The Healing Waters of Alhama de Murcia: Witnessing History in a Spanish Oasis

Alhama de Murica, Spain, is home to the Museo Arqueológico Los Baños, which safeguards over 2000 years of archaeological findings. Dividied into four sections, the museum showcases Roman ruins, Roman baths, Islamic baths, and the 19th-century Hotel Balneario. Upon exiting the museum, visitors are greeted by a tranquil garden filled with trees, flowers, and water piles. Inside, an exquisitely crafted mosaic from a Roman house greets visitors, dating back to the end of the 1st century AD and depicting a windmill.

The Roman baths, constructed at the foot of the castle, took advantage of the natural hot spring, offering both recreational and medicinal baths that were segregated by gender. During the Islamic period, baths served both purposes. Alhama, which translates as ‘natural bath of hot waters,’ was a popular destination for bathers, attracting visitors during the Spanish Civil War.

The Hotel Balneario, built in 1848, features a blend of eclectic, classical, and neoclassical architecture and draws bathers from across Spain.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons