Camaguey Cuba Travel Agency is the largest province in Cuba.
It is located in the eastern-central part of the country, 550 km (around
340 miles) east of Havana. The largest number of cays and islets in the
Cuban archipelago lie just off its coasts, and it has over 120 km (75
miles) of beautiful beaches 25 percent of the length of all the beaches
in Cuba.
When the Spaniards founded this settlement in 1514, they
named it Santa María del Puerto Príncipe, but the Indians' name for it
is the one that has lasted over the years. Now, both the province and
its capital city are called Camagüey.
People say that the settlement was born of clay, because that was the
material used for making the bricks of which the first houses were built.
The large, Arabic-style earthenware jars (tinajones) that were used for
storing rainwater in the past and that symbolize the province now were
also made of clay. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were around
16,000 of those jars in the city.
Camaguey Cuba Travel Agency Declared a national monument, the historic center of the province's capital-parts
of whose asymmetric design resemble a spider web-is the largest in Cuba
and one of those which best preserve their colonial atmosphere and architecture.
Very early in its history, Camagüey became a land of legends. Like every
other place, its culture is distinctive-in this case, influenced not only
by the economic prosperity which has always characterized the region (and
often attracted corsairs and pirates) but also by its history.
Camagüey has an abundance of beautiful scenery, ranging
from Santa Lucía Beach and the Reina (Queen's) Archipelago, with its heavenly
Caguama (Loggerhead Turtle) Cay, to the Cubitas Mountain Range. Here,
you can see interesting flora and fauna and go in for water sports, hunting
and fishing.
Camaguey Cuba Travel Agency, During the first few years after Santa María del Puerto
del Príncipe was founded in 1514, its inhabitants pulled up stakes several
times, trying to evade attacks by pirates and corsairs. It was moved to
its present site, between the Tínima and Hatibonico Rivers, in early 1528.
Now, Tínima is the name not only of the river but also of an exquisite
beer that is made in this province.
The city, which was officially named Camagüey in 1903,
preserves much of the enchantment of its colonial past. The oldest part
of the city is the largest (300 hectares) historic center in the country
and one of the best preserved. It has been declared a national monument.
Its narrow, winding streets give the city a Christian-Muslim-Andalusian
flavor.
Explore it on foot. That way, you won't miss any of the
main churches, other buildings and squares which date from the era of
Spanish rule and from the republican period. Many of these buildings are
made of clay, as may be seen in their brick walls, red tiled roofs and
famous earthenware jars Camaguey Cuba Travel Agency.
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