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Any
reference to El Borge is necessarily a reference to raisins, since it is not
for nothing that nearly half its municipal territory is devoted to this crop,
making it one of the pillars of its economy. In fact, the moment you enter
these lands the first thing you notice is the abundance of vineyards, although
there is no shortage of olive groves.The village sits at the foot of the Cerro
Cutar hill, which rises to 595 metres, and next to
the river that bears the same name as the municipality.This territory, situated
between the Malaga Mountains and the La Axarquía
region, is remarkable for the many hills that cross it, most of which have
been contoured into terraces to permit grape cultivation. Grain fields are
to be seen on the more level areas, and along the river citrus groves, fruit
orchards and vegetable gardens proliferate. For more information about property
for sale in Spain in or near El Borge please contact us.
The configuration of the village can be attributed to the unwritten but customarily followed rule of the wise and distinctive traditional architecture of the mountainous regions of Andalucia: that a terrain that does not permit easy development for human use must be adapted to the activities of its inhabitants. This explains the steep ramps and even the use of steps to connect one street to another. These are architectural devices that, without trying, impart to the urban layout the charm of the spontaneous and even at times the almost unbelievable. The village’s origin, or at least its name, which derives from the Arabic Al Burch (tower or bulwark), dates from the Muslim era. Nothing is known of earlier settlements, and there are no archaeological sites to show the sign of earlier civilisations. It is reasonable to think, nevertheless, that the history of this locality has played out in very similar circumstances to that of the nearest villages, such as Cutar, Comares and Almachar, which made up the judicial district of Cuatro Villas (the Four Royal Burghs).
The chronicles do, however, record the stubborn resistance that the inhabitants put up to the Christian presence after the conquest, a resistance that translated into emphatic support for the sixteenth century Moorish uprising. Help was provided from El Borge for the rebels to flee to the Alpujarra Mountains of Granada, and some of its residents even came to be spokesmen of the rebellion. It all ended with the corregidor (magistrate) of Velez Malaga, Arévalo de Zuarzo, sending a detachment to put down the continuing challenges to authority.
With the final expulsion of the Moors the village was practically abandoned and it was necessary to repopulate it with long-time Christians who came from other regions, including Bilbao, Segovia and Asturias, and this caused a long-term slowdown in the economic activity of the region. In the mid-seventeenth century the locality suffered the ravages of the plague, which decimated the population, and in the last third of the nineteenth century when the village had its greatest density of population the appearance of the phylloxera pest on the one hand and the “Andalucia earthquake” (1884) on the other negatively impacted the development of the municipality.
Fiestas
El Borge’s most recently created fiesta, the “Día de la
Pasa” (“Raisin Day”) is actually the one with the most drawing
power at the present time. Around 10,000 people gather on the third Sunday
in September in this village, which organises varied performances in honour
of its star product and at the same time promotes what is one of the pillars
of its economy. Gazpacho (a cold soup), muscatel wine and embutidos (cold
meats) are consumed on this day, and visitors are made a gift of a small bag
of raisins.
There are demonstrations all day long of the
raisin production process, namely: harvesting the grapes, transporting, spreading
and drying them on the raisin driers, and sorting and packaging them. There
is even a demonstration of grape trampling.
The San Gabriel patron saint fiestas are celebrated for three days: Holy Saturday,
Resurrection Sunday and Easter Monday, throughout which there are massively
attended religious and entertainment events. Pilgrimages are organised for
the days of San Marcos (25 April) and San Isidro (15 May), and on the day
of San Juan is the “Noche de las candelas” (“Night of the
bonfires”).
Food
This village’s most traditional gastronomy is represented by
ajoblanco de almendras (a cold soup with almonds) and gazpacho (another cold
soup), the latter having varieties with beans or cucumber, and by hornazos
(a pastry with a boiled egg), which is eaten especially during the San Marcos
festivities. The raisins and muscatel wine produced in the region add to the
sweetness of the desserts.
How to get there:
There are several ways to get to El Borge; all are to be recommended
for their scenery but some are none too comfortable for the number of curves
they have. The most advisable route is to get off the Mediterranean Expressway
(A-7; N-340) onto the A-335 in the direction of Velez
Malaga. Once you are past that locality, take the MA-145 and later the
MA-178 to the vicinity of Almachar, and turn there
onto the MA-148, which leads to El Borge.
Tourist information:
Town Hall: Plaza de la Constitución, 1 (29718). Telephone:
952 512 033
El Borge property for sale
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