04/06/2026
‼️ My friend José and I were in and decided to look for the Blue Rock-Thrush (Monticola solitarius), one of the birds that is usually a regular sight on the castle’s towers and walls.
Known as the guardian of the castles, it seems he decided to take the day off and didn’t show up, but we found ourselves immersed in the breathtaking beauty of the surrounding landscape.
ℹ️ About the origens of Marvão:
Arab chronicles recount that it was Ibn Maruán, in the late 9th century, who seized the summit of a quartzite ridge from the eagles to build a fortress there that would immortalize the name of its founder, Marvão. Ibn Maruán was an eminent military and religious leader who rebelled against the emir of Córdoba and founded an autonomous kingdom, based in Badajoz, ruling over a vast territory that stretched from the Douro to the Guadalquivir, including the entire Tagus basin.
At the northwestern tip of the highest rocky ridge south of the Tagus, Ibn Maruán built his refuge around 877. From here he could see without being seen, and he did so because water abounds a few hundred meters below and because people still lived in the ruins of the old Roman city of Ammaia who could serve him. On the extension of the cliffs of the São Mamede mountain range (Mount Muhammad), where the view stretches as far as the eye can see, Ibn Maruán built his castle and dug a cistern, according to the chronicles. Thus was born the highest fortress south of the Tagus.
Source: www.nationalgeographic.pt
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