New Castile-La Mancha, Land of Castles: during the 12th century there was a strip of land between the christian and the moorish territories. The countless castles ìcastillosî gave the name Castile to this region while the name La Mancha comes from the Arab Manxa meaning ìdry land.î This tableland seems to wave smoothly towards the horizon. Even if dry, this land is also very fruitful: wheat, saffron, olive trees and vineyards.This extreme landscape features part of the spanish character which is also reflected in the figure of Don Quixote. Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra published in 1605 the first part of Don Quixote: in this tragicomic masterpiece, an elderly gentleman sets out as a doughty knight errant in search of adventure, hoping to redress wrongs in the terms of the storybooks he loves; he is accompanied by his simple but astute squire, Sancho Panza.