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Vejer’s rich Moorish history has been brought back to life with its incredible hammam

COMPRISING the three traditional pools, a Tepidarium of warm water, a Caldarium of boiling water and a Frigidarium of freezing water, it is the perfect way to experience the centuries old hammam experience.

Add in a steam and sauna room and a chill out space to take mint tea and you could be sitting in central Fez. That’s at the stunning new hammam that has finally opened in Vejer after a decade of careful planning. It is certainly not the first time this white gem of a town had its own hammam.

During the days of Al-Andalus Moorish travellers would arrive by horseback in town in search of it. Worn out and filthy they would head to the hammam to relax and get cleaned up before getting on with their trip. All Arabic settlements had one and the ritual of cleanliness meant being closer to holiness and all men and women in Arabic Spain used them.

Installed in a strategic spot in the casco historico between the ancient Moorish Alcazaba castle and the former Mesquita (now the Church of Divino Salvador), the Vejer hammam is the ultimate experience not to be missed.

Cleverly installed in an old merchant’s house, it was the brainwave of Vejer businessman James Stuart, who came up with the idea with his business partner Regli, while on a trip to Morocco in 2010. “We wanted to do something really special, something completely different for Vejer,” James told the Olive Press. “And the hammam is not just great on a touristic level, but also on a cultural level, helping people to understand and appreciate our rich Andalucian history.”

The cavernous space comes as a real surprise after entering via a simple front door off the back street, Calle Eduardo Shelly. You are handed some typical Moroccan slippers, ushered through some heavy velvet curtains and the dark interior slowly comes into view as your eyes get accustomed to the light after around two or three minutes. Beautifully designed and imagined by James’ wife Ellie Cormie, the rich red ochre walls gradually segway into lighter blues for the colder water areas. Dozens of candles light each corner, while the classical hamman ceiling lets in limited light through a grid of small star openings. The circuit, which you are meant to undertake three or four times, is excellent for health and at the end you take your pot of fresh mint tea.

IN a dusty pot-holed lane leading down one of the Costa de la Luz’s least known beaches, sits one of its true dining secrets.

La Traina, in the hamlet of Zahora, is one of those places you pass in the blink of an eye, but you miss at your peril.

Set in a leafy garden behind a high wall, the only real giveaway is the amount of vehicles fighting for a ‘hueco’ in its car park across the road. Even on a Tuesday lunchtime in June the place is packed and it is easily one of the coolest on the coast… and that’s not just from its deep shade and clever channeling of the area’s famous local breeze.

La Traina is the brainchild of house DJ, Antonio, and his brother Alex, a chef, who both have an intimate knowledge and passion for the local seafood, hence naming the place after a type of trawler.

Set in its verdant, shady garden, it is a veritable breath of fresh air at lunchtime and charming at night with candles. Want to try the famous blue fin tuna? This is one of the best places on the coast, in particular as its supplier of the world’s most prized fish is Spain’s most respected, based up the road in Barbate… but best of all its prices have stayed down, compared to its nearby rivals, such as Campero.

The tartare is unbelievably good although I also love the sashimi of ventresca and, in particular, the tartaki, which

There are so many hidden restaurants tucked away up in the hills around the Costa de la Luz. The key is knowing how to find them, writes

Jon Clarke