Orba area information
ORBA.
Orba lies 154 metres above sea level and there are18 km
to the coast. It´s at the centre of the Marina Alta, It is the same distance to Valencia and to
Alicante, 100 km. An important feature of Orba is its privileged central position within the Marina Alta, because there is
approximately the same distance between Orba and
other coastal towns and inland towns. This permits a
nimble displacement to any point of the region, and enjoy the peace of
an inland town.
Height above
the sea level 154 m
CLIMATE
Hot summers
with the highest points in July, August and September. The winters are soft with sudden jumps from 2'3ºC to 6ºC, forming one of the most rainy focus of the Comunidad Valenciana.
SITUATION
It is located
in the Marina Alta, in the South-West of the Retoria´s Valley. Is situated in the Metropolitan Area of Denia. It has central characters with
regard to the towns which surround it.
It was constructed in 1904, the Mayor being D. Celestino Llopis Llopis. We must emphasize the works of "silleria"
made it by the man who works with stone of this town Lorenzo Torrens Reig. He imitated the gothic style in the water
pipes, and there is sculpted the date of construction
LIMITS OF THE
LOCAL BOUNDARY: To the North with Tormos and Pego; to the South with la Vall de L´Aguart, Murla and Alcalali; to the East with la Vall d´Ebo. It belongs to the judicial
boundary of Denia.
ACCESS ROADS
From the
regional road C-3318 from Pego to Benidorm, and from provincial road AV-1412 from Ondara; it has access by both from the national
road N-332, from Alicante to Valencia.
DISTANCE TO THE
NEARER TOWNS
Pego, Ondara and Pedreguer is 10 km. Denia is 18 km, Gandía a 30 km, Benidorm
is 40 km.
Font de Baix - (1904) |
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El Castellet - (S. XIII) |
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Ruin over the mountain with the same name that was a Christian fortress,
constructed in the later part of C.XIII.
Parish
Church. - (S. XIX) |
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Built on
the ground of the old mosque, slightly reformed in the middle of C.XIX, though
the actual appearance owes more to the restoration and extension work carried
out in 1917, and was decorated by pain tings of the local painter Carlos Ruano Llopis, in pride
of place and with the title Abrahams Prophecy. It was possible to save it in
1936 and is now displayed on the front of the Main Altar.
Historic
Beginnings:
Its
prehistoric origin was an Iberian settlement, UR-OBIA "
the place where the water flows at the bottom of the mountain". Long
time after, came another town of berber origin, of Masmuda´s tribe,
from North Africa.
During the islamics culture, centuries have been creating its
economy, based on a meticulous agriculture, whose infrastructer is still there, and an artisan transformation of its
products.
In the
middle of the XIII century it was conquered by Jaime I, king of Cataluña and Aragon. But he gave it to Alonso Berenguer Mercey in
1238, for helping him in the reconquest. The arms
of his lineage are in the heraldic shield of the town.
After some
transfers and successions, in 1476, was sold to Oliva´s Count, Francisco Gilabert de Centelles; and through the family to Gandia´s Duke, Borja´s Family, which linked with other castellanas families.
In 1609,
the day before of the Moorish expulsion, Orba´s valley had 70 Christian houses. They are still, completely uninhabited.
Finally, after some petitions of the Crown insisting on the necessity to
repopulate, the 9th of July of 1611 it was signed the chapters of the
population letter. The first repopulation was made by neighbours of Pego and Murla, the second with people of Mallorca.
In the
middle of the XIX century was deviated the Orba´s town from the "señorio".
LATEST ORBA NEWS
Yet more restaurante changes. The Palmera has closed. El Cantaro has changed hands but is similar to before. El Portet may re-open, renovation work continues, new owners from Tasca Parcent are coming? The gas station restaurante, "Shimla" an Indian is open. Any reports? Awraba has changed hands - but not rated as highly as before. A new Fish and Chip restaurant "La Fuente" (connections with the Jalon chippie) has opened near to the Bodequeta. LEE's snackbar has live entertainment on some Thursdays. El Quixote will change hands shortly. Orbeta has two new building sites next to Forn Vell.
ORBA TODAY
Orba is located 18km (11m) inland from the Mediterranean coastal town of Denia. It lies at approximately 39deg N and is almost on the Greenwich meridian (0deg W). Orba is roughly equi-distant between Alicante and Valencia airports and it takes about one and a half hours from either by road, that is mainly on the A-7 autopista then on the N332 to Ondara and then on the CV-731. Warning - the turning for Orba is off the N332 (look for the CUEVA BENIDOLEIG signs) and immediately where the two-way road becomes one-way when travelling south. The town of Orba is situated at the head of a large fertile valley that grows mainly citrus fruit of a quality that is the best in the world. It has an altitude of about 160m above sea level and houses some 2000 residents. Most employed persons are in agriculture, the Torrens Hermanos handbag factory, or in the service and construction industries. Picturesque mountains form a backdrop and there are wide, uninterrupted, magnificent views from most villa properties. Orba is relatively unaffected by tourism and retains its Spanish agricultural identity. Yet despite this, or perhaps because of it, a significant number of English, Dutch, German and Swiss have made Orba their home town and many have integrated well with the friendly local Spaniards. The church (iglesia), situated at the plaza, was built on the site of an old mosque. It is not much to look at from the outside but the inside is a delight. There were several paintings by local artist Carlos Ruano Llopis added when the church was extended and restored in 1917. Unfortunately the ravages of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 destroyed them all except what is now the altar piece (The prophet Abraham). The bell tower (torre campanario) built earlier, around 1850, is said to have been designed by Toribio Iscar Saez who was also the architect of the unsuccessful dam (known as Isbert’s folly) in the Barranc I’Infern near Fleix. The bell gallery is faced with yellow Tosca sandstone and holds 3 bells, La Grosa 108cm 729Kgs east (1917), La Menuda 70cm 198Kgs north (1941) and La Mitjana 90cm 422Kg south (1978). The earlier bells were made by Manual Roses Vidal and La Mitjana by Salvador Manclus both being from Valencia. You will never hear them rung in harmony. The tower also houses the town clock and the bells strike on the quarters and on the hour, which is repeated after a short interval (to confuse the devil or to give you a second chance to count the strikes – take your pick). Orba is now a small town and Orbeta, which is a few minutes walk away, is its satellite village. Anglican services Every Sun 9.45 at Ermita tel. John Harding 965 587 150. There are several urbanisations on the outskirts and these are adequately covered by the numerous selling agencies for properties. If you are property hunting why not start with - http://www.pereto-grupo.es/ingles/principal.htm
If you need to translate try www.freetranslation.com
ORBA WEATHER
The climate of the Costa Blanca is considered to be one of the most healthy in the world by the World Health Organisation. The weather is almost perfect for holidays. Daily temperatures are in the upper 30C's (90F's) in July and August with 11 hours sunshine (some might say that it is too hot). Even in midwinter 20C (68F) is commonplace with an average of 6 hours of sun. Humidity is usually low. The driest months are Jun,Jul,Aug. The wettest (on average 4in/100mm or above) are Nov,Dec,May with Apr,Sep,Oct close by. Almost any month can be exceptionally dry. Rain usually comes for a week or ten days in October/November and for short periods through the winter until May. As Orba is surrounded by mountains it can on occasions attract clouds. In this case try going to the coast where it can be clearer. Orbeta rainfall statistics were available on the “Venta del Vi” noticeboard. Despite the attractive climate some of us still manage to get bitten by the odd mosquito (not the dangerous type) but never-the-less still very uncomfortable. Take vitamin B1 (or Marmite) to make you less susceptible.
PLACES TO EAT IN ORBA (Restaurante)
No information changes more quickly than this topic. You will soon make up your own mind as to what suits you best. Here is an overview. All we will say is that enjoyable meals have been had at all of these places but that is no guarantee for the future. Most restaurants offer a basic MENU DEL DIA that is a complete meal for as little as 8€ - 13€ (thank you Franco), although you can push the boat out and spend two or three times that much on local a-la-carte. At busy fiesta times and on days when some restaurants are closed it is advisable to book in advance. At LA PLACA (www.orbahostalplaza.com) which is also a hostal with rooms and Wi-Fi is situated at the main square, Sr.Vicente Escales will offer you a warm welcome and a good meal. AWRABA, one of the ancient Moorish ways of spelling Orba, is on Calle Mayor and and has an additional al fresco area for the summer. The DES ARCADES is now Jock’s Bar with good reports. EL QUIJOTE is just out of the village on the Benidoleig road and has entertainment on some evenings . The satellite village of Orbeta, a short evening stroll away, offers a further three restaurants. The FORN VELL, (converted from an old ceramic oven look for the curved remains) is run by an English family, with Benidorm catering experience, and has reflected this theme with their popular meal nights, and live music on some evenings. Close by is the VENTA DEL VI run by Jesus. The SANCHO PANZA (currently up for sale)is situated adjacent to the Forn Vell and offers a more exclusive cuisine and ambience served to you by Madeline from Rudi’s kitchen. If you have a vehicle with you then you could go to the top of Carrer Azagador hill to the EL CANTARO – a Valencian drinking vessel.– has now changed hands. If you want to drive out of the village. The gas station now has the "Shimla" Indian restaurant. ALCALALI offers numerous restaurants as do JALON, BENIDOLEIG and PARCENT. The nearby TORMOS restaurante is traditional Spanish, good at lunchtime and well worth a try for entertainment on Saturday night. Maybe you just fancy a coffee and a snack. On the Calle Mayor you will find EL CARRER which has an Internet and phone facility and next door CENTRAL PERK (just changed hands now Simon & Marie), whilst at the plaza there is BAR ESCALES (run by Alex ex-the Venta). There is an English bar called CHEERS run by Heather and Joan (near to DAZI’s on Avenida des Americas). A further bar called CAL XON is just out of the village near to the John Deere NATURA newsagents, stamps and gift shop and across the road LEE's snackbar with live entertainment on some Thursdays.
SHOPPING IN ORBA (tienda)
Most of ones needs can be bought, or satisfied, locally in a shop in Orba. There are two small supermarkets, the Spanish SUPER MARIBEL and the larger CHARTER as well as CODAYAMA specialising in English goods and several smaller shops offering household goods and foods. Try the BODEGUETA for wines, liquors, beers, honey, teas. Snr Julio BALLESTER will give you good service for your entertainment and white goods needs. There are two builders merchants MARORBA and DAZI, two metalwork (carpenteria metalica) workshops (Snrs PAYA & MIRALLES) and a wood window and door maker. There is also a glazier (at the PERELLO shop, Avenida des Americas) for things like that broken window or glass shelf in the fridge.
THINGS TO DO AND SEE IN ORBA
The major entertainment in Orba centres around the bars, and the fiestas are the highlights of the village year. The biggest fiestas are the 4 day weekend in May and the week long fiesta at the end of July into August. There is a smaller fiesta in Orbeta in June. Bull-running (bous al carrer) is the main activity in June and July. If you are tempted to join in then be very careful - the bulls, or to be more precise cows, may be small but they are very quick and agile, their horns are long and sharp and can do you serious damage. Paella cooking competitions, bike racing round the village and dressed carts, or floats, are all topped off to the sounds of the Orba Band. Modern Spanish pop bands pass away the early hours of the mornings at fiesta time. Hardly a month goes by when there is not a religious fiesta day with parades in the streets. Some of the most moving sights are the processions at Easter time but those in Orba are nothing to what one might see in cities like Salamanca. All fiestas have firework displays that make our Bonfire night look like a damp squib event, which it usually is being in dull November. The nearby villages of Tormos, Sagra, Sanet y Negrals, Rafol, Benidoleig and Beniarbeig, Fleix, Campell, Benimaurell and Murla also hold similar events so if you miss the Orba ones look out for those. Christmas is not celebrated in the same way as the English do it. The Spanish big day is the evening of January 5th for the Epiphany or Three Kings day, (rather than Christmas) when the Kings, who can arrive on horseback, distribute presents to the children of the village at the plaza, calling them up one at a time. New Years Eve is also well celebrated but you will need to book early if you want a meal.
THINGS TO DO AND SEE NEARBY
There are a few nearby events that you should try and see if they are happening when you are there. DENIA holds its own version of bull-running (Bous al mar) which is perhaps less cruel than the norm. Staging is erected in the form of a square with one side being the quay to the harbour. The brave (or foolish) ones try to entice the bull to fall, or be pulled into the sea. The aficionados stand on the quay waiting for the bull to charge. They then attempt to grab a horn at the very last second so as to pull the bull into the sea. This is a somewhat risky but amusing spectacle as lines of youths systematically dive into the water. The bull usually wins, but should he happen to fall in, he is gently led back to the shore by a boat. The Moors and Christians troupes of Alcoy hold the biggest processions of their kind in Spain (23rd April). The costumes, spectacle, noise and atmosphere are electric, something to be seen and never forgotten. At FONTILLES in mid-October on a Sunday daytime they hold a smaller repeat version, primarily for the patients in the sanatorium. A Medieval Market is held in ONDARA every November and a similar event in BENISSA in early February. Street entertainers, people in costume, crafts, trades and wares are there in abundance. If you are a mountain walker see CBNews around p46 or try these sites http://personales.ya.com/mawalks/ or http://www.dip-alicante.es/medioambiente/senderos/
For further information on Orba - history (moors, moriscos,mozarabic), natural history (flowers,birds,butterflies,moths,insects, nasties), ancient land measures (hanegada, braza), walks, pigeons, Carlos Ruano Llopis, Cristobal Zaragoza (artists), leprosy, Orba ranch, see sister site www.webspawner.com/users/portzed2/index.htm
For Spains history see http://www.sispain.org/english/history/ Santana Books "The Story of Spain" by Mark Williams
courtesy of Bryan stokes
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