Travelling Through Spain Trivia Quiz

Answer: Segovia

Aqueducts were devised by the Romans to bring water from distant sources to villages and towns. This was an engineering marvel at the time and testified to the prowess of the Romans. The Spanish city of Segovia is home to one of the best preserved Roman aqueducts in the world. Built during the 1st century AD, it brought water from almost 17 kms away to the town of Segovia. Amazingly, this aqueduct was functional till 1973, almost two thousand years after it was built. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1985 and also features on the city's coat of arms.

Segovia is also famous for its alcazar or medieval castle. Overlooking the confluence of the Eresma and Clasmores rivers, it is one of the castles that served as the inspiration for Walt Disney's Cinderella Castle.

Answer: Malaga

Málaga, capital of the autonomous community of Málaga in the region of Andalucía, lies along the Mediterranean coast. The town is believed to have been founded by the Phoenicians in 770 BC. As can be expected given its history spanning 2,500 years, Málaga has changed hands multiple times going from being part of Ancient Carthage to Roman rule and then subsequent Spanish kingdoms.

Pablo Picasso was one of the most highly regarded artists of the 20th century. He is considered one of the founders of the Cubist art movement and also helped develop other artistic forms and techniques including the collage.

Answer: Barcelona

Barcelona is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia. It is the most populated Spanish city after Madrid. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it is regarded as one of Europe's cultural capitals. It is famous for the architectural works of Antoni Gaudi, best known being the Sagrada Família, a church that has been under construction for over 140 years.

Barcelona hosted the 1992 Summer Olympics, the last year that the summer and winter games were held in the same year. From then on, these have been held during alternate even numbered years, until the disruptions to the schedule caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Answer: Bunol

Buñol is located in the province of Valencia and lies along the river of the same name. The town is surrounded by three different mountain ranges. This small town with a population of around 9,000 attracts over 4x tourists during the annual 'La Tomatina' festival.

Held on the last Wednesday of August, revellers and tourists from across Europe and even further gather here to participate. Participants throw tomatoes at each other and engage in tomato fights. The town council has prescribed a list of rules to be followed so that there are no injuries.

These include instructions to throw only tomatoes and to squash them before throwing to minimize hurt.

Answer: Pamplona

Pamplona is the capital of the autonomous community of Navarre in northern Spain. Traces of settlements in the region have been found dating back to the Bronze Age, though the formal settlement of the city is attributed to the Roman General Pompey in 75 BC.

Pamplona is famous for the annual 'Running of the bulls' event. Held from 6-14 July every year, this event forms part of the celebrations of the Sanfermines, a festival held to honour Saint Fermin, co-patron saint of Navarre. During the event, the bulls are let loose in some sections of the city and run through the narrow streets with groups of men trying to outrun the animals. Injuries and fatalities are not uncommon.

"The Sun Also Rises" was the first novel written by Ernest Hemingway. In the novel, a group of American and British expatriates make the pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago, starting in Paris and ending in Pamplona in time for the Sanfermines. Hemingway draws on his experience having visited Spain and attended the festival a few years earlier. Later he would return to Spain to cover the Spanish Civil War as a journalist, with this period inspiring his novel "For Whom the Bell Tolls".

Answer: Toledo

Toledo is the capital of the province of Toledo. This province is located in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. The city of Toledo has a history of almost 2,000 years. From being a Roman settlement to the capital of Visigothic Spain, followed by its position as a fortress in the Emirate of Cordoba to being reconquered by the Christians, this city has seen it all.

It is this history that has given Toledo the nickname of the "City of the Three Cultures" - the three cultures being the Jews, Christians and Muslims. People of all three religions lived in peaceful co-existence within this walled city for many hundreds of years and helped shape its culture and history. It was only from 1492 that the large communities of first Jews and then Muslims were expelled from the city as they were from most parts of the peninsula. Some of their religious buildings still stand in the city though most have since been converted into Christian houses of worship.

Answer: Cadiz

Located on the Atlantic Coast, Cádiz was founded by the Phoenicians and is regarded as one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities of Western Europe. The city was originally named Gadir and the residents are still known as Gaditanos.

The Spanish Constitution of 1812, also known as La Pepa, was proclaimed here and ratified by the Cortes of Cádiz on 19 March 1812. The Cortes or legislature was notable for including delegates not only from the entire country of Spain, but also colonies in the Americas and Philippines. However, when King Ferdinand VII returned to power, he abolished the constitution reverting the country to an absolute monarchy.

Another claim to fame is that Christopher Columbus set out from this city on his second and fourth voyages to the New World.

Answer: Cordoba

Córdoba is the capital of the province of the same name located in Andalusia, Spain. Originally founded as a Roman settlement on the banks of the Guadalquivir river, it has been under the reign of different powers including the Visigoths, Muslim caliphates and Christian kingdoms over the course of its history. Its Islamic history manifests itself in the stunning examples of Moorish architecture found within its historic centre.

The Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba is one of the most unique monuments of the world and unsurprisingly was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. Locally it is sometimes also known as the Mezquita which translates to mosque in Spanish. Per tradition, the site was originally home to a Visigoth church. In 785 AD, the Great Mosque was first constructed on this site when the city was part of the Emirate of Córdoba which later became the Caliphate of Córdoba. Some architectural features are inspired by the Great Mosque of Damascus, located in Damascus, Syria which is one of the oldest and largest mosques in the world. The unique arches with alternating red and white stripes are reminiscent of the date palms of the Middle East. The columns have two tiers giving the area a more open feeling.

The Cathedral part of the structure's current name refers to the subsequent construction of a Christian nave in the Renaissance style right in the middle of the mosque. This was done in the 16th century when the city fell under Christian rule. Numerous chapels were also constructed along the boundary of the structure. The juxtaposition of the Moorish mosque elements with the Renaissance nave adds to the unique features of this monument.

Answer: Ronda

Pueblos Blancos (Spanish for White Villages) refer to a number of towns and villages in the region of Andalucia. They get their name from the whitewashed houses that dot the towns. Many of these have the term "de la Fronterra" as part of their name to denote that they once stood on the border of the medieval kingdoms, the first defence against an invading army. There are multiple reasons given for the white colour of the houses. The whitewashed walls helped to keep the houses cool during the hot summers of the region. White was also considered hygienic and believed to have protected the inhabitants of the villages from various disease outbreaks like cholera. It is possible that the lime of the walls worked as a bacteria killer. Similar reasons are given for the blue coloured houses in the towns of Jodie in India and Chefchaouen in Morocco.

Ronda, located in the province of Málaga, is one of the largest amongst the white villages. While the city has been home to settlements since pre-historic times, the current city is considered to be mainly of Roman origin. The picturesque town is built atop the El Tajo gorge and commands gorgeous views of the surrounding landscape. It is also home to the Plaza de toros de Ronda, the oldest bullfighting ring in Spain, built in the late 18th century.

Answer: Seville

The NO8DO symbol is ubiquitous in Seville, found in places ranging from transport vehicles to alleyways, and sewer covers to even the city's flag!. According to legend, the code was encrypted and bestowed on Seville by King Alfonso X, King of Castile, León and Galicia. Alfonso stayed at Seville's Alcazar (palace) while his son tried to usurp the throne. The city and its residents supported the king, earning his favour.

The 8 in the middle symbolizes a skein of yarn. In Spanish, a skein is called majeda. Thus the symbol reads "no majeda do" which translates to "She (Seville) has not abandoned me".

Answer: Guernica

Born in Málaga, Spain, Pablo Picasso was one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. In the 1930s, Spain was wracked by the Spanish Civil War fought between the Republicans and the Nationalists. The Nationalists were led by General Francisco Franco who then went on to lead Spain as a dictator for the next four decades. At the height of the civil war, on 26 April 1937, the town of Guernica in Basque was destroyed through aerial bombing. Franco had allied with the Nazi regime of Germany and Fascist rulers of Italy in the lead up to World War II. At his behest, the two bombed Guernica paving the way for Franco and the Nationalists to conquer northern Spain. The attack was planned for a Monday, which was the town's market day, and was carried out for almost two hours, reducing the place to rubble.

Picasso painted "Guernica" in response to this event. It not only helped draw global attention to the civil war and atrocities committed, but also helped in fund raising for war relief when it was displayed at various exhibitions. The "Guernica" is regarded as one of the most moving anti-war paintings. It can be viewed at the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid.

Answer: Valencia

Valencia is the capital of the autonomous province of the same name. Founded as a Roman colony in 138 BC, it later fell under Islamic rule before being reconquered by different Spanish Christian kingdoms.

Oranges were introduced to the region only in the 19th century. The Valencia oranges, while named after this city and region, did not actually originate here. They are believed to have originated in California, USA in the early 19th century.

Answer: Granada

Before the Muslims, much of the Iberian Peninsula was ruled by the Visigoths. The Umayyad Caliphate first conquered the Maghreb, which is northern Africa, from the Byzantine Empire beginning from 647 AD. In 711 AD, Tariq ibn Ziyad, a commander of the Caliphate, launched the invasion when he crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to the Iberian Peninsula. Over the course of the next 70 years, the Caliphate managed to conquer almost the entire Iberian Peninsula. The Muslims retained control over the land under different rulers and emirates till the mid-13th century when attempts began by the Christians to retake the peninsula.

An Arab dynasty called the Nasrids took over the Emirate of Granada in 1230. However, in 1492, the Catholic Monarchs, as King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile were known, conquered the region making it the last Muslim ruled state to be reconquered.

Answer: San Sebastian

San Sebastian is located in the Basque Country, an autonomous community in northern Spain. It is officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián. Both names are associated with the Christian saint Sebastian. In the Basque language, don signifies 'saint'.

The origins of the 'ostia' part of the name differ by source. Some sources claim it is a shortened form of Sebastian while others attribute it to a place named Ostia in Italy as Sebastian was called the Saint of Ostia. Residents of the city are known as 'donostiarra' in both Basque and Spanish.

Answer: Madrid

Located along the Manzanares river in the central part of the country, Madrid was first designated as the capital in the 16th century when King Phillip II set up his court here. Over the ensuing years, there have been brief periods when the capital has moved elsewhere with the city also changing hands as different kingdoms battled for control of the large empire.

In the 18th century, King Phillip V enacted a law to construct a radial system of roads. Six roads were built starting from Madrid. The distance was measured from a common 'zero' starting point. This point is now located within the city's best known public square, Puerta del Sol (translates to 'Gate of the Sun'). A small stone slab designates the Zero Kilometre (or Km 0).