Just a few kilometres south of the large and newly built Rules Dam, is the town of Velez de Benaudalla. 15 minutes inland from the coastal road of the N-340, you take the Granada Motril road up through the Guadalfeo (the ugly river in Arabic) valley and follow signs to the right just after the Olive museum. The town has always been an Arab stronghold for this part of the Moorish continent, and nestling as it does close to the river it soon became one of the regions most strategically important trading settlements serving as an important gateway between the villages of the Lecrin and the Alpujarrras. Today, the visitor can still see the Nasrid garden of the XV century, the Castle of the Ulloa family, the Nacimiento (well) and the Church of Nuestra Señora del Rosario, as well as perhaps take time to taste some of the local sweet meats (pestiños and veleños rolls) still produced by the local bakers.

Perhaps the most striking sound in Velez is that of water; where the noise of more than 49 registered fountains and springs break the silent heat of the afternoon siesta. Many a traveller through time has stopped at the town’s famous nacimiento (well) that lies at the centre and close by too the fountain known as Los Chorros. The locals here often joke - "What do you wash the face with, that makes it so pretty?” “Why I wash it with clear water from the Nacimiento of Vélez."

For those who have visited the dreamy Alhambra and Generalife gardens in Granada, then they will soon realise that Velez de Benaudalla echoes that same Moorish history. It is impossible not to romanticise how the town developed around such a rich water source for a civilisation that had great admiration in its power, its force and its vitality. The one lasting example of this moment in Spanish history, the period of Al-Andalus is what the people of Velez proudly call their Nasrid Garden: "our small Generalife", as villagers will often tell you. Acacias, cypresses, palms, rosebays, violets, jasmines, rosebushes, ivies, paradise and a mass of aromatic trees, plants and flowers blend to create an unexpected natural decoration for senses. Built in the XV century, the gardens conserve the old philosophy of the Arabs for intimate and forbidden corners. The first thing you will find is a house with two floors, a small courtyard with a fountain in the middle and galleries supported by columns made of marble with the base made of wood and, next to this a more landscaped sculptural garden of small squares and limited enclosures. One channel today remains as example through centuries of a measured and meditated distribution of water that once irrigated this retreat. As you descend from the garden the natural stone precipice over looks down to the Azud de Vélez, a rock where years of passing water have formed stalactites and stalagmites in a discreet area that offers an entrance to caves. To protect these cave formations the entrances have been fenced off to stop the visitor from collecting souvenirs.

Impossible to miss by any traveller in the Guadalfeo valley is the Castle of the Ulloa family, that is nailed in the middle of the rock that dominates the town of Velez de Benaudalla. Even in town, this historical monument can be seen from almost every street. The castle has been demolished on several occasions by the different wars. The structure is an irregular seven-faced armament whose origins are still unknown though its design and lack of external decorations lend strongly with the Arabic architecture. In the 1990’s the building was modernised to house a heritage museum; the Centre of Interpretation of the Patrimony, with a permanent exhibition of the past and other visiting exhibitions dedicated to different areas. On from the castle, the visitor can walk down towards the historical centre, through a network of narrow streets typical of many historic Arab communities, to arrive at the square of the Church of Nuestra Señora del Rosario, a neoclassic building, whose Greek cross plant work is that of the famous architect of the eighteenth century Ventura Rodriguez, who held at that time (1777-1786) the position of the greater architect of Madrid.

Like many towns in the area, Vélez de Benaudalla, is also expanding to meet the new markets of tourists and city dwellers alike who as the motorway links extend and approach make journey times between Granada city, the coast or the golf, the airport or the skiing just that more easier. New housing zones are planned for the town that include a state of the art apartment complex offering sports, gymnasium and spa facilities; a new estate of private houses with pools and gardens, a new 18 room hotel near the Nasrid gardens and various rural tourism projects – even a wharf and fishing facilities, together with a restaurant and barbecue garden are proposed for the banks of the Rules dam. It is certain that over the next years much will happen to the area; and yet the water, the fountains and the scents will remain.