June 6 to 8 Moors and Christians festivities in Jumilla

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The Moros y Cristianos return to the fiestas calendar of Jumilla after an absence of 5 years

June 6 to 8 Moors and Christians festivities in Jumilla The fiestas of the Moors and Christians have a long history in the town of Jumilla, with records showing that they were celebrated at least as long ago as 1614, and during the first years of this millennium they were included within the annual fiestas during August.

However, for a variety of reasons including the pandemic, until last year they had not been held since 2019, but last year they were moved to a new slot in the local calendar. As a result, the celebration of the times when the Moors were ousted from Jumilla to be ruled over by Christian governors is taking place from May 31 to June 8.

The main events include the following:

Saturday May 31

21.00: A torchlit parade from the Jardín de la Glorieta to the castle of Jumilla, where the fiestas are officially presented and the keys of the fortress are symbolically presented to the “Alcaide” before flags are hoisted.

Friday June 6

18.00: The medieval market opens at the Arco de San Roque.

22.00: The fiestas encampment opens after a parade. Route: Arco de San Roque, Calle San Roque, Plaza de la Constitución, Calle Cánovas del Castillo, Calle Valencia and the car park of the Mercado de Abastos food market.

Until late: Music with DJ Tonino at the encampment.

Saturday June 7

20.00: The fiestas groups enter the town in parade. Route: Plaza de la Glorieta, Plaza de la Constitución, Calle San Roque, Arco de San Roque.

21.00: The grand Moors and Christians parade. Route: Arco de San Roque, Plaza de la Constitución, Calle Cánovas del Castillo, Plaza del Rollo.

Until late: Until late: Music with DJ Carlex at the encampment.

Sunday June 8

21.00: The parley between the ambassadors of the Moors and Christians at the encampment.

Until late: Music with DJ Tonino at the encampment.

Address

Plaza del Rollo, 1 30520 JUMILLA

Tel: 968 780237 / 663 300779

Oficina de Turismo Jumilla

The tourist office in the centre of Jumilla is easily found by driving straight into the centre of the town along the Avenida de Murcia and following the signposts. The tourist office is alongside the Parque de Don Albano Martínez Molina, where there are a number of parking spaces.

Jumilla, in the north of the Region of Murcia, has become internationally famous over recent decades due to the quality of the wines produced in the municipality, and wine tourism has begun to attract visitors from other parts of Spain and the rest of Europe.

The tourist office is happy to provide a range of maps and leaflets showing the different bodegas which can be visited within the municipality. Some of these form part of the Rutas del Vino de Jumilla, the Jumilla wine route, and can either be visited as a guided tour or sell their produce directly to the public.(see feed below for more details)

However, the town and the surrounding countryside have plenty of other attractions for visitors, and the popularity of Jumilla wines is leading more and more people to discover other facets of the tenth largest municipality in Spain.

Jumilla Tourist Office

These include the spectacular countryside and birdlife in the Sierra del Carche, the historic remains which range from cave paintings and a Roman mausoleum to the castle, the Iglesia de Santiago, the Town Hall and the Teatro Vico, and the gastronomy: rich stews are accompanied not only by the wines of the area but also by Jumilla pears, which also enjoy Denomination of Origin status.

Tourism in Jumilla is not as seasonal as it is in the coastal areas of the Region of Murcia, but the town is at its liveliest during the fiestas in Holy Week and the August Fair, which incorporates the grape harvest celebrations and the Moors and Christians parades.

The Altiplano of the Region of Murcia, which consists of the municipalities of Jumilla and Yecla, is only just over an hour by car from the Mar Menor, Cartagena, Mazarrón, Torrevieja and Alicante, and anyone wishing to visit real inland Spain and world-class wineries is advised to include Jumilla in their schedule.