What are ewe looking at? Hundreds of sheep paraded through the streets of Madrid as shepherds mark an ancient tradition dating back to 1273

24.10.2016 08:13

Tert.am (hy)

Hundreds of sheep are being herded through the streets of Madrid in the city's annual Transhumance festival, the Daily Mail reports.

These incredible images show herders bringing some of their flock through the city as part of the traditional seasonal livestock migration.

The Fiesta de la Transhumancia is a celebration which has been marked since the Middle Ages.

According to the National Post, Spanish shepherds have a long standing right to use those pathways through the city and have been doing so to move their sheep to different grazing grounds since 1273.

The sheep were taken from the door of the King, through the gardens of Park Athens, past the Cuesta de la Vega or Muslim Walls of Madrid, ending at Cibeles Palace, on Sunday, October 23.

Most of the migration of sheep will have already happened, with this festival being a key part of the city's effort to maintain the ancient routes.

The Fiesta de la Transhumancia takes place in Madrid towards the end of October each year and marks an ancient tradition

Two sheep herders move some of the woolly animals through the streets of downtown Madrid, along the same ancient routes used since 1273

Hundreds of sheep are moved through the history second city of Spain during the festival and the sight can be quite a surprise to tourists

What are ewe looking at?: A sheep pops his head up to look ahead as he is guided down the streets by herders marking the old routes

Nowadays the Fiesta serves more to remember the older ways of animal transportation, as most of the flocks will have been moved earlier in October

A child called Max, 5, gets in to the middle of a flock as others look on from the side. The sight of hundreds of sheep next to modern cars is not a common one to many people

A female shepherd in a flat cap and checked shirt leads the way as a male shepherd behind her keeps the flock in line and wraps up warmer

A female shepherd wraps up warm in a dark coat and scarf and ushers the flock through with a crook while she smokes a cigarette

Max, 5, runs through a flock of sheep as they are mustered along the streets of Madrid on Sunday afternoon for Transhumance

Tourists and residents keep the rain off as they watch the Fiesta. It is tradition for the shepherds to move their flocks to find better pastures for winter

shepherdess lights a cigarrete as she leads a flock of sheep along the streets of Madrid city center during the annual livestock migration festival

A couple enjoy a drink in a bar as the incredible sight of hundreds of sheep walking through the centre of the city goes by them

Sheep are mustered along the streets past parked cars on their way uphill. The route takes the sheep past some of the city's best-known landmarks

Sheep are herded outside the Cybeles Palace where a large 'Refugees Welcome' sign has been hung as migrants from Calais are relocated

The sheep were taken from the door of the King, through the gardens of Park Athens, past the Cuesta de la Vega or Muslim Walls of Madrid before finishing the route at the palace

A nod to ancient tradition, the sheep are now juxtaposed on a modern background of billboard advertising and tarmac streets