And so, we reach the final stop along the route. Once we have passed through the street (C/.Torres) which runs alongside the wall, we now approach the Old Competa Gate. A tower-gate with a square floor plan, commonly found in Moorish architecture as a means of enabling Arcos’ defence to which access is made onto two arched halls to enter the city via a steep drop owing to the proximity of the Crag.
The Gate was devised as a strategic thoroughfare with difficult access and built upon a winding route that prevented direct entry, thus hampering any attempt to invade during enemy attacks. Despite its defen-sive value, this route has become tricky to navigate in our times (15th century) to meet the daily needs of transit and trade, especially in the case of those who arrive from the districts outside the walls or from the mountain towns in order to reach Plaza del Castillo.
For this reason, and as I explained in the previous stop, it has been deemed necessary to open a new passage through the wall that will allow for wider and more direct transit. The Cómpeta Gate, owing to its closed route and overly abrupt location, no longer serves the city’s new needs.
Presently (1495) in the environs of the gate, some inhabitants take advantage of the mudwalls in poor conditions to expand their homes, as this section is in gradual decline given that the most recent repair work carried out took place around 100 years ago (1375 – 1400). The stone feels the burden of time, the walls give way and life continues to adapt.
In this regard, the Cómpeta neighbourhood, which runs from outside walls beyond this gate towards the slope facing the Guadalete River, has been since its origins an area inhabited by ploughmen, muleteers and tradesmen. Many of them, descendants, as is the case with me, of Moorish families who did not leave the town once it passed into Christian hands, and who have maintained homesteads, farmlands, trades and even their beliefs here. As a doctor, I have paid visit to these houses on many occasions, cur-ing pains, listening to their tales and caring for this neighbourhood’s dwellers, filled with hard-working and upright yet unassuming people, removed from the great luxury enjoyed by the nobility and gentile types found within the city walls. That said, their significance for the social and economic life in Arcos cannot be understated.
As we gaze over this former gate and the district that stretches beyond the slope, we are reminded that Arcos’ history was not forged solely by noblemen and castles, yet also on these hills and in these streets where the humblest of people strive to earn a living through effort, consistency and hope, progressing step-by-step and over generations.
And thus, we reach the end of our pleasing stroll. Before parting our ways, I would ask you to follow me in this final farewell.
