Granada sat at the helm of a successful kingdom and the Moorish princes built the spectacular Alhambra building. It was not just Velez that enjoyed peace and prosperity during this period. The neighbourhoods of San Francisco, San Sebastian and the Plaza de la Constitucion were born. Living outside the walls was a calculated risk for the opportunities that the town afforded at the time. Velez’s old town sprang up in this time as people arrived in droves to take advantage of this prosperity. Velez-Malaga grew and reached its prosperous peak in the period up to the 15th century, becoming one of the most important settlements in the Moorish Nasrid kingdom, defending the trade route between the capital of Granada and the coast. The Moors brought with them their skilled approach to irrigation, and this knowledge was used around Velez to grow abundant varieties of fruits and vegetables. The fortress, and the medina that sprung up around it, proved a popular spot due to its enviable position on the fertile river valley of the Rio Velez. The fort was a display of power designed to quickly nip any uprisings or rebellions from the conquered locals in the bud. The lofty position of the fort offered a great military view point and the location also made the fort incredibly imposing on local life always visible to any who might have been plotting against the rulers. Velez was initially conceived in the 10th century when the Moors built the Alcazaba fortress on a popular trade route between Granada and Malaga. It was during this period that the recognisable roots of ‘modern’ Velez-Malaga sprung up. At one point it was thought that 70% of the country practised Islam, and even after they were forced out of the area the influence on language and cuisine has remained. They successfully ruled for several centuries and their language, religion and cuisine was adopted into everyday life. The term ‘Moors’ refers to the original Arabic and Berber people of North Africa and is now used to refer to the entire culture that dominated the peninsula until the 15th century.Īfter an eight-year struggle the Moors held most of the Iberian Peninsula under their control, introducing and imposing their culture and ways of life on the existing peoples. The Moors crossed the straights of Gibraltar in the early 700s with the aim of conquering an Iberian Peninsula made up of modern-day Spain, Portugal, Andorra and parts of southern France. Later the Romans occupied the area and prospered with agriculture, fishing and commercial activity stemming from the production of Garum, a fermented fish sauce which was essential in ancient Roman, Greek and Byzantium cuisines. With access to well-trodden mountain passes and close proximity to the sea they quickly developed trade routes with the local community. The area surrounding Velez-Malaga has been incredibly important throughout history with the Phoenicians settling on the coast as early as the 8th century BC. To the Phoenicians it was ‘Toscanos’, to the Moors ‘Ballix-Malaca’ and to the Catholic Kings a vital piece in the jigsaw of the reconquest… Location is Everything Keila Ortiz, the victim’s mother, told reporters that her daughter called on Thursday and told her Verdejo was going to her house to see the results of a pregnancy test.Velez-Malaga’s history is a long and proud one. Rodriguez’s family said she was pregnant with Verdejo’s child. Verdejo and his attorneys previously declined comment, and police said the boxer did not originally cooperate and refused to answer questions. Officials identified her on Sunday via dental records. Rodriguez, who was reported missing on Thursday after she didn’t show up for her job at an animal grooming business, was found in a lagoon near San Juan on Saturday. A date for Verdejo’s next hearing has yet to be announced. The US government has 30 days to present the case to a federal grand jury. The complaint says a witness it did not identify helped Verdejo kidnap and kill Rodriguez. He is then alleged to have shot at her body. It alleges he then bound her arms and feet with wire, tied a heavy block to her before throwing her off a bridge on Thursday morning. A criminal complaint filed by the FBI accuses Verdejo of punching Rodriguez in the face and injecting her with a syringe filled with an unidentified substance bought at a public housing complex in San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico.
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