Spain's white villages offer glimpse of vanished past

A couple chats in the white village of Olvera, southern Spain September 13, 2016. REUTERS/Marcelo del Pozo

ARCOS DE LA FRONTERA, Spain (Reuters) - Dazzling clusters of cube-shaped houses perched on top of Andalusia's olive tree-studded mountains, the "Pueblos Blancos", or white villages, of southern Spain are named for the lime wash the buildings are painted with to keep the interiors cool.

The labyrinths of narrow alleyways are a throwback to when this region was known as Al-Andalus and was part of a medieval Muslim territory. Many of their names have Arabic origins, like Alcala, meaning 'castle'.