“Euskal (Basque) Herria (Town-land)” or “The Basque country” in English, is believed to be the land of the oldest living culture of Europe, “The Basque” culture. It is a combination of the oldest traditions with the most vanguardist technologies. It is a country that is proud of its food, having the biggest concentration of Michelin stars per capita in the world. From old castles, spooky towns, coast villages and elegant cities to high skyscrapers, this is the land of those mysterious pagans who, against all belifes, dared to survive, giving us a brief glimpse into how ancient Europe was through their goods, devils, language, and traditions.
Let us begin with its orography, how the country’s nature is composed. The Basque country is for sure mountainous, as in the very middle of it, it has the Pyrenees Mountain range, dividing the north and south Basque country. The north of its land is nowadays part of France and the south of that is part of Spain, being the mountain range the border delimiter. The green of its valleys collides with the blue of the ocean and the yellow of the arid desert that is in the southern part of it. It is believed to be inhabited by mythical creatures such as “Basajun,” so it is better not to get lost in the woods.
Everyone has tried to conquer the Basque Country. From the Roman empire to modern history, where it was even bombarded by the Nazi Luftwaffe, Picasso’s painting “Guernica” being proof of it. The Basques are known for their great historical achievements, no matter who ruled in their land. For instance, they discovered America before anyone else, when they used to haunt wales. After the Spanish colonization of America, they took part on the anticolonial wars of independence, being now places such as Mexico, Argentina and United States.
You can enjoy this country during the whole year due to its numerous festivals. We begin the year with the carnival, a week to dress up like the old mythological creatures in our small towns. In places such as Lantz, Altsasu or Zuberoa, you will find ancient pagan celebrations which can get very scary. Specially in summer, the most famous festival named “Iruña” comes. You can see people are all dressed up white and red color and run across the city’s streets being persecuted by a herd of bulls.
Accompanied by festivals, sports competitions come hand in hand, having the most unique sports in Europe. Even if football is the main sport practiced, especially in the rural areas, we can find sports such as lifting a tree hundredkilogram rock as many times as possible, or which is the most famous of the “Herri Kirolak” (Town sports), the “Esku pilota,” being the fastest sport in the world in one of its modalities.
But surely, after doing those tough sports, Basque people’s favorite thing to do is to eat, well. Usually, groups of friends meet in places called “Txoko” to cook all together. They spend the evening cooking and drinking. Every town’s festival has its own cooking competition where literally all the town takes part, for many their favorite day of the festivity. Our cooking skills are so good that even in a town with just 1300 habitants called “Atxondo,” you can find what nowadays is the 6th best restaurant in the entire world.
So, if you have ever dreamed about a world of such a great age that no one remembers when it was born, I would like to invite you to discover the mysteries and traditions of The Basque Country, giving you the chance to have a hundred percent European experience in this ancient land.