Alcalá de la Real is a city situated in the province of Jaen midway from the city of Cordoba and Granada. It is located in a strategic zone betweeen the valley of the Guadalquivir and the rivers Frailes and Velillos. In 713, with the Muslim conquest, the strategic location of the city was first revealed and the Moors who had invaded the town, started to built on the Hill of the Speck, a fortress to defend the Kingdom of Granada. Also from Muslim time, dates back the important network of watchtowers that were erected to defend the territory from the Normans.
Nowadays visitors can take photos from one of the watchtowers on top of the hill, which used to create a defensive belt around the fortress of the Speck.
Alcalá was the scene of frequent battles and finally it was conquered in the 1341 by Alfonso XI, who added to the city’s name of Alcalá the word Real.