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Zamora is a distance of 60 km. north of Salamanca, 90 km. from Valladolid, and 250 km. from Madrid. This provincial capital was the scene of many fierce struggles between the Moors and the Christians during the Reconquista, in which the Spanish hero El Cid figured prominently. The town has a Romanesque cathedral and several 12th Century churches. Zamora is often called "the pearl of the 12th Century". The cathedral was founded in 1135. In the cathedral museum are tapestries given in 1608 by the Count of Alba and Aliste with scenes of Hannibal's journeys and the story of Troy. Zamora is an ancient town that has served as a strategic site since Roman times, situated not far from the Portuguese border. The fortified city walls surrounding Zamora are over a thousand years old and were built at the end of the 9th Century. Some very significant parts of the walls still stand, such as the Traitor's Gateway where King Sancho II was murdered in the 11th Century.
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Western Europe
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