New Mexico is full of surprises, just like its nickname, the Land of Enchantment. Madrid is a small historic town that attracts lots of tourists travelling along the Turquoise Trail, a scenic highway between Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
Madrid used to be a coal mining city in the second half of 1800’s. At one point, the coal business was so big that the population of Madrid was more than Albuquerque, the biggest city of New Mexico. Every Christmas, the families of the miners used to decorate the town to make it sparkle like a diamond. As rumour has it, pilots used to change their route at night to show the lights of Madrid to their passengers. In memory of those old happy days, new residents of the town still organize a “Christmas Parade” every year.
As the use of natural gas became popular, the coal mines were closed in 1954 and the locals started to quit Madrid one by one and left almost all their belongings behind. This is actually why it is called a ghost town. I was very surprised when I learned that for once the whole town was for sale.
Madrid owes its rebirth to the artists who moved there in the 1970’s. Today it has a population of around 400 people but it gets really crowded with the visitors, especially in summer. We visited Madrid in June while travelling from Albuquerque to Santa Fe. We were there in the afternoon and it was so crowded we almost couldn’t find an empty spot for our car. I must also say that it was very hot and that makes it very hard to visit.
Most of the old houses are now painted in vibrant colors and used as art galleries or gift shops. We saw some ghost houses outside Madrid but contrary to its fame as a ghost town, it is a very colorful and lively place. It is also probably the best stop in the Turquoise Trail to eat and rest.
I should also say a few words about the altitude sickness. Since we live in Istanbul, we’re used to sea level altitude, whereas Madrid’s altitude is about 1.8m. We had been advised to drink lots of water, not to stay long under the sun and not to drink too much alcohol. We had a few headaches and felt tired but that was it. So you don’t have to worry about the altitude sickness.
