The moment has come for me to bid you farewell... It has been both an honour and a pleasure to walk alongside you through the streets, gates, walls and towers of our beloved Arcos de la Frontera, unveiling in simple terms the history that, like seams in the rockface, still remain in each nook and cranny of these lands.

We have wandered through remnants of a glorious past together, from the days of Moorish Arkus in the 11th and 12th centuries, passing through the arrival of the Christians in the 13th century and the definitive incorporation of our city into the Kingdom of Castile in 1264. Nor can we overlook the major changes ex-perienced in the 14th century which brought with them the Christian transformation of the city and our present one, the 15th, almost drawing to a close, witnessing times of cohabitation, borders and struggles for the heart of this city and silences brimming with memories. Here in Arcos, each stone has a tale to tell: the one that steadfastly remains in the highest part of the wall, the one that forms part of the arch of a forgotten gate, the one that keeps the tower for a temple awaiting construction upright or the threshold to a simple dwelling. Here, the echoes of prayers said in Arabic and Spanish intermingle; the olden Zejal chants and the ringing of newly installed bells. Each corner unveils its own little slice of history.

I invite you then, not just to be content with today’s visit, but to return. Come back to these narrow streets with their aroma of limestone and bread, that whisper into your ear when the sun sets and the shadows lengthen. Explore beyond the city walls: the neighbourhoods, the courtyards, the remains of cistern tanks, the new alters laid over ancient foundations… In each one, you will unearth a fragment of this great historical fabric woven by Muslims and Christians which, through their despair and hope, creat-ed the very fabric for these lands.

I am grateful for you listening to me and joining me on this journey. I hope that peace, knowledge and curiosity always enlighten your path. And if you do return to Arcos one day, as is my wish, seek me out in a cobbled street, perhaps caring for a sick person, perhaps remembering these very words.

Samir (Arcos de la Frontera, 1495).