We visited the San Marcos Castle that was first constructed around the 10th century but its site is on top of Roman ruins. This castle is much older than Rota’s Castillo de la Luna that was begun in 1295. Currently the castle is owned by the Luis Caballero S.A. bodega who takes very good care of it. The castle was originally a mosque with the typical NW-SE orientation. The materials used to build it were from another building of Roman construction. There are three naves divided into four areas; the patio ‘sahn’, minaret, main wall, and mihrab in the center. The middle of the 13th century brought the Castilian conquest by Alfonoso X who transformed the castle into a Christian sanctuary and defensive point for the whole district. The 14th century brought another set of remodeling adding a bigger chapel in the Gothic style and changing the orientation to the north. The late 15th century added more rooms with these having a neo-gothic style. The castle was the town hall up until 1729 and then it turned into a church until the 19th century. A major restoration took place in 1943 that unearthed Roman and Moorish areas and also reconnected the Islamic and Gothic interior architecture.
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