Albox
Population circa 10,000
Market day - Tuesday
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Albox is situated in the Almanzora Valley between two picturesque mountain ranges, the Sierra de Los Filabres and the Sierra de Las Estancias, and a short distance from the (mostly dry) Almanzora River. It is very agricultural: the area is well known for it's citrus, olives and almonds.
Albox offers a good mix of shops, supermarkets, bars and restaurants along with some English-run businesses.
Medieval in origin, its narrow winding streets are interspersed with small plazas. Albox's history, going back to Neolithic times, shows evidence of Phoenician and then Roman settlements, before the arrival of the Arabs. In 1503 it was devastated by an earthquake, losing many of its old buildings. Of the new ones the church of Santa Maria (1718-1728) is perhaps the most outstanding.
The town was most prosperous during the 19th century, a time of flourishing textile mills and a pottery industry, which continues today. The old traditional pottery industry is continued by two families, using the time-tested technique of baking in furnaces introduced by the Arabs. The highly-coloured earthenware that they produce is distinctive by town and producer.
Today Albox is one of the villages attracting more foreigners looking for relocation and pensionists, due to its marvelous wether, all modern services and amenities, schools, 24 hr. emergency hospital, etc. Its weekly Tuesday market and its livestock fairs have made it the trade centre of the area. The surrounding countryside offers walking, horse riding, cycling and off-roading. The beach villages and golf courses are 20 to 30 minutes drive away, time that is being reduced by the new A92 motorway.
