Kindly submitted by Amanda Hamilton of Casa La Celada La Celada, Iznájar, Córdoba,
Living as we do in the very heart of Andalucia, our guests frequently use our peaceful base to visit local cities - Córdoba, Málaga, Sevilla and Granada being the most obvious choices. But have you heard of Jaén?
The Province of Jaén is situated to the East of Córdoba, touching Castilla - La Mancha to the North, Murcia and Almería to the East, and Granada to the South, and boasts the incredible statistic of producing on average 900,000 tonnes of olives each year from 4,500 sq km of groves and some 40 million olive trees.
That translates to more than 200,000 tonnes of olive oil, or aceite de oliva - half of Andalucía's requirement, one third of Spain's, and a 10th of all the olive oil consumed in the world today.
The City of Jaén is breathtaking - it was taken from the Emirate of Granada in 1246 following an amazing six month siege, and it is held that the new frontiers would be respected in exchange for half of the emir\'s income!
However all that changed in the 15th Century when the Catholic Monarchy used Jaén as a base against the Granada emirate. Further details from Wikipedia
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