Mount Benacantil () is a mount (or rather a large

hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not a ...

) that dominates the urban part of

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...

, and is the characteristic image of the city. The mount name appears as '' Banu-l-Qatil'' in the work of Muslim

geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...

Al-Idrisi in the 12th century, but it is possible that this is an error of transcription (Arab names like "beni" are abundant on the peninsula; the name means "family tree") because it does not make sense in Arabic (it would be "the family of the murderer"). Compared with other names in the

Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wi ...

, the mount name is more likely to be derived from the word "benna", an Arabic transcription of "pinna", which is "rock" in Latin; combined with the adjective "laqanti", which comes from "Laqant," the Arabic name of the city. Therefore, a half Roman, half Arabic

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

, "Benna Laqanti". The rock mount is covered by

pine tree A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden ac ...

s and bushes on the north side, while on the south side, which overlooks the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

, there are only rocks. In the intermediate areas there are bushes and grasses that are quite characteristic for the dry

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

. The mount is famous for the rock formation on its south-western slope, known as ''la cara del moro'' ("the moor's face").(view image)
/sup> ''Restoration of the 'cara del moro' begins in Alicante''
(in Spanish), elpais.com, 13 Feb 2008; retrieved Mar 2009. The medieval fortress of Alicante, the

Castle of Santa Bárbara A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

stands on the top of the mount. On the slopes of the mount there are Park Ereta, neighborhoods of Santa Cruz, San Roque, San Anton and Raval Roig, and antique apartments. In recent years it became a

botellón Botellón (; Spanish for "big bottle") is a Spanish activity when people congregate in public areas to socialize while drinking alcohol. The activity is popular among teenagers and young adults partly in response to rising drink prices at bars o ...

place. Avenida Jaime II, which is a continuation of Avenida de Alfonso el Sabio, crosses the northern foot of the mount, and so does a tunnel of Alicante Tram.

References

Alicante Mountains of the Valencian Community {{Valencia-geo-stub