The names on the map around Moratalla tell the story of who was here before. Benizar begins with Beni, from the Arabic banu, the sons of, and the same prefix turns up all over the Spanish east: Benimantell, Benilloba, Benimarfull, Beniarrés. They are the names of the clans who farmed these valleys when this was part of al-Andalus, and who gave their ancestors' names to villages that have outlived the families. Benizar I is the first of four shelters in the hamlet's surroundings, about twelve kilometres from Moratalla, in a landscape of limestone ridges, pine and scrub.
The ride from Moratalla runs north across the high country towards Socovos, over low passes with long views and few other vehicles. The bends are broad and easy to read, and the surface is generally good, though some stretches are patched. Spring is lovely, with wildflowers and a green haze on the hills, and autumn is warm and clear. In July the heat is intense. In winter, check for ice in the shade.
Moratalla, a town of about eight and a half thousand, is the sensible place to buy fuel, and its castle is worth a visit. Socovos, in Albacete, is a pleasant village of nearly two thousand people with a bar or two, and Férez is smaller. The Moors left more than names in this area. The terraces, springs and water channels that sustain the villages are of Andalusi origin, and some are still in use.
The shelter belongs to the older layer of the landscape, the Levantine paintings of hunters and animals, and is small and fenced. Take water, treat the site with care, and enjoy the quiet.
It is worth noticing how much of the vocabulary of Spanish riding country is Arabic. Alfafara, Albocàsser, Alcoi, Almadenes, the word acequia for an irrigation ditch, even the word aceituna for the olive, all come from the language of the people who lived here for eight centuries, and a rider with a map and a little curiosity can read the history of a district in its place names, as clearly as in the paint on its rocks.