Válor was cradle of the best known Alpujarras man of all the times: Fernando de Cordoba y Válor, known as Abén Humeya. Proclaimed “king of the Andaluces” in 1568 was the impeller and first leader of the Moorish rebellion, until he was overthrown by his cousin Abén Aboo. Abén Humeya was born in 1520 and was member of an outstanding Moorish family turned to Christianity after the conquest of Granada in 1492. It abjured of the Christianity faith to recover the Islamic religion and to fight against the repression of the faith and the Muslim customs and the breach of the Capitulations of Granada and the Pragmatica Laws of Carlos I and Felipe II. This rebellion, that lasted three years and it extended by the entire province, was controlled violently by this last King.
Besides to have a good hotel industry offer and an interesting town centre, Válor has impressive natural places. But of its tourist attractions the most important one is without a doubt the Fuente Agria. It is a mining-medicinal water birth that has fame of miraculous, located in the place known as Cuesta Vińas.
Next to the town and dependant of its City council, two small and precious villages deserve the visit of the travellers: Nechite, whose name is synonymous of joy, and Mecina Alfahar, which conserves in its surrounding the rest of one of the greatest medieval castles of the region.
Its great influence over the Moorish rebellion has had as a result one of the most impressive and more traditional Moors and Christians celebrations of the province.
Archaeological rests that suggest the existence of human settlements in this territory in the Bronze Age and in the time of the Roman Empire have been found. Even so, the origins of this town as population centre goes back to the stage of the Muslim occupation, keeping almost totally its appearance of then. It was part of the Juviles Taha and experienced a period of splendour thanks to the crafts of the silk.
After the Christian conquest, the pressure that the new lords exerted on the Moorish caused the rise of the lord Fernando de Cordoba y Válor. He was crowned here as king of the Alpujarras with the name of Abén Humeya. But he was overthrown at hands of his cousin Abén Aboo and later assassinated. When Don Juan of Austria reduced the Moorish revolt, Válor was repopulated with Christians coming from Jaén.
The marinated partridge and the soplillos, and inherited desserts of meringue and almond of Moorish pastry making, are the best recipes of Válor. The district has also a goat cheese factory and an olive oil mill.
© Patronato Provincial de Turismo de Granada I Diputación de Granada
