Parade of a Christian filà of Moros y Cristianos festival in Alcoy.

Parade of a Moor filà of Moros y Cristianos festival in Ibi.

For other uses, see Moros y cristianos (disambiguation).

Moros y Cristianos (in Spanish) or Moros i Cristians (in Català), literally means "Moors and Christians", and is a set of festival activities which are celebrated in many towns and cities of Spain, principally in the autonomous community of Valencia, to commemorate the battles, combats and fights between Moors (or Muslims) and Christians during the period known as Reconquista (from the 8th century through the 15th century). Taken by Paco González, and got from http://ca. ... Taken by Paco González, and got from http://ca. ... Panoramic photograph of Alcoy taken in 1925. ... [1] File links The following pages link to this file: Moros y Cristianos User:Waninoco/My Gallery Categories: Copyright holder released public domain images ... [1] File links The following pages link to this file: Moros y Cristianos User:Waninoco/My Gallery Categories: Copyright holder released public domain images ... Ibi is a town located in the comarca of LAlcoià, in the province of Alicante, Spain. ... Moros y cristianos, (Moors and Christians in Spanish) may stand for: A festival celebrated in some towns and cities of Spain which commemorates the Reconquista; see Moros y Cristianos. ... Catalan can mean: the Catalan language inhabitant of Catalonia Eugène Charles Catalan the mathematician a Catalan solid Catalan numbers the Catalan Opening, a chess opening the Catalan forge, a type of open hearth furnace that was a precursor to the blast furnace There is also information on Catalan names. ... Spains fifty provinces (provincias) are grouped into seventeen autonomous communities (comunidades aut nomas), in addition to two African autonomous cities (ciudades aut nomas) (Ceuta and Melilla). ... Capital Valencia Official languages Valencian (Catalan) and Spanish (Castilian) Area  – total  – % of Spain Ranked 8th  23 255 km²  4,6% Population  – Total (2003)  – % of Spain  – Density Ranked 4th  4 326 708  10,3%  186,05/km² Demonym  – English  – Valencian  – Spanish  Valencian  valencià/valenciana  valenciano/valenciana Statute of Autonomy July 10... For the terrain type, see: Heath (habitat). ... A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم) is a believer in or follower of Islam. ... In its simplist form, a Christian is a follower of and a believer in Jesus of Nazareth. ... For other uses, see Reconquista (Disambiguation). ...

The festivals represent the capture of the city by the Moors and the subsequent Christian reconquest. The people that take part in the festival are usually enlisted in filaes or comparsas (companies that represent the Christian or Moor legions) and, for several days, they parade with costumes inspired in Medieval fashion: Christians wear furs, metallic helmets, armors, ride horses and shoot with loud arquebuses; in contrast, Moors wear ancient Arab costumes, scimitars and ride real camels or elephants. The festival develops among shots of gunpowder, medieval music and fireworks, and ends with a simulated battle around a castle that the Christians win. The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... The term fur refers to the body hair of non-human mammals also known as the pelage (like the term plumage in birds). ... Alternative meanings: vehicle armour, Armor (novel) A hoplite wearing a helmet, a breastplate and greaves (and nothing else). ... Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 The Horse (Equus caballus) is a sizeable ungulate mammal, one of the seven modern species of the genus Equus. ... The Arquebus (sometimes spelled harquebus or hackbut) was a primitive firearm used in the 15th to 17th centuries. ... A scimitar with a large blade (kilij) The term scimitar refers to a sword with a curved blade from western Asia. ... Species Camelus bactrianus Camelus dromedarius A camel is either of the two species of large even-toed ungulate in the genus Camelus, the Dromedary (Single hump) and the Bactrian Camel (Double hump). ... Genera and Species Loxodonta Loxodonta cyclotis Loxodonta africana Elephas Elephas maximus Elephas recki (extinct) Stegodon (extinct) Deinotherium (extinct) Mammuthus (extinct) Elephantidae (the elephants) is the only extant family in the order Proboscidea. ... Gunpowder is a substance which burns very rapidly and is used as a propellant in firearms. ... The Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House illuminated under New Years Eve Fireworks 2005 A fireworks event (fireworks display, fireworks show) is a spectacular display of the effects produced by firework devices on various occasions. ...

The most well-known Moros y Cristianos festival is the one which is celebrated in Alcoy, around San Jorge (Saint George) day, in April. As the legend is told, when James I of Aragon reconquered the city of Alicante, the Moors got quite angry and tried to recover it some years after. But, when they were about to start the battle again, Saint George miraculously appeared to the Moors, who were frightened away. Panoramic photograph of Alcoy taken in 1925. ... For alternate uses, see Saint George (disambiguation) Saint George (c. ... A legend (Latin, legenda, things to be read) is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude. ... James I of Aragon (Catalan: Jaume I) (Montpellier February 2, 1208 - July 27, 1276), surnamed the Conqueror, was the king of Aragon, count of Barcelona and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276. ... View over Alicante and the Mediterranean Alicante (Castillian Spanish) or Alacant (Valencian Catalan) is the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of the Alacantí, in the southern part of the Land of Valencia, Spain, a historic Mediterranean port. ...

Other remarkable Moros y Cristianos festivals are celebrated in the towns of Biar, Cocentaina, Crevillent, Elda, Muro de Alcoy, Ontinyent, Orihuela, Petrer, Villena and some districts of Alicante city. The most ancient festival is celebrated in Caudete (Albacete), dated from 1588. View of Biar. ... Coat of arms of Cocentaina. ... Church of Mare de Déu de Betlem in Crevillent Crevillent or Crevillente (in Spanish) is a town located in the comarca of Baix Vinalopó, in the Valencian Country, Spain, lying at the foot of the Serra de Crevillent. ... ELDA, more correctly ELDA+, is also the acronym for the European Lighting Designers Association. ... Muro de Alcoy or Muro dAlcoi (in Catalan), also known as Muro del Comtat or simply Muro, is a town located in the comarca of El Comtat, in the province of Alicante, Spain, lying at the foot of the Sierra de Mariola. ... Orihuela or Oriola (in Catalan) is a city located in the province of Alicante, Spain. ... Petrer is a town located in the comarca of El Vinalopó Mitjà, in the province of Alicante, Spain. ... Castle of la Atalaya, in Villena. ... View over Alicante and the Mediterranean Alicante (Castillian Spanish) or Alacant (Valencian Catalan) is the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of the Alacantí, in the southern part of the Land of Valencia, Spain, a historic Mediterranean port. ... Albacete is a province of central Spain, in the southern part of the autonomous community of Castilla_La Mancha. ...

External Links

• Unión Nacional de Entidades Festeras de Moros y Cristianos, Web page of the official organism, in Spanish.
• Fotos Moros y Cristianos, Pictures of Moros y Cristianos festival in Villajoyosa.