In the city of Murcia, southeastern Spain

 "For austere and gracious allegory, as for so much of its mysticism and its chivalry, its ardors and its endurances, the world is in debt to Spain." -– Helen Waddell

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(in southeastern Spain) The city of Murcia, capital of the Murcia province, lies at the confluence of the Segura and Guadalentín rivers. The site was settled before the Roman occupation of southern Spain in the 3rd century BCE. As Mursīyah, it was first mentioned in the histories and chronicles of the Muslims. According to the Arab geographer Yāqūt, it was founded in 825 by the Umayyad emir of Córdoba, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān II, who made it a provincial capital. After the fall of the caliphate of Córdoba in 1031, the city came under the control of Almería and then of Valencia, until 1063 when its ruler, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ṭāhir, declared the kingdom of Murcia independent.

+ The Segura River divides the city into an older, northern sector and a more modern, southern sector. The Gothic-style Cathedral of Santa María was restored in the 18th century. It contains the chapel of the Vélez family. In the Hermitage of Jesus are the majority of the Passion sculptures of Francisco Salzillo, which attract many visitors during Holy Week.

+ Murcia is a communications and agricultural-trade center for the surrounding areas along the Segura River. Flour is also processed. The city’s silk industry, which dates from Moorish times, still exists. Today, Murcia’s main industries are metalworking, papermaking, and food processing.

+ The antithesis of the city of vice, Murcia is a sizeable but laid-back provincial capital with interesting sights and a pleasant, strollable center. Highlights for visitors include the Cathedral of Murcia and a number of baroque buildings, renowned local cuisine, the Holy Week procession, works of art by the famous Murcian sculptor Francisco Salzillo, and the Fiestas de Primavera (Spring Festival). The city, as the capital of the comarca Huerta de Murcia is called "Europe's orchard" due to its long agricultural tradition and its fruit, vegetable, and flower production and exports. Like Valencia, it is famous for its huerta, a surrounding zone of market gardens dating back to Moorish times, which supply the city's restaurants with excellent fresh produce and drive a thriving tapas scene.

+ In Plaza Cardenal Belluga there are two architectural gems -- the Episcopal Palace (18th century), with a rococo façade and Churrigueresque patio, and the Cathedral, begun in the late 14th century, and notable for its combination of different styles. For example, the lavish sculptures of the Baroque façade are particularly striking, and the impressive tower next to it is 92 meters high. Inside, the Vélez Chapel is a magnificent example of Flamboyant Gothic. Some of the most important 19th-century buildings are also worth visiting: the Town Hall, the Roman Theater, and the Casino (with a Neoclassical façade and beautiful interior courtyard with Moorish influence).