HINS BANI BASHIR ARAB FORTRESS

HINS BANI BASHIR ARAB FORTRESS

A historic fortress near Mount Hacho, offering panoramic views and a journey back to the Middle Ages, ideal for lovers of history and architecture.

In the second half of the 9th century, Imam Abd-Allh, grandfather of Abd al-Rahman III, was forced to build a castle near Mount Hacho (Benamejí) in order to defend his kingdom against the Muladi rebellion led by Omar ben Hafsún. This castle was named Bani Bashir, although the family after which the fortress and the town of Benamejí are named remains unknown. Years later, this castle was named Gómez Arias in honour of one of its governors. In 1548, when Diego de Bernuy purchased the fiefdom of Benamejí, both the settlement surrounding the fortress and the castle itself were in a state of ruin, so the population had to move to the site it occupies today.