TRAVEL REPORT
by Diane Putnam
Elche Day Trip – June 2006
Elche is a modern university city about twenty kilometres south west of Alicante. It is famous for three things: palm trees, a medieval mystery play and an ancient sculpture of a woman.
The palm trees are self evident, covering every spare bit of ground and lining lots of the streets. The palms are used to make crosses, used throughout Spain on Palm Sunday, and there is an example of a palm tree, the Imperial Palm, that is over one hundred and fifty years old in the Huerto del Cura, or Priests Garden. I found it hard to believe I was in Spain when we walked round this garden. It is so lush and cool and green. I wanted to spend more time there.
We next visited the Basilica de Santa Maria, which hosts the annual mystery play in the middle of August. This church was different to others in that the few stained glass windows are very high up, making the inside seem very dark, and felt fortress-like. A couple of our group sprinted up the bell tower, and were rewarded with magnificent views of the surrounding areas. Can anyone tell me the difference between a basilica and a church?
Next, we went down into the Arab baths, and were given a commentary with lights as to how they were used: from steam to cool to cold.
We all enjoyed lunch in a good Italian restaurant nearby, and then walked across the road the Archaeological Museum. We had free time to walk round, and it was here that we saw the Dama de Elche. This sculpture was discovered in 1987 close to Elche. I was not convinced it was the face of a woman. I thought it could have been either sex, as the features on the expressionless face are not particularly delicate. This sculpture is on loan from a Madrid museum until November this year.
This was the end of our very enjoyable day out, and we went back to the coach for our trip back to Calpe.
Diane Putnam
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