Mount Benacantil () is a
mount
Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest.
Mount or Mounts may also refer to:
Places
* Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England
* Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, ...
(or rather a large
hill
A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as Mountain, mountains. Hills ...
) that dominates the urban part of
Alicante
Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...
, and is the characteristic image of the city. The mount name appears as '' Banu-l-Qatil'' in the work of Muslim
geographer
A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...
Al-Idrisi
Abu Abdullah Muhammad al-Idrisi al-Qurtubi al-Hasani as-Sabti, or simply al-Idrisi (; ; 1100–1165), was an Arab Muslim geographer and cartographer who served in the court of King Roger II at Palermo, Sicily. Muhammad al-Idrisi was born in C ...
in the 12th century, but it is possible that this is an error of transcription (Arab names like "beni" are abundant on the
peninsula
A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula.
Etymology
The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...
; the name means "family tree") because it does not make sense in Arabic (it would be "the family of the murderer"). Compared with other names in the
Valencian Community
The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wit ...
, the mount name is more likely to be derived from the word "benna", an Arabic transcription of "pinna", which is "rock" in Latin; combined with the adjective "laqanti", which comes from "Laqant," the Arabic name of the city. Therefore, a half Roman, half Arabic
toponym
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''wikt:toponym, toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for ...
, "Benna Laqanti".
The rock mount is covered by
pine tree
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae.
''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as c ...
s and bushes on the north side, while on the south side, which overlooks the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
, there are only rocks. In the intermediate areas there are bushes and grasses that are quite characteristic for the dry
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...
.
The mount is famous for the rock formation on its south-western slope, known as ''la cara del moro'' ("the moor's face").
(view image)
/sup> ''Restoration of the 'cara del moro' begins in Alicante''
(in Spanish), elpais.com, 13 Feb 2008; retrieved Mar 2009.
The medieval fortress of Alicante, the Castle of Santa Bárbara stands on the top of the mount. On its slopes there are Ereta Park, the neighborhoods of Santa Cruz, San Roque, San Anton and Raval Roig, and antique apartments. In recent years it has become a '' botellón'', or place where young people congregate to socialize while drinking alcohol.
Avenida Jaime II, which is a continuation of Avenida de Alfonso el Sabio, crosses the northern foot of the mount, and so does a tunnel of Alicante Tram
The Alicante Tram, trademarked as Alicante Metropolitan TRAM (, ), operates in the Spain, Spanish city of Alicante (Valencian Community) and its surrounding area. Like other narrow gauge railways in the Valencian Community, it is run by Ferrocar ...
.
References
Alicante
Mountains of the Valencian Community
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