The Amazing Rock City in Setinil, Spain

Setinil, Spain. Strange City Situated Between Rocks

Setenil de las Bodegas is about 18 km away from Ronda in the province of Cadiz, has wedged itself between the cliffs eroded by the Rio Trejo river. This village is built in a valley, and many of the houses especially the old one are built into the cliff, so the back of the house is solid rock. While the newer houses are against the hillside.

The name Setenil developed from the the Latin septem nihil – “seven times no” – which refers back to the period of the Christian reconquest, when Catholic kings tried to win back territory from the Moors, who had come from Africa and ruled the Iberian peninsula since 711. In Setenil’s case, only the seventh reconquest attempt was successful, in 1485, making the city one of the last bastions of the Moors until they were driven out of western Europe in 1492.