Extended over the plain immediate to the Hill of the Mencal is the villa of Pedro Martinez. Its urban structure is one of the most “castilians” of the province, as much by the effects of the repopulation and the incorporation of the urban models of Castile, as by its own geographic surroundings, located in a wide plain, more similar to the manchegas land that to the Andalusians.
With 1,447 meters of altitude, El Mencal is one of the most representative mountains of the region of Los Montes, where it marks the end of the Hoya de Guadix. In this hill, whose Arab name means “transit” for some and “pass” for others, whereas others directly translate it by “cemetery”, there are prehistoric vestiges of dolmens and numerous caves occupied by different generations during the Palaeolithic period. Among the grottos of El Mencal the Door of the Church, in whose interior other galleries are opened to the Cave of the Pigeons, stand out.
Although historically the origin of the town is not absolutely clear it seems to be that it was the Duke of Gor who, after conquering it to the Nasrids, gave the district to his captain Pedro Martinez Pretel. This one raised first his house and, next, to avoid the movements to Gobernador to attend mass, he ordered to build the church of the town. Apparently, the first villagers of the town were the farmers of his land. Although the oldest documents existing in the parochial archive date from 1651, the creation of the parish is previous to that date, although the district did not consolidate definitively until the last centuries, when its City council was constituted in 1819.
The gastronomy of this town finds similarities with the cuisine of Castile. Its typical dishes are the stews and the pots, also gachas and the meat of small hunting.
© Patronato Provincial de Turismo de Granada I Diputación de Granada
