andalus. The Denia Taifa (Arab petty kingdom), on which the Balearic Islands and Sardinia depended for a while, sheltered several members of the Umayyad dynasty, upon the fall of the Cordova Caliphate. The Christian period,was characterised from the very beginning by battles between the Crowns of Aragon and Castile, who disputed their borders, but at the same time left traces of the coexistence of their respective languages, Castilian and Catalan.
The Modern Age arrives with social revolutions and the threat from pirates marked the changing of the times along these coasts. After one century , Felipe III decreed the expulsion of the Moriscos (the converted Muslims) who were suspected of collaborating with the Berbers who periodically attacked the littoral areas. Then, the Moriscos who considered that they had the right to be there as the descendants of the old Christians, organised several revolts. And also, when the expulsion took place, the lands were left without their expert farmers, who were capable of obtaining really good production from their property .
During the 18th century and 19th century, the Costa Blanca continued to enjoy a relatively peaceful existence, with two exceptions : Alicante and Denia which became important port cities, the littoral was a succession of small fishing villages removed from the convulsions of the wars. The progress of the railway system, cars and airplanes help the tourism changeaments to the landscape, the sports harbours, the hotel infrastructure and even to that gorgeus agglomeration of leisure time installations which is Benidorm, symbol of the Costa Blanca. Travellers will be able to find, close to the frequented areas, intimate farming towns, old monumental centres and also the horizon of mountains.
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