An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water , where people may walk. The historical definition of esplanade was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide clear fields of fire for the fortress's guns. In modern usage, the space allows the area to be paved as a pedestrian walk ; esplanades are often on sea fronts and allow walking whatever the state of the tide , without having to walk on the beach .
29-468: Los Alcázares ( Spanish: [los alˈkaθaɾes] ) is a municipality and a coastal spa town and former fishing village on the western side of the Mar Menor in the autonomous community and province of Murcia , southeastern Spain. The Mar Menor (little sea) belongs to three other municipalities: San Javier , San Pedro del Pinatar and Cartagena and is Europe's largest saltwater lagoon. Connected to
58-403: A small natural harbour which provides a safe haven for a village fleet of fishing boats . The village needs to provide a safe way of landing fish and securing boats when they are not in use. Fishing villages may operate from a beach, particularly around lakes. For example, around parts of Lake Malawi , each fishing village has its own beach. If a fisherman from outside the village lands fish on
87-427: A surface area of nearly 170 km, a coastal length of 70 km, and warm and clear water no more than 7 m in depth, it is "the largest swimming pool in the world", in the opinion of famous swimmer and Hollywood actress Esther Williams . Los Alcazares is a well known maritime resort for families from Murcia and Cartagena on the weekends. Los Alcázares is twinned with: Fishing village A fishing village
116-582: A training facility for military pilots and had an important role during the Spanish Civil War along with nearby El Carmolí and Santiago de la Ribera . The base ceased to have such importance after the Civil War in 1939. Although it has little operational relevance, it remains in military use today. An aviation museum - the Museo Aeronautico Municipal - opened in 1998 on the opposite side of
145-415: A walking/jogging trail and benches. Esplanade and promenade are sometimes used interchangeably. The derivation of "promenade" indicates a place specifically intended for walking, though many modern promenades and esplanades also allow bicycles and other nonmotorized transport. Some esplanades also include large boulevards or avenues where cars are permitted. A similar term with the same meaning in
174-514: Is a village, usually located near a fishing ground , with an economy based on catching fish and harvesting seafood . The continents and islands around the world have coastlines totalling around 356,000 kilometres (221,000 mi). From Neolithic times, these coastlines, as well as the shorelines of inland lakes and the banks of rivers, have been punctuated with fishing villages. Most surviving fishing villages are traditional. Coastal fishing villages are often somewhat isolated, and sited around
203-566: Is a well-known golf destination due to its warm winter climate and variety of golf courses in the area. Courses are open year-round. Most of the courses have some form of Bermuda grass mixtures. There are over 30 golf courses within 1 hour drive from Los Alcazares. The region is also known for the Nicklaus Golf Trail. Los Alcazares has generally some of the best beaches in the Murcian region, many of them had been awarded "Blue Flag Status" from
232-559: Is listed in the Domesday Book . Recent archaeological excavations of earlier fishing settlements are occurring at some pace. A fishing village recently excavated in Khanh Hoa , Vietnam, is thought be about 3,500 years old. Excavations on the biblical fishing village Bethsaida , on the shore of the Sea of Galilee and birthplace of the apostles Peter, Philip and Andrew, have shown that Bethsaida
261-527: The Murcia San Javier Airport there is a go-kart track that features 100, 200, 300 and 400cc karts. The Los Alcazares area has developed into, and becoming a major golf destination in southeastern Spain. Los Alcazares has several high quality golf courses in close proximity, including Roda Golf (18 holes), La Serena Golf, the five star Intercontinental Mar Menor Golf and Spa resort, and the five star La Manga Club – both championship venues. The region
290-859: The Promenade de la Croisette in Cannes , the famous Promenade des Anglais on the Mediterranean coast in Nice or the Lungomare of Barcola in Trieste still play a central role in city life and in the real estate market. In the United States, esplanade has another meaning, being also a median (strip of raised land) or berm dividing a roadway or boulevard. Sometimes they are just strips of grass, or some may have gardens and trees. Some roadway esplanades may be used as parks with
319-588: The Yangtze River delta, was a small fishing village. Extended fishing communities that retain their cultural identities around a connection to water through fishing, leisure, or otherwise, are sometimes referred to as aquapelagos . In recent times, fishing villages have been increasingly targeted for tourist and leisure enterprises. Recreational fishing and leisure boat pursuits can be big business these days, and traditional fishing villages are often well positioned to take advantage of this. For example, Destin on
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#1733085439276348-478: The 19th century also enabled safe use in the evening. One example of this is Vienna's Ringstrasse . Esplanades became popular in Victorian times , when it was fashionable to visit seaside resorts . A promenade, often abbreviated to '(the) prom', was an area where people – couples and families especially – would go to walk for a while in order to 'be seen' and be considered part of ' society '. Beach promenades such as
377-481: The Spanish Tourist board based on their cleanliness, safety and atmosphere. However, all its beaches have lost the "Blue Flag Status" in the recent years due to the bad state of the coastal salty lagoon that faces Los Alcázares Beaces (Mar Menor) and the high level of pollution of the water landform. The Los Alcazares side of Mar Menor beaches stretches from Los Alcázares to San Javier and San Pedro del Pinatar. With
406-501: The adjacent Mediterranean sea by several channels, the Mar Menor has a surface area of almost 20 km and the fact that it is typically 2-4 degrees warmer than the Mediterranean, makes it a very popular destination for sailing, windsurfing, kiteboarding and other water sports enthusiasts. Los Alcazares has a resident population (2018) of 15,674 which rises to over 100,000 during the peak tourist summer holiday season. On 13 October 1983,
435-519: The area. In 210 B.C., the Mar Menor was joined to the Mediterranean and, during the past 1,000 years, it has started to close off from it. In the 6th century, the Arabs (who had conquered a large part of Spain) chose this part of the country to build their palaces and places of rest because of the old Roman spas and their therapeutic qualities. In 1245, the Christians led by Fernando III of Castilla arrived on
464-420: The beach, he gives some of the fish to the village headman. Village fishing boats are usually characteristic of the stretch of coast along which they operate. Traditional fishing boats evolve over time to meet the local conditions, such as the materials available locally for boat building, the type of sea conditions the boats will encounter, and the demands of the local fisheries . Some villages move out onto
493-602: The building and maintenance of boats. Until the 19th century, some villagers supplemented their incomes with wrecking (taking valuables from nearby shipwrecks ) and smuggling . In less developed countries, some traditional fishing villages persist in ways that have changed little from earlier times. In more developed countries, traditional fishing villages are changing due to socioeconomic factors like industrial fishing and urbanization . Over time, some fishing villages outgrow their original function as artisanal fishing villages. Seven hundred years ago, Shanghai , beside
522-451: The coast of Florida, has evolved from an artisanal fishing village into a seaside resort dedicated to tourism with a large fishing fleet of recreational charter boats. The tourist appeal of fishing villages has become so big that the Korean government is purpose-building 48 fishing villages for their tourist drawing power. In 2004 China reported it had 8,048 fishing villages. Skara Brae on
551-456: The last two weeks in August, 'La Huerta' an international folklore festival and feast in celebration of the region's status as the market garden of Spain. Los Alcazares was used as a location for the 2008 movie of Ernest Hemingway 's posthumous novel The Garden of Eden , starring Jack Huston , Richard E. Grant and Mena Suvari . A partly disused historic military air base at the southern end of
580-555: The main road to the camp and now displays a comprehensive collection of archive film, photos and models as well as some original artifacts, all dedicated to the history of this nationally significant air base - the home of Spanish flying boat heritage. Los Alcazares wanted independence from the local town halls of Torre Pacheco and San Javier, so the "Grupo Independentista Alcazareño" formed which resulted in Los Alcazares gaining its independence on 14 July 1983. The first town hall sitting
609-418: The relocation of port facilities made it possible in many cities to create promenade paths on the former fortresses and ramparts. The parts of the former fortifications, such as hills, viewpoints, ditches, waterways and lakes have now been included in these promenades, making them popular excursion destinations as well as the location of cultural institutions. The rapid development of artificial street lighting in
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#1733085439276638-502: The sheltered and calm conditions found on the adjacent Mar Menor. An additional adjacent landing ground (later known as 'Burguete Aerodrome') became important for training Spanish Air Force pilots and was further expanded in the 1920s. Larger hangars enabled maintenance work to be carried out on aircraft from other parts of Spain such as Barcelona. The Los Alcázares airfield was used by the Spanish Republican Air Force as
667-505: The south east coast and forced the Arabs to flee, but the Arabs were not forced out until 1272 because of King Alfonso X's order of the distribution of the lands around Los Alcazares. In 1898, noble and rich families in Murcia came to Los Alcazares and made it their place of summer residence. In 1915, Spain's first military flying boat base was built at the south end of the village and proved to be ideally located for flying boat operations due to
696-475: The town was also used for location filming for the 2010 war movie, Green Zone featuring Matt Damon , Greg Kinnear and Jason Isaacs . The Roman occupation of Los Alcazares started in 210 B.C., with them recognizing the salt properties of the Mar Menor and the La Manga 'strip' as a band of security from any invaders. The Romans set up a salt meat and fishing industry and built the first thermal baths and spas in
725-427: The town was granted municipal autonomy, in respect of which it holds an annual week-long celebration featuring live music, shows, windsurfing competitions and firework displays. Besides the annual celebration of municipal autonomy, like many Spanish towns and cities, Los Alcazares also plays host to numerous fiestas and festivals throughout the year, including a large medieval market at the end of every March, and during
754-989: The water itself, such as the floating fishing villages of Ha Long Bay in Vietnam , the stilt houses of Tai O built over tidal flats near Hong Kong, and the kelong found in waters off Malaysia , the Philippines and Indonesia . Other fishing villages are built on floating islands , such as the Phumdi on Loktak Lake in India, and the Uros on Lake Titicaca which borders Peru and Bolivia. Apart from catching fish, fishing villages often support enterprises typically found in other types of village, such as village crafts, transport, schools and health clinics, housing and community water supplies. In addition, there are enterprises that are natural to fishing villages, such as fish processing and marketing , and
783-498: The western coast of the Orkney mainland, off Scotland, was a small Neolithic agricultural and fishing village with ten stone houses. It was occupied from about 3100 to 2500 BC, and is Europe's most complete Neolithic village. The ancient Lycian sunken village of Kaleköy in Turkey, dates from 400 BCE. Clovelly , a fishing hamlet north Devon coast of England, an early Saxon settlement,
812-508: Was established in the tenth century BCE. A Tongan fishing village, recently excavated, appears to have been founded 2900 years ago. This makes it the oldest known settlement in Polynesia . Another recent excavation has been made at Walraversijde , a medieval fishing village on the coast of West Flanders in Belgium . Esplanade In the 19th century, the razing of city fortifications and
841-537: Was on 13 October 1983. The first mayor, D. Manuel Menarguez Albaladejo, was voted in on 2 December 1983 with his new Town Council. The current Town Hall was built in 2004. In Los Alcázares, there are many local attractions. One of the most prominent of these is the Promenade . The Los Narejos promenade features many shops, bars and restaurants. It is also very infamous for people setting up stalls (illegally) at nighttime. These sell not only toys but bracelets and headphones, among many others. A hundred or so metres away from
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