Agustines y Tíjola is in a sunny spot in the Gua-dalfeo valley, and is made up of a number of farmhouses dotted around the hillside. Alcázar is made up of a number of hamlets which have been quite important in the past, such as Fregenite, Olías, and Bargis. Fregenite and Olías are in the upper part of the Rambla de Olías. Bargis is on the right bank of the Rambla del Bargis, while Alcázar is on the right bank of the Rambla de Alcázar. All of the hamlets in Alcázar are built on hillsides. Las Barreras is to the west of the village of Órgiva on the other side of the Río Sucio. It is a village of scattered houses, although most of them are near the road. Bayacas is on the right bank of the Río Chico, sheltered by the Sierra Nevada to the north and the Sierra de Lújar to the south. Cerro Negro is on the left bank of the Río Seco. Pago y Benisalte is to the southwest of the village of Órgiva, between the right bank of the Río Chico and the left bank of the Río Sucio. Sortes-Rabiete-ABC is to the north of the village of Órgiva, in the low ridges between the Río Sucio and Río Seco.
Los Tablones is on a gentle slope on the left bank of the Río Guadalfeo. Its name (which means “large planks”) is derived from the large planks of wood produced using the trees in the Sierra de Lújar and taken to Adra to build boats. Finally, Órgiva is to the north of the Río Guadalfeo, on a gentle slope in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. It is the most important town in the municipal district, and most of the municipality’s shops and businesses are found here. It is also the administrative centre of the Alpujarra of Granada, and is thought of as the capital of the Alpujarra. Located at the confluence of the Río Guadalfeo and its tributary the Río Chico, Órgiva traditionally supplied the rest of the region with the products that it has needed over the years. In the hamlets in the Sierra de la Contraviesa and Sierra de Lújar, the rooftops are made with Arabic tiles, a feature unique to this particular part of the Alpujarra.
Culture
Órgiva has a rich agricultural and urban heritage, as well as a great many monuments, fiestas and its own unique cuisine. The municipality is also still home to some traditional craft workshops, such as the Alfarería Cacheriche, a pottery with a working kiln. Órgiva has its own cultural and literary centre (the Centro Cultural y Literario), and the municipal library is home to one of the largest collections of the book Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes, in all sorts of different languages.
Typical Cuisine
Traditional recipes in the municipality use locally-grown produce and have been passed down from generation to generation.
Interesting dishes include sopa de pan y maíz, a soup made with maize bread, sundried to-
matoes, garlic, cumin and bay leaves. Pimentón de bacalao is made with dried peppers, cod, potatoes and cumin. Desserts include torta de higos secos, made with dried figs, eggs, milk and olive oil. Migas (fried breadcrumbs), huevos fritos con ajos (fried eggs with garlic) and choto al ajillo (garlic goat kid) are also popular.
History
Órgiva has been identified as the Greek colony Exoche, mentioned by the geographer Ptolemy, although the first written references to the settlement appear in the writings of Al-Udri (11th century) and Al-Idrisi (12th century) with the names Yuz Aryuba and Hisn Orgiva respectively, as an administrative district and castle of the region of Ilbira during the Al-Andalus period. During the Nasrid dynasty, Órgiva was the capital of one of the administrative districts (known as tahas) and it took the name Albastch, meaning “flat”. For centuries, it was known as Albacete de Órgiva. In 1492, the Catholic Monarchs gave the area to Boabdil as a place where he could retire. Control of Órgiva was then handed over to the “Grán Capítan” (“Great Captain”), Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba. Later, it was controlled by the Duke of Sessa, the Córdoba y Ayala family, the Marquis of Balençuela, and finally, the Count of Sástago.
At the request of Isabella II, it became the main town in the judicial district in 1839. A number of archaeological sites dating from the Roman period and medieval times have been found in the municipality, including the Yacimiento de Pedro Vélez and the Yacimiento de Benisalte. There is also evidence of mining in the Sierra de Lújar, in the form of the Minas de San José and the Mina del Cortijo Camacho. One of the key archaeological sites in Órgiva is the Necrópolis de El Pago. This burial site dates from the late Roman period (5th – 7th centuries), and 23 tombs have been found here. The tombs had been carved out of the rock, with stone slabs on the bottom and sides. 23 human skeletons were found here, as well as fragments of pottery and glass. It is one of the few archaeological sites in the region to have been scientifically examined.