Santa Ana Castle (Roquetas de Mar - Almeria)

History of Roquetas de Mar

 

During ancient times, the Roquetas de Mar coast was visited by the Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans, who took advantage of the resources of the area that were later used by the Arabs.

Roquetas de Mar was founded on the Algaida Rivera (between the current Roquetas de Mar and Aguadulce) by the Phoenicians who named it Turan, forming a colony of commercial exchange. Later, during Roman times, it received the name of Turaniana, and was cited in classic sources such as The Itinerary of Antonino. This town subsequently suffered great floods that forced the population to abandon it and settle in the current location of Roquetas de Mar.

With the arrival of the Arabs at the time of Al-Andalus, the sultan Yusuf began the exploitation of the saltworks. Because of continuous attacks, he fortified the coasts with the construction of the Los Bajos Tower (which was demolished by the English in 1811), the Cerrillos Tower and Roquetas Tower, where the Santa Ana Castle was built.
 
Roquetas de Mar Promenade

Roquetas de Mar was conquered by the Catholic Monarchs in 1489, becoming dependent on Almeria. The English invaded Roquetas de Mar in 1705 with the intention of advancing towards Almeria, but they had to flee due to the fierce defenses staged by its inhabitants.

A few years later, Roquetas de Mar obtained independence as a municipality belonging to the municipality of Enix, with an economy based on agriculture and fishing.
 
The transformation of Roquetas de Mar took place throughout the 20th century, first with the exploitation of the two saltworks and later with the arrival of intensive agriculture, which has since been the main source of wealth for Roquetas de Mar. It has also focused on the development of tourism, becoming another of the basic pillars on which the economy of Roquetas de Mar is based.

The development of tourism began in 1964; the year in which Aguadulce was declared a Center of National Tourist Interest. Later, the urbanizations of Roquetas de Mar and Playa Serena were built.