You come to this fortress and bring back to life the sentries who, between one siege and the next, risked their lives for a span of border. Forget fairy-tale castles with princesses; this colossus is pure war machine, a survivor who has seen more battles than the characters in *Game of Thrones*.

So climb to the top of the keep and take in everything around you: the historic quarter of the Gothic Quarter in Valencia de Alcántara, one of the most important and extensive Jewish quarters in the province, or the Marvão Castle, now in Portugal. Hundreds of years of keeping an eye on one another.

And closer by, next to the fortress, you’ll see the ancient Rocamador Church, the setting where Princess Isabel, daughter of the Catholic Monarchs, and Manuel of Portugal had a A Royal Wedding which ended in a dynastic alliance. Because life wasn’t all going to be a struggle between one siege and the next.