The Alcubillas are made up of two population centers on the edge of the Rambla that bears his name: Las Alcubillas Bajas that belong to the municipality of Alboloduy and Alcubillas Altas that are shared between the municipalities of Gérgal and Alboloduy. The name of its inhabitants is alcubillero/a.
The origin of the place name Las Alcubillas is found in the Mozarabic word “Alcubilla” with the Arabic root “al-qubba” which means water chest, water tank, pond, basin, dome… This Arabic place name probably comes from Vulgar Latin ” cova”, feminine of “covus”, which means hollow. Due to its meaning, we can deduce that in Arab times there must have been one or more water tanks or ponds in the place where the town is located, which would be used for public supply and irrigation.
To get to these two districts, you just have to take the A-92 motorway towards Granada. 50 km from the capital of Almeria. It is located at an altitude of 675 meters in the Sierra de los Filabres, so it is advisable to bundle up outside of the summer period.
The High Alcubillas
The Rambla de Las Alcubillas is the geographical limit between both municipalities. In the part of Alboloduyense, commonly known as acelgueros, we can visit the fountain and the washing place, called by the locals “la cimbra”. And, in the part of Gerga, we will find ourselves, just after crossing the bridge of the boulevard, the Church of San Sebastián.
Las Alcubillas Altas is a good place to do rural tourism and get lost in its paths and trails. The old Camino Real that linked Almería and Granada, today Camino de Fuente Santa, hides historical vestiges such as the ruts of the carts, the mines, the sales and the mining village of La Gebera, also abandoned. We can also see the Iron Bridge over the Rambla de Gérgal of the Línares-Almería railway, declared an Andalusian Industrial and Mining Heritage Property. The cattle track leads us into the PRA- _____ Vereda de Las Alcubillas trail that leads us through a unique landscape to the town of Alboloduy, enjoying the natural pool of mineral-medicinal water known as “Balsica Salobre” and nearby historical remains like an oven, an iron mine, a stone quarry… At all times we can enjoy the Tabernas Desert Area.
The village has San Sebastián as its Patron Saint, whose festivities are celebrated on January 20 and the procession in his honor is accompanied by the La Mezquita de Alboloduy Music Band. In August, the summer festivities are held in honor of the patron saint, the Virgen del Carmen, in the town’s main square, whose main feature is a circular fountain, which is colloquially called “El Llano”.
Its traditional gastronomy is based on Mediterranean cuisine and we can highlight: migas, buñuelos, choto al ajillo, papas a lo pobre, rice with rabbit or partridge, porridge, paprika, jaleos, fritá, pipirrana… delicacies that whet your appetite.
The population that resides in Las Alcubillas throughout the year is small, from 35 to 40 residents, although on weekends and holiday times it increases considerably with residents who remain from here, but who currently live mainly in Almería, Catalonia and the Balearic Islands. . The evolution of the population is negative, like that of many rural areas of the province of Almería. According to data published by the INE on January 1, 2019, the number of inhabitants in Las Alcubillas Altas was 31, 1 more inhabitants than in 2018. In the following graph you can see how many inhabitants Las Alcubillas Altas has had over the years.
Las Alcubillas have been a place of transit throughout its many centuries of history, and therefore, it has been well communicated. Through its territory passed the road that linked Almería with Guadix, known as the Camino Real, which must have already been used by the Romans and the Arabs. Today we can still appreciate the ruts of the carts and wagons marked in the stone areas of this path.
During the Roman domination of the Iberian Peninsula (2nd centuries BC to 5th AD), which they called Hispania and divided into provinces, Roman roads or roads were built that facilitated communication between towns and cities, at the time the romanization. With the fall of the Roman Empire, the Visigoths continued to use these roads (5th to 8th centuries) and with the Arab invasion in 711, they would succeed in the use and enjoyment of these engineering works. The Arabs remained for almost eight centuries (8th to 15th) in the Iberian Peninsula, which they called Al-Andalus, and due to their advanced culture, they preserved, repaired, and perfected Roman public works: roads, aqueducts, mills…; They also built new engineering works for the use of water resources: ditches, pools (rafts), waterwheels, cisterns… Archaeological remains of all these constructions remain in the territory of Las Alcubillas.
The Geographical-Statistical-Historical Dictionary of Andalusia by Pascual Madoz written between 1845-1850 describes the road as follows: “ROADS. There is a road that leads from Almeria to Granada, entering from the E. and term. of Sta. Fé from Mondujar, in the part that we are describing, it goes along the Gergal boulevard to the inn of La Dorada which is on the same boulevard, and leaving this to the right, it passes through the Alcubilla of the Alboloduy term, where there is another inn that takes the name of La Cortijada, continues in the direction of the West through the Campillo Hondo de Alboloduy, passes through a slope titled La Reina and touches Doña Maria and the inn of the same name, from this point it goes by the R. de Ocaña and Rambla de Abla until the inn that they say is Arroyo, continue along the Rambla de Fiñana, and leaving this town to the left, continue until the inn called Venta Nueva, through which point you enter the Jewish part of Guadix: its state is very bad not only due to the lack of compositions, but also because having to cross the boulevards of Gergal, Abla and Fiñana and r. de Ocaña, it becomes obstructed and makes it difficult to move on the large avenues. There is also another bridle path that enters the part. on the eastern side and through Alhabia, and continues through Alsodux, Santa Cruz, Alboloduy and Nacimiento, until it joins the road at Doña Maria; In winter it is very painful because the passengers have to ford the river, but in summer it is a pleasure to walk this road because of the picturesque and pleasant nature of the country, since there are continuous groves besides being planted with many fruit trees in the fields on both sides. Of r. The other cross roads that are bridle paths, like the previous one, are all in a very bad state, to which the broken terrain contributes a lot.”
In the recent history of Las Alcubillas, the railway tragedy that occurred on November 15, 1945 has been recorded. A mail train with more than 300 people dragged by a steam locomotive heading to Almería and a freight train made up of a steam locomotive and 16 wagons going up to Gérgal collided head-on. A human error by the traffic factor, Deputy Chief of the Gérgal Station, who was the Station Chief, was the cause of the accident. It seems that he had commissioned another factor to start the mail train because he had been invited to slaughter a pig. He gave him free rein without realizing that the freight train was heading towards Gérgal. The crash occurred in the vicinity of Las Alcubillas, in the Zamora trench, the two locomotives were embedded and the last two carriages rose with the impact, brushing against the two electrical cables of the catenary, producing an electrical inferno that started a fire. After the noise of the collision, the inhabitants of Las Alcubillas Altas came to help the injured, bringing them blankets, coffee and brandy. Unfortunately, when the electric shock occurred, they could do little to help the unfortunates who were trapped in the last two carriages, their cries for help resounding at dawn. What they did manage, at the risk of their physical integrity, was to unhook the courier-car from the rest of the composition, saving the lives of the postal officials. More than 100 people were killed and the person responsible for the departure of the mail train, who should not have abandoned his post, fled when the crash occurred, and a few days later he was found dead from a shot that he himself gave himself. gun.
In the 1960s and 1970s, as in most Andalusian towns, its population emigrated to different parts of Spain and abroad, especially Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Madrid. It so happens that there is a large group of alcubilleros/as who emigrated to Mallorca looking for work in the hospitality industry. The first to settle there were calling their family and friends, and thus a colony of alcubilleros/as has been formed in Mallorca, who have not lost their roots,
The alcubilleros and alcubilleras have traditionally lived from agricultural and livestock activities. The agriculture of his small plain, on both banks of the Rambla, has consisted mainly of olive, almond, orange, boat grape vines, fruit trees, vegetables… In the most arid or dry lands, cereals, wheat and barley were planted mainly, and in the area known as El Campillo, vines were cultivated to obtain wines. Livestock has been an important resource for the economy of its inhabitants, having as main activities the grazing of goats and sheep. Also in past times there have been cow and horse farms. Its importance was such that the railway stopped on certain occasions in Las Alcubillas Bajas to load wagons with animals. Another occupation of many alcubilleros has been that of a cattle dealer or dealer with whom they have sought a living due to their great skill in buying and selling cattle.
Due to its proximity to the Gérgal and Fuente Santa railway stations, its inhabitants have also lived off the jobs provided by railway activity, which they often combined with agricultural and livestock work. Due to this closeness and contact, many of its inhabitants have sought their future as RENFE workers. However, many rejected the offer to work for the RENFE because they earned more selling cattle.
In recent years, agriculture has undergone a reconversion of agriculture with the construction of several greenhouses for the cultivation of products such as tomatoes, peppers, beans, zucchini, watermelons, melons…) following the example of crops under plastic wrap. the western and eastern areas of Almeria. However, most of the land is cultivated by small owners in a traditional way as a complement to their family economy, incorporating elements of modernization and water saving with drip irrigation.
The traditional livestock of grazing herds of goats and sheep has declined remarkably, since currently there are only two or three herds of goats left, however, a highly successful intensive livestock farm of goats has been created, whose owner is a young woman who It has become a benchmark for what it means to believe in its territory and produce high-quality raw materials.
The Alcubillas Bajas
Once we have visited Las Alcubillas Altas, we will go down the boulevard in search of Las Alcubillas Bajas, one kilometer down the riverbed. It is an abandoned town. You cannot look for information signs, a paved road…, it is a dirt road that is taken on the right bank of the Rambla de Las Alcubillas. Just one kilometer from the falsework we can already see the first demolished slate farmhouses. And, just a few more meters away, we see the devastating image of a forgotten town.
Its population was around 150 inhabitants. The village was abandoned in the middle of the last century due to hard work and its scarcity. Therefore, the residents decided to emigrate, as in so many other towns, to Catalonia, Aragon or the Balearic Islands…
The tall construction protected it from the boulevard avenues. We can observe its masonry constructions and roofs made of reeds, sticks and esparto grass. In its day it was a very young population center because it had its own school.
It is very interesting to observe how people lived until the 20th century, before the arrival of water supply, sanitation, paving of the streets and access to electricity. It becomes a place to get lost for a while and extrapolate to past times.
Aspects of heritage to include in the itinerary
The Itinerary runs along the Rambla de Gérgal and Rambla Alhamillo. 8 million years ago, in the Miocene period, the emergence of the Betic mountain range, a mountain range to which this area belongs, had large extensions of soil invaded by the sea, which is why many sediments were settled at the foot of the Sierra of the Filabres. 8 million years ago, in the Miocene period, the emergence of the Betic mountain range, a mountain range to which this area belongs, had large extensions of soil invaded by the sea, which is why many sediments were settled at the foot of the Sierra of the Filabres.
We can observe how the lower area of the Gérgal boulevard, more extensive and accessible, is cultivated and cared for. However, as we ascend, the boulevard narrows with increasingly vertical walls and with little space for cultivation. Then the manicured farmhouses disappear, the power line and we begin to observe the almost abandoned dry crops.
We arrive at a point where the Gérgal boulevard forks, which becomes impassable, untamed and virgin to its right and to its left it receives its tributary called the Alhamillo boulevard.
The Alhamillo boulevard hides a mineral-rich spring, a naturally built reservoir and a small system of ditches to carry the water to the meanders of the boulevard where high-quality vegetables were grown in the past.
We leave the boulevard cut by some large landslides to ascend about 400 meters along a hillside path until we reach the plateau called “El Campillo” which, through the cattle trail, will take us to the town of Las Alcubillas Altas.
In addition to the erosive landscapes and extraordinary morphogenetic value, the environment presents a large number of endemic flora and vegetation. It is also a place of passage for migratory birds from North Africa and home to lizard animals, ladder snakes, bastard snakes, foxes, genets, weasels, etc.
The route——— Rambla Gérgal-Alhamillo-Alcubillas, is an itinerary of great natural wealth, changing geological formations, living boulevards and the natural connection between the two towns of the municipality of Alboloduy, Alboloduy and Las Alcubillas Altas , where we can enjoy its rich cultural and ethnographic heritage.