The Astaroth Leisure Port takes its name from the name the Tartessians gave to Rota. The Tartessians were one of the first cultures which settled in our town. The port was inaugurated in 1992 on the occasion of the 470 Sailing World Championship. Later, it was restored to become the port complex we enjoy nowadays.
The fishing port is located in the North end of the Bay of Cádiz. It is built over a big esplanade which is an extension of the town centre of Rota. Its main entrance door is called “Puerta del Mar”. The first lighthouse dates back to the beginning of the 20th century (1915) and it is situated just on this door.
This market was built in 1928 over part of the lot of the ancient Convent of La Merced. There are several market stalls around a porticoed central courtyard where you can buy meat, fish, eggs, fruits, vegetables, etc. and also a café. In 1962 a second floor was built since the number of people of the town increased significantly. In 2008 the courtyard of the public market was restored using a similar style to that of the convent it was before.
Today it is also a multidisciplinary centre which has an exhibition hall and some municipal offices. Do not hesitate to visit it and get to know some of the local products we use to make our traditional dishes.
The former lighthouse is situated on an ancient entrance gate which takes you to the port. The lighthouse we have today is located nearby, at the entrance of the port. It was created by Francisco Cebrián and it was inaugurated in 1980. It is made of a cylindrical concrete shaft and it is about 27 metres high. Its lighting consists in a lamp made of irregular incandescent crystals which projects a light up to 16 miles away.
If we look up the word “trascalar” in a Spanish dictionary, we can check it does not exist. This is the clearest proof of the singularity of these houses (casas que trascalan). We have invented a new word to refer to them. The word “tras-cala” means the action of entering a collective house through a door which is in one street and leaving it through a door which is in a parallel street. This is a popular and common type of collective housing in Rota whose singularities come from the elongated shape the vegetable gardens of the city used to have. A collective house is formed by several houses situated along a central corridor. It is decorated with typical Andalusian flower pots and plants by the neighbours who live there.
