The above photo was taken on a walk up to the Castillo de Gibralfaro in Malaga, Spain. It was built by the Moors during their occupation of the Iberian Peninsula in the Middle Ages. It is located on Mount Gibralfaro (~130m up) in the center of the city, overlooking the historic core, the waterfront, and its lower elevation sibling -- the Alcazaba (or citadel). In the Middle Ages, this is what it meant for a city to be defensible. High ground. Formidable double walls. And places to shoot from. Thankfully, today, I think one could easily argue that "urban defensibility" tends to instead rely on things like knowledge, innovation, and diversity. Here are a couple of photos from inside the fortress. It is always amazing to see what labor was able to build without the technologies that we have today.

Portions of it were built using a very elegant and elongated brick. Above is the bar area at the top. Presumably this was a later addition, though, supposedly the Moors did make and sell wine from the Andalucia region. If you ever find yourself in Malaga, this complex is a must visit.