Cijuela, located in the western sector of the depression of Granada, is surrounded by a wide space of green poplars, rich orchards and the river bed of the Genil river. This town, nailed next to the A-92 motorway is the departure point of the western zone of the fertile plain of Granada. It is a plain place, which the Arabs called “small plain”. Its historical and tourist interest lies in the fact that it was protagonist, in the X century, of the construction of an advanced irrigation system that took the water everywhere in the area by means of a complex network of channels and drains. In addition, its alluvial grounds are very fertile, which derives in the fact that the agricultural activity on irrigated land is the main sustenance of its economy.
Cijuela is of Arab origin and its name comes from the word zujuela, which means "small plain". Although it is not proven, the founder of the Kingdom of Granada, the king Muhammad ben Alhamar, could direct from this place the recovery of the irrigation systems and channels constructed by Al-Haken II in the X century and extended by Yusuf I in the XI. In the XIII century this king not only fixed the collecting system and the conduction of the water but that he extended the number of drains and organized its distribution as well. His successors populated these land with white mulberries to feed the silk worms. The industry of the silk in Granada was so important that became the main business of commercial interchange with Genova, Venice and other Italian states.
In 1431 Don Alvaro de Luna initiates a campaign to reconquer in the Fertile plain of Granada that will culminate with the Battle of the Higueruela. In this fight the Nasrid tower of Cijuela was destroyed and it was not rebuilt and from which only ruins are left. It also served as residence for the sister of the king Boabdil, Ceti Haxa during the XV century. Once the Christians arrived from different points from the Iberian Peninsula, the traditional cultivations were abandoned and substituted by other less known. This fact supposed the impoverishment of the town and the reduction of its population. It got to be a town of certain importance as it demonstrates the construction of two high defensive towers that no longer are conserved. It was not until the XIX century when it obtained its condition of town and its stability in the census of houses and inhabitants.
Excellent vegetables are cultivated in this town, like the ones involve in the recipe of the marrow pisto. Its varied salads formed by leeks or white beans are known. As far as stews, the one of chick-peas and wheat, as well as the granadina soup stand out.
© Patronato Provincial de Turismo de Granada I Diputación de Granada
