Sagunto, Spain. We thought it was just a sleepy eyed whistle stop on the railroad track from Valencia to Barcelona, but they had this really cool castle on the hill so decided a day trip was in order. And so glad we did. What appeared to be a sleepy little burb is a thriving town of 65,000 people with an amazing history.
Sagunto is what it is called today, but the Romans called it “Saguntum” and, get this, the Iberians (those who lived there), called it “Arse.” Go ahead, I laughed, too. The castle is 2000 years old and as they usually do with castles, it’s waaaay up on top of a big hill. They appreciated views back then, too, plus it helped defend the castle. They have a theater built from the rock of the mountain which has been there since day one but it’s been modernized and can hold 6000 attendees. Very cool walking through hallways that were built in the 1st Century and wondering what it was like back then.
Hannibal the conqueror, the one with the elephants, conquered this town, too, and allowed Rome to be granted a favored status, so Sagunto has a long history behind it. The castle is divided into seven sections and is almost a km long. The views? Amazing, as you can see.
As cool as the castle and theater are, the city is, too. Walking into town for lunch we found a multi-block long street fair with lots of unique offerings, from shoes to clothing, and even bras for sale! I found some cool workout pants for 8E and Kat found a scarf for three. Prices are killer here in Spain, as is train fare. The town is about 30 minutes, 20 km. from Valencia and for two people, round trip, the price was $18.12.
