 It is mostly in this region where the story of the famous Spanish novel "Don Quixote" by Miguel de Cervantes is situated, due to which La Mancha is internationally well-known.Although La Mancha is a windswept, battered plateau, it remains a symbol of Spanish culture with its vineyards, sunflowers, mushrooms, olive plantations, windmills, Manchego cheese, and "Don Quixote".The origins of Castilla–La Mancha lay in the Muslim period between the 8th and 14th century.