In the footsteps of the wandering knight

In La Manchu, stretching from Toledo Hills to Sierne-covered Sierra Nevada vertices, you can get along the Andalus highway. It is enough to drive away from the capital on a dozen other kilometers as the landscape is changing. It begins flat and buying plain paints, in some places, which is hilly and dyed by boulders. There are no lush beauties that are famous for Valencia, Galicia or Asturias. No lemon and orange groves, only the sun-scaled reddish earth. Torning, however, covered with extensive vineyards – in these places almost half of all Spanish wines are produced. From time to time olive groves, well-groomed fields, octara sheep, whose milk makes male – the famous Laman cheese. We pass the villages and small towns, enter Toledo – the old capital of Spain, and now the administrative center of the region of Old Castilia, or La Mancha. Narrow streets, square in front of the city hall building, mandatory church and almost patriarchal lighting of sleepy life. In the province of Ciudad Real, kilometers in a hundred from Madrid, the first road sign is found: "Traveler, here begins La Mancha". Nearby – five-meter stand that is notifying about "Router Don Quixote" with the listing of places that preferably visit. And behind it, on the horizon, windmills. And let most of them are much younger than those with which he entered the struggle Don Quixote, having taken them for monstrous giants, in this region there was little that had changed since the barking Hidalgo Alonso Kihano (so called Don Quixote to dedication to the knights) went to Feats.

Not far from Campo de Cryptany Another pointer – "Argamasilla de Alba. El Lugar de Laman" and carved from the black tin two-meter silhouette of the skinny Don Quixote. Approximately the same signs are the towns of Pedro Munos, Puerto Lyapis, Alcazar de San Juan, only instead "El Lugar de la Mancha" Posted "UN Luga de la Mancha". The difference, at first glance, insignificant, however, is of fundamental importance: "UN Luga de la Mancha" translated as "One of the Laman villages", a "El Lugar de la Mancha" – how "La Manci Heart". Argamasilla de Alba, on the conviction of local residents, exactly the place where the legendary idalgo began his journey. From the heart of La Manches – to immortality.

Argamasilla de Alba, on Spanish concepts – a relatively young settlement. It was founded in 1531. The name has received its name by the name of the castle, built at the beginning of the XIII century. In 1545, Argamasille de Alba has suffered a natural disaster – a flood caused by unexpected and rare for this arid region heavy rains. It was practically washed away all at home, and the village had to rebuild. At the time of Cervantes, about 800 families lived here, mainly the descendants of Moriscos – Arabs, who adopted Christianity.

Now Argamasilla de Alba is a small town, numbering about ten thousand inhabitants engaged in winemaking, sheep, cheese and. The glorification of Don Quixote, that is, tourism. Here a lot resembles a wandering knight: a modest hotel "Don Quixote", Alonso Kihanna Square, Samson Carrasko Bachelor House, with which Don Quixote led philosophical conversations. In the church there is a picture of the mid-XVI century, written by the local artist Rodrigo de Pacheco. On the canvase depicted a saint virgin, allegedly healing painting from mental disorder. It is argued that Cervantes knew well and its author, and its author, that for local locations serves as a confirmation of the version that the crazy Rodrigo de Pacheco was led by a writer in the image of Don Quixote. By the way, the sister of the artist was called Aldons. Girl with the same name by served by Servantsu Prototype Dulcinei Tobos – Beloved Don Quixote.

But the main attraction of the town – "House Medrano". In the basement of this house, according to the researchers, in September 1597, the writer was concluded on a false denunciation – as if for communication with a married woman. Here he began to write his novel. There is another version according to which Cervantes hit Argamasille de Alba in 1585. He came here with the son of influential Magnate Diego de Oodaro, who was charged with recovery of 12 thousand duokates of the tax in the royal treasury. But Diego did not have relevant documents. Taking advantage of this, Alcald Argamasille, who did not want to pay the tax, planted Odaro, and at the same time accompanying his servants in a rural prison, which served the basement in the house of some Medrano.

Reaching Argamasille de Alby, we immediately went to the dungeon. "House Medrano" It turned out to be a luxurious two-story bright building. The sign of the entrance was notified that from November 23, 1994 goes here "Cultural Center "House Medrano". Survantes prison". Prison itself was in a deep two-level basement. The camera was located on the first "floor", where they led about a dozen steps down. Roughly chopped table and stool, Nara, for which a thin mattress is thrown. The smell of dampness. On the walls, pushing the low ceiling, with small jets flowed water. What kind of inexhaustible optimism must be possessing that in this dowel to think about a book sparkling humor!

On the first day of his trip, Alonso Kihana got to Venta (in the inn) near Puerto Lyapis Town. This is one of the few places of exactly these servants, which does not prevent the owner of each inn of the innovative court, as if the hero of the Roman stayed from him. In one of these Vents we visited. Naturally, she wore a name Don Quixote. Her owner, for the set of reminded Sancho Pansa, claimed that the first stop of Don Quixote did exactly here. We did the look that we believe. He took us to the well, on which the nameplate with the inscription was nailed: "There was a dedication to Alonso Kihano in the knights of the sad image". The owner, thanmed that we obediently listen to his explanations and do not interrupt, we negotiated the head of the novel in detail in detail, in which this event is described. With the inspiration of a true eyewitty, he gave the desired for the actual. And we did not confess to him in what they were learned from the usual guide: in this area, not a single twenty of the XVI century.

Toboso – Motherland of the incomparable Dulcinea

"Already engaged in dawn, when Don Quixote, jeeping and happy, proud of the consciousness, that he was dedicated to the knights, from joy jumping in the saddle, left from the inn"… His way lay in Toboso. Don Nicholas Sanchez, the abbot of the Tobos Cathedral and the historiographer, calculated that this village is mentioned in the novel 150 times. Here, our hero met the peasant girl Aldonsu Lorenzo, who was riding on a donkey, and a dusty knight imagination turned her to a noble lady. Cervantes disrecendously chose Toboso Birthplace of Aldons Lorenzo, his first love lived here – Ana Martinez Sarko de Morales. Hence the wife of the writer Catalina Pashamos, whose uncle called Alonso Kihad.

In those distant times, when Cervantes created his novel, several hundred people lived in the village, mostly potters, made huge clay chains for wine and olive oil. For four centuries, almost nothing has changed here. Only the population of TOBOSO increased threefold. But now most – potters.

We arrived in Toboso on Sunday noon and at the first acquaintance with him experienced some disappointment. After all, Cervantes wrote: ". By evening, the great city of Toboso opened before them, from this view the spirit of Don Quixote rejoices". We did not see anything like. Although, as evidenced by the chronicles, once toboso was indeed a big noisy city, which inhabited merchants, artisans, cattle breeders, winemakers. But now nothing has reminded him of his already greatness. Toboso seemed sleeping. Only occasionally protraffers the wagon-shaped wagon, and there are two or three passersby, hurrying to church or in the nearest shop. In some places, women traditionally dressed in black, swept narrow, half the width, sidewalks in front of their homes. And only on the central square, which is the name of King Juan Carlos I, the Cathedral of San Antonio-Abad reigned revival: tourists were talking loudly, targeting the lenses of their photos and camcorders, having fun laughed young people who had expected from the temple of the bride and the bride. When the couple came out of the church, they were shied in Spanish. Then young, their parents and friends drank sidra and, as they were taken, beat the glasses of glasses about the ancient stones of the church, from which Don Quixote dreamed of a date with an incomparable Dulcinea. And then everyone photographed at the monument Don Quixhot and his lady of the heart. Sculptor depicted a knight of the sad way with the knee before the beloved.

This monument appeared in 1988 and caused a storm of indignation. The artist presented to Dulcine, as her servants described, – an anti-peasant peasant. And the inhabitants of Toboso wanted them "countrywoman" She looked like that saw in dreams Don Quixhot, – "worthy to be the master of the whole universe". Every night in protest someone put on the head of Dulcinei black plastic bag or burned her face with rags. In the end, the sculptor surrendered and "Improved" His heroine.

House itself "incomparable and beautiful" Lorenzo Aldons stands on Don Quixote Street, kilometer from King Juan Carlos I. Unlike the heroes of Cervantes, the current tourist will find it without problems, following the streets, named after the names of the novel. On the editors arrows – ceramic plates with quotes from the novel about the beauty of Dulcinei and the love of the knight. Behind the wide wooden gate with the namesman of the coat of arms – a spacious courtyard and a solid two-storey house. Now here is the local history museum, but most of the exhibits are dedicated to Dulc … At the bottom of the house – a wine cellar with powerful vaults and huge clay jugs, in the yard – well: from here the beautiful lady wore water.

From the avenue provided by the looking man, it was possible to find out that this house (or rather, an exact copy of the structure of the XVI century) belonged to Donier Anna Martinez Sarko de Morales. It is her who believes researchers, the writer perpetuated in the form of Dulcineia, forming this name from two words: "Dulca" ("Gentle") and "Anna" – "Gentle Anna".

At the beginning of the 19th century, when the Napoleonic army invaded Spain, "Don Quixote" saved toboso from the devastating actuat. The troops of the French general Dupon were preparing for the storm of the town, the artillery officers charged the guns, but the teams "Fire!" never followed. It turns out that General reported that in front of him – the very Toboso, where the beloved Don Quixote lived, and he refused shelling, not wishing to enter the story as a military leader who destroyed the hometown of the Great Literary Heroine.

With the name Dulcinei Tobosskaya connected and the journey of Don Quixote in Sierra Morane. There the noble knight decided to take the vow of serving his lady heart. And we went on his route. On the square of the village of Menasans at the table sat Men with cups of wine – Normal for Spain Sunday picture. We ask: "Where did the way of Don Quixote?". One of the men volunteered to show the way. After a few kilometers, our voluntary guide asked to stop the car. Having passed a little on foot, we ended up at the top of Sierra Moraine. Our conductor approached the huge boulder and solemnly said: "Here, Don Quixote first wrote a love message Dulc … and then, following the example of all the wandering knights, the vow of ministry took. He jumped and poured from joy, even got up on his head, asking in dreams to his excellent lady. ". It is not easy to drive around all the places where the heroes of Cervantes visited. In alone la-mannel their more than a dozen. This is the Cave of Montesinos, the road to which stretched along Lagun Rudiders – a stepped chain of the extraordinary beauty of the lakes connected by small waterfalls. According to legend, it is a Merlin Duena Ruder, enchanted by the wizard, seven of her daughters and two nieces. Don Quixote accepted the cave for a luxurious underground palace, where, as the Wooden Plate is now reminded, Idalgo, and his squire was led by the philosophical conversation that the writer feather can bring more good to the world than a spear of the most noble knight. This is a stable yard – there Don Quixote entered the battle with wine storms, having accepted them for giants-villains. This and the Hill, on which Idalgo met Otaru Sheep, took them for an enemy rhe, carrying the peaceful edge of ruin and death, and, taking a spear, rushed to meet them. This is the Kintanar, where Don Quixote saved the shepherd Andres from an angry host.

And all this is only in La Manne! But the heroes of Cervantes visited Zaragoza, on the Ebro River, where Don Quixote was shipwreck; visited the castle of the Duke, who helped Sancho to fulfill his dream to become the island’s governor. They were in Barcelona … We left Don Quixote and his squire on their difficult way and completed our journey in Madrid, on Servantes Street. Here, on April 19, 1616, the patient writer has finished its last work – "Pershiles and Sichist". Four days later it did not. The body of Cervantes was buried in the Trinitarias Monastery at the expense of a charity society.