With an estimated 200,000-300,000 palms trees in the municipal area, Elche is the place to see palm trees. A cheap (4E, roundtrip) and quick (30 min) bus ride from Alicante delivered me to two UNESCO World Heritage sites. This first are the palm tree gardens circling the old quarter of town. Phoenetian in origin, the date palms go back 3,000 years. The dates represented a key source of nutrition for the Phoenetian mariners. The current arrangement of palms and gardens, however, dates back to the Arab occupation.
After getting my bearings, palms to the left, right, behind and forward and not a map with a compass direction in sight, I headed for the Tower of St. Mary’s Basilica (below), where I was promised a great view of the palms. Started in 1673, the basilica represents the fourth religious building to be located on this site. Of note (again, think bar bet or Jeopardy!), this basilica is the ONLY temple in the Catholic realm which is allowed to perform a play (the other UNESCO World Heritage designee) within its walls. Granted this privilege by Pope Urban VIII in 1632, the religious drama (were you expecting “Wicked” or “Rent”?) “Elche Mystery Play” continues to this day – - it’s a production worthy of Las Vegas, with angels appearing in “aerial devices” and a pit known as the “tomb”.
The Tower roof is reached via a tight spiraling staircase. Exactly 167 steps (yes, I counted) plus three more to the metal observation platform, I was treated to, well, a lot of palm trees. And, a self-portrait opportunity (yes, it was bright and 38 degrees celcius).
After enjoying the tower views and getting a better idea of the town’s layout, I visited several of the gardens as well as the river-bed park.
Along the way, I discovered that Elche has more talented taggers (below) than Alicante.
