Elche: City of..............

 ............a million palm trees and hardly any British people. Obviously there's loads of other stuff because more than 200,000 people live here, but I just used those two as my examples to grab your attention. A few blog entries ago, I can't recall which one otherwise I would have linked to it, I rather sarcastically suggested Elche only has two good things about it; a football club and the bypass on the edge of town. Some weeks after that rather stroppy event, I realise I was completely mistaken, should have chosen my words rather more carefully, and did my smashing adopted city a bit of a disservice. So here goes with my belated attempt to make amends.

A fabulous Moorish legacy

I've already done to death things that really bother me about the place, but what I would just add to that statement is check out this article a friend recommended, it's about a small Welsh town the author could easily have replaced with Elche. Anyway, I'll bash on now in an altogether more positive tone about the city. Over time it's been home to various invaders, many of whom have left their own legacies. A couple of thousand years ago the Romans arrived and promptly called the place "Illice" (pronounced ee-ye-they with the 'th' of they spoken very softly), to this day locals are still known as Ilicitano's or, for a single female, Ilicitana. Next up to try their luck were invading armies of North African Arabs, (Moors), who, upon finding very little sand and no dates, began to feel somewhat homesick. Their little leaving gift, just prior to being kicked out by some angry Christians, was hundreds of thousands of palm trees, which, these days are protected by law. The Greeks too also had a brief stay and nowadays one or two local organisations still bare the name Helike, although this Grecian handle is nowhere near as prevalent as the much better known Roman moniker.

Altamira Castle - in the heart of Elche city centre

Right bang up to date, estimates put the population of Elche, twinned with Toulouse in France and Oran in Algeria, at anywhere between 210,000 and 250,000 people; it's not at all scientific but taking the mean of these two puts it on a par with the city of Derby in the UK. I've never actually been to Derby, I'm sure it's really nice, given the choice though I'll stick with Elche, dog shit and graffiti notwithstanding, it's the kind of city that looks and feels old, I quite like that. Packed with historic buildings, and architectural gems, including Altamira Castle and the Basilica of Santa Maria, Elche combines the very best of ancient and modern, which are at ease with each other sitting side by side in comfort.

The Elche Alicante Santa Pola triangle, far safer than the one in Bermuda

Geographically, Elche is give or take twenty kilometres inland from one of my most favourite places, Santa Pola, the resort and fishing port that I once called home. Imagine, if you will, a triangle with these two places as the bottom corners, at the top about the same distance away and also on the coast is Alicante, the provincial capital. Rather curiously, folk from each of the three places aren't that fond of each other; so much so that I have it on reasonably good authority that not long back an Elche businessman was compelled to close his cafeteria/bar in Santa Pola because the locals refused to use it. Urban myth it may be but certainly one with a little credibility. (Is that not an oxymoron?).

A beauty spot within a beauty spot

I have to say, I first came to Elche for a day out years ago not long after arriving in Spain and, truth be told, I hated it. The city centre had a complicated one-way system, car parking was, (and still is bloody expensive), and on a stifling hot August day, I was scrabbling around for shade in a city I didn't know well. A very cleverly engineered chance encounter in April 2007 changed that biased opinion and since then I've grown to understand and love a very underrated small city. Elche doesn't have the cache of say, Granada or Salamanca, two of the more famous and historic Spanish cities, but it's no less nice. Visitor numbers are increasing year on year, and, thanks to a town council with an abundance of the handy pairing of civic pride and nous, so too are the amenities and attractions on offer. What doesn't half help to raise the Elche profile is the title, (in Spanish); Patrimonio de la Humanidad. Bestowed upon the city by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, it's a World Heritage award given to the Elche Palmeral Park, a fabulous green oasis, one of many, in the heart of the city. For first time visitors, this ungrateful sod excepted, that is just the start of the surprises.

I wonder if they do mature students

Educational, Scientific and Cultural sum up Elche pretty well perfectly in just three words. A leisurely stroll through the city centre and beyond offers up a wall to wall cultural experience second to none, you can also add to that half decent culinary and shopping experiences too. Educational is taken care of in fine style by not just one but two seats of learning. The Miguel Hernandez University, (UMH), is a publicly funded facility that enjoys a burgeoning reputation with five campuses shared around the region, one of which is situated in Orihuela, birthplace of the Spanish poet after whom the University is named. The second, University Cardinal Herrera - CEU, is a private establishment and altogether smaller. It's the first of these two that does the business with the scientific in the shape of institutions specialising in neuroscience, bio-engineering and all matters biological, molecular and cellular amongst loads of other really complicated stuff.

The Basilica of Santa Maria

2011 is my fourth year living in Elche, and, having been so rude about the place a while back I hope these words have painted an altogether more flattering picture. I certainly intended them to. During the creation of this blog entry I've done quite a bit of walking around and it's only when you stop and stare that you can appreciate your surroundings. I live no more than five minutes away from the very best the city can offer and it's only recently I've started to realise how lucky I am. If you get the chance do pop by, Elche won't disappoint. As I began to say at the start, it's a city of so much.