Wheel of fortune

This old waterwheel, Noria de la Albolafia originating in the XIIth C, contrasts with the other three waterwheels powering mills downstream of the Roman bridge: for it was designed to lift water to irrigate the gardens of the Alcázar.
Unfortunately Her Royal Highness Queen Isabel - not much of a gardener herself - didn't like the squeaky noise it made, according to local gossip, and ordered it to be stopped. Which it has been for the last few hundred years.
There is a placard expressing the fervent intention to renovate it and the others as soon as money is forthcoming. Unfortunately, a great deal of that money will need to be spent cleaning the mud and detritus from the river and tourists that currently conceals the base of the structure.Read more