Before Cieza was Cieza, there was Siyasa. In the Middle Ages, when this part of Murcia was under Muslim rule, a fortified town stood on the hill above the Segura river, with a mosque, houses, a defensive wall and a castle, and it flourished from about the eighth to the thirteenth century. The ruins have been excavated and are now an archaeological site, with a few walls and foundations on the hillside, a reminder that the history of this valley goes much further back than the modern town. The ride also passes the Cejo Cortado, the Cut Ridge, a rocky outcrop in the same hills.
Los Grajos II, the jackdaw shelter, is about four kilometres from the town, and carries painting in the Levantine tradition, protected by UNESCO as part of the rock art of the Mediterranean basin in Spain. It lies close to the gorge of the Almadenes, where the Segura squeezes between towering rock walls, and the area is one of the most important for rock art in the region.
The land is dry and beautiful, with pine and esparto grass on the hills and orchards of peach and apricot on the valley floor. In February, the blossom turns the valley pink and white. In summer, the heat is fierce, and the rock holds it well into the evening, so go early.
The roads around the town are a mix of fast main routes and narrow lanes into the hills, with tight bends and good views. Surfaces vary, with dust and gravel in places. Traffic is heavy near Cieza and light elsewhere. Spring and autumn are the best seasons.
Cieza, with over thirty-five thousand people, has fuel and food in plenty, and Abarán, with nearly thirteen thousand, and Blanca, with about six thousand, are close. The Ricote valley, with its orchards and Moorish irrigation channels, is a pleasant detour.