Folklore experts are well aware of the stories of enchanted mountains and caves.
In Italy, for example, there is a legend that the Emperor Frederick II of Sicily is sleeping in the Mount Etna, who will rise after the Apocalypse in order to rule the world. Thanks to the work of Pavel Bazhov, we know the Ural legend about the Mistress of the Copper Mountain, some Arab legends from The Thousand and One Nights are consonant with this tale. But not everyone can use folklore in their own interests …
Soldier and Arabian steed
In October 1492, the Spanish navigator Christopher Columbus discovered America. On October 13, his expedition hoisted the Castilian flag on the island of San Salvador, and a couple of weeks later the island of Cuba appeared before the sailors. A little earlier, in January of the same year, another important event took place: the last Arab stronghold on the Iberian Peninsula, the Emirate of Granada, fell under the blows of the Spanish troops. Its capital, the city of El Gamra, was destroyed during a long siege. Christian Granada grew next to these ruins, but a special governor looked after the remains of El Hamra for a long time.
At the beginning of the 19th century, a very strange story happened there. One morning a patrol, obliged to catch the smugglers hiding there in the ruins, heard a horse stamping in a nearby grove and a voice loudly humming an old romance. Soon the singer appeared at the edge of the forest. It was a tanned soldier in rags, who was leading a beautiful Arabian horse with expensive harness and saddle. A patrol led by a corporal detained the soldier and escorted him to the penultimate governor of the city - an old one-armed rogue and a great original.
The governor was drinking hot chocolate in the company of a Franciscan monk. They were served by a young, very beautiful, albeit simply dressed girl. The governor was surprised that the poor soldier was leading such an expensive horse, and, like the corporal, suspected that something was wrong. The stranger said that he could tell amazing things about his horse, but he was ready to do it only alone with his excellency or in the presence of a person whom he infinitely trusts. The governor ordered the corporal and his charges to go out the door and, together with the monk and the girl, prepared to listen.
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Enchanted cave
It turned out that the soldier, having received his resignation, was returning to his native village in Andalusia. The night before he was still in Old Castile, where at dusk he stopped under a bridge by a brook in a crevice. After some time, a man in an ancient Moorish costume, cuirass and steel helmet emerged from a nearby dilapidated ancient tower, holding a beautiful horse by the bridle. They came to the stream. The horse drank for a very, very long time. The soldier remarked, "Buddy, your horse has a glorious thirst - a sign of good health." He replied that the horse had not drunk for a whole year, and he himself was in a hurry to go to Andalusia. The soldier asked permission to become a fellow traveler of the stranger and received his consent.
They both mounted a horse, and he galloped at an unprecedented speed. As the riders zipped through the city gates, the soldier shouted, "Where are we?" Before the Moor could tell him Segovia, the horse carried them far out of town. In this stormy race they passed the Gwadar Mountains. Escurial, Madrid and the English Channel, until they stopped at a platform near a certain mountain.
A narrow cave entrance gaped nearby. Meanwhile, people in Moorish dress, some on foot, others on horseback, converged and gathered from all sides and, like bees returning to their hive, disappeared into the cave. The soldier's new comrade spurred his horse and fought his way through the crowd. They drove through a narrow tunnel into the heart of the mountain. Left and right side grottos were visible: some of them, like arsenals, were filled with all kinds of weapons, in others there were horse and foot spearmen-Moors.
The Mystery of Allah
The tunnel led the horsemen to an underground palace clad in gold. Inside the palace there was a throne on which a Moorish prince sat. The crowd passed the throne, paying homage to the prince.
Numb with surprise, the soldier asked his comrade: "What does all this mean?" To which he replied: “We are in front of a great and terrible secret: you see on the throne of Muhammad Abdullah al-Zogoibi, the last Emir of Granada. What you don't know, Christian dogs, is that Abdullah and the last defenders of Granada were saved and transported to this mountain by the prophet of the faithful. As for the false Abdullah and the army that betrayed Granada to the Spaniards, they are just ghosts born of hell. All Spain is an enchanted country, the will of Allah keeps warriors underground there until the day of liberation comes. Once a year, on the eve of the feast of St. John, all the Moors under the spell are freed from sunset to sunrise. The emir's subjects use this night to come and worship him. The crowd you see is Muslimenchanted at the same time throughout the entire space of their empire. For two and a half centuries, the ruined tower near the bridge in Old Castile serves as my dwelling. The horse and foot warriors you saw in the side caves are the ancient defenders of Granada. As soon as the enchantment disappears, Abdullah and his subjects will awaken from sleep and appear to take possession of the capital, their El-Hamra, and restore Islam throughout Spain."
When asked when the cherished hour would come, the Moor said: “This is the secret of Allah. We had hoped to see the dawn of a victory day soon, but an old warrior covered in glory is in command of El Hamra. As long as this leader, who has only one hand left to serve his sovereign, will defend the fortress entrusted to him, any attempt is useless."
A mysterious companion dismounted to greet Abdullah himself. At that moment, the soldier jumped into the saddle and galloped out of the cave. Fear deprived the soldier of his senses, and he regained consciousness only in the morning, lying on a hill. He began to carefully descend, leading the horse on the bit, and only from the patrol learned that he was near El-Hamra.
Wanderer Staff
This is not to say that the governor believed the story of the stranger. He ordered the corporal to put chains on the legs of the soldier and imprison him in the Red Tower. The horse was taken to the stable. Popular rumor made the prisoner of the Red Tower either an unknown smuggler, or the leader of a gang of robbers named Manuel Borasco. It was said that the villain had already made his way to Granada more than once to collect information about the departing merchants, whom he then waited and robbed in the canyons of the Alpujarra mountains. All those robbed by this robber rushed to El-Gamra for a confrontation with him, but no one recognized the detained soldier Manuel Borasco.
Even the Governor-General of Granada and the Grand Inquisitor became interested in the stranger and his mysterious history. But the governor of El Hamra did not give the prisoner of the Red Tower to either one or the other. However, just in case, His Excellency decided to transfer the soldier to a more reliable prison. But the next morning the corporal, who was charged with this, did not find the prisoner in his cell. "It can not be!" - exclaimed the governor and asked who was the last to communicate with the prisoner. The corporal said - the same young girl who serves His Excellency. She brought food to the prisoner every evening. They sent for the maid, but her bed was not even crumpled. There was no doubt: the girl, having fallen in love with a handsome tramp, deceived the vigilance of the guards and fled with him. With the help of a search, the investigators establishedthat the governor's chest provided the fugitives with a hefty amount of travel expenses. Finally we went to the stable, but it was also empty. Only in the manger did they find a wanderer's staff, on which the inscription was carved: "To the one-armed governor of El Hamra as a keepsake from Manuel Borasco."
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