Arab Baths

The Arab Baths are a nice short stop in Ronda, you don't need much more than half an hour. They date from the 13th to 14th century and are among the best preserved Moorish baths in Spain. They sit just outside the old walls in the San Miguel quarter, down by the stream next to the old bridge. You find them at the end of the new walk through the valley under the bridge, so this is not a place to start from, it's more of a follow-up visit once you've done the walk.

Inside you walk through the main hall with its brick arches and columns, and what you notice first is the roof. It's full of little star shaped holes that let the light in, and standing underneath looking up is probably the best part. The baths follow the old idea of a cold, a warm and a hot room with a boiler room next to them, and most of the water system is still there, including the arched aqueduct and the tower with the waterwheel that brought the water from the stream. There's also a short film inside that explains how a bath like this worked in Andalusi times. The room is small, about ten people, but it makes it a lot easier to understand what you're looking at.

Outside you can look down on the ruins from above, and on the roof you see all the little glass covers over the skylights, which is funny after seeing them from underneath. After the Castilian conquest the baths stopped being used as baths and the place turned into tanneries, and you can still see some remains of those.

The baths are where the new walk under the bridge comes out, so you can't really start here, it's the exit of the walk. That makes it an ideal extra stop. Do the walk first, have a quick look around the baths at the end, and then walk back up to the centre of Ronda.