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History
Alicante is a city with historical background and diverse culture. It has been inhabited for more than seven thousand years.
People belonging to the Iberian Civilization were amongst the first inhabitants to occupy the regions of Alicante. Tribes of hunters moved to Alicante around 5000 and 3000 BC. They resided on the Mount Benacantil, where Santa Barbara is located today. Greeks and Phoenician came to Alicante for the purposes of trading through the ports of Spain around 1000BC and they introduced the Iberians locals to alphabets, iron and pottery wheels. Carthaginians and Romans invaded and fought the locals as well as traders to gain control to Iberian Peninsula in the sixth century. After the defeat of their rivals, Roman alone gained control of most of the province and established their rule which expanded over the period of 700 years.
However when the Arab invaded Alicante, none of its local tribes including Romans and Goths put up much resistance. Arab brought along gifts of rice, oranges, palms, art and architecture. It was the Arab who named the city Alicante which is Arabic term for the city of lights. They ruled southern and eastern Spain till the 11th century. In 1246, Alicante was taken over the Castellan king Alfonso X.
Alicante then came out of the clutches of military dictatorship it underwent the revolutionary wars which was controlled by the Republican army after enormous bloodshed. General Franco occupied Alicante after defeating the Republic government. After France his successor Juan Carlos I leaded Alicante to a successful transition.
The prosperous history of Alicante has been displayed in several museums across Alicante. Alicante has notable landmarks and architecture that are worth watching and you can see these sights by car rental Alicante. A very convenient facility provided by the Alicante authorities is the car rental Alicante airport. When tourists arrive in Alicante, they could use this service to roam about freely in the city.