By: Lara Gibson | Date: June 13, 2025 | Newarab.com
On a drive from Valencia to Alicante, I noticed a striking pattern — many place names sounded Arabic. I drove past towns called ‘Alfafar’, ‘Algemensi’, ‘Alcàsser’, and ‘Alzira’. That’s no coincidence: Alicante, for example, stems from al-Laqant, a name dating back to the Al-Andalus period when Arabic was the lingua franca across much of Spain.
That influence is still visible in public spaces. As I entered Alicante, I noticed road signs not just in Spanish and English, but also in Arabic. One sign read: ‘Gran Via – Town Centre – وسط البلد’.
