On the lonely Mountain El GABAR, located in the Cordillera Betica, southern Spain, prehistoric man worshiped the sun.
35 years ago four students from the University of Amsterdam, while performing a 3 month fieldwork for their masters theses, were lured by Steef de Clerq to visit the Cueva del Gabar, which was known for its prehistoric paintings. By sheer coincidence, we climbed up the mountain near sunset of the SUMMER SOLSTICE, 21st of June, with a few bottles of wine, and watched the sun go down in the far distance. In my memory, the sun went down EXACTLY while we were in the cave, over the middle of the mountain the La Sagra, by far the highest mountain in the area (2381m).
To feel the excitement again, we climbed last summer (2006) the Gabar, to watch the sun go down again on the 21st of June.................(Here our report)
The Sierra de la Sagra (2381m) after sunset.
On the 21st of June, it was supposed to set right over the middle of the mountain
La Sagra, seen from Maria
The Gabar from the east, the Rio Alcaide, where I let my faithfull 2horses drink in the river in 1972. my 2CV had a nice cool white roof, and its springs were still OK
20.000 year old pinturas Rupestres in de Cueva del Gabar
Suns, a mask (?), wavelets. Do we see a sunworship here?
Look also here, the site is well known and even made it to a Unesco world heritage site! So be careful when you climb up and leave everything intact (and take your trash with you!)
Northface of the Gabar, with the Cueva del Gabar in perpetual shadows
De Cueva d'Ambrosio, just behind the cortijada Ambrosio, which was still inhabited in 1972
The Gabar, the "night at the lonely mountain" consisting of Jurassic platform limestones and dolomites, surrounded by pelagic Cretaceous deposits(click here for more Google earth images)
the Gabar
oblique view on the Sagra (2381m) on from the Cueva del Gabar
La Sagra, 2381m
de Gabar and the Sagra on one image
Gabar
Sagra
Midsummer worship of the sun by prehistoric man, in the Paleolithic, ?7.000-22.000 years ago Southern Spain !
The Summer Solstice 21ST OF JUNE EXPERIMENT 2006 (here)
FEEL THE MAGIC OF THE CROMAGNON MEN !!

 

 

 

 

 

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