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The
extensive territory of the municipality of Malaga, the province’s third
in area, after Antequera and Ronda,
contains at least two very different kinds of landscape. In the north are
the Malaga Mountains, a heavily wooded and, as its name indicates, mountainous
area that is of great ecological and scenic value and has been designated
a Nature Park by the Assembly
of Andalusia. In this same territory, but towards the east, the terrain
clearly has an affinity with that of La Axarquía, and here are found
the highest elevations, such as the Santo Pitar peak (1,020 metres). For more
information about property for sale
in Spain in or near Malaga please contact us.
The country levels out to the west and forms what is known as the Hoya de Malaga (Malaga Valley), which is nothing more than the depression where the valleys of the Rivers Guadalmedina and Guadalhorce join, before emptying into the Mediterranean. In this area the seaward-facing part of the city, which tends to widen to the west, blends with the sugarcane fields, orchards and market gardens that form the last holdouts of an agrarian tradition that is being steadily absorbed by industrial parks and the constantly expanding airport. The urban layout of the city stretches from east to west for some 12 kilometres, and in the approximate centre, the huge semicircle opens up that contains the historic district. Practically all the monuments and tourist sites are concentrated here except for the so-called historic gardens, which are in the outskirts of the city.
Faced with the Assyrian expansion and the progressive desertification of their territories, the Phoenicians from Tyre arrived on the Andalusian coasts around 800 B.C. and during that era founded Malaka. At first, it was less a city than a trading base around the port. Some time later the Greeks would found neighbouring Mainake, which would be destroyed by the Carthaginians, who in turn suffered from the power of Rome and were overcome by it in the late third century B. C. in the Second Punic War. Export activity increased under Roman rule, based mainly on garum (fish sauce or paste), wine and olive oil. In the year 81 A. D., the city was already a federated municipality and several important buildings had been constructed, of which the theatre on the slopes of La Alcazaba has been preserved. As Roman leadership waned, the city passed into the hands of the Silingos, Vandals and Visigoths, and after the Islamic invasion it would belong to the Emirate and subsequent Caliphate of Cordoba.
In later ages, the city would fall under the control of the Hammudi Berbers, the Ziríes of Granada, the Almoravids, the Almohads and the Nazarites. Despite these constant changes, the city retained its commercial activity, owing in large part to the protection provided by its strong walls and to the lookout that could be maintained from the Gibralfaro castle. Christian troops laid siege to the city of Malaga for a century, and it finally surrendered unconditionally in 1487. This unconditional surrender involved slavery or exile for a large number of its residents. With its conversion to Christianity, the city began to transform. It extended its limits to outside the walls and the Church quickly began to build churches and convents. To the Moorish disturbances of the sixteenth century, which ended with their expulsion in 1614 and the consequent shortages, must be added the flooding of the River Guadalmedina and the epidemics that spread through the city in the seventeenth century, as well as the pirate and Berber incursions and the attacks of the French and British fleets. The population, then, arrived at the end of the seventeenth century in a state of exhaustion.
During the next century, Malaga entered an era of greater stability in every sense of the word and, most importantly, the economy began to strengthen, due mainly to agricultural exports. The end of the monopoly on trading with the Indies was a direct factor in the surge in shipping activity. In the nineteenth century the city not only suffered from the Napoleonic invasion but also from the conflicts between Liberals and Absolutists that caused General Torrijos and his companions to die before the firing squad on the beaches of San Andrés in 1831 during the reign of Fernando VII. Towards the middle of this century, Malaga experienced a period of industrialisation based on the textile and steel industries that placed it in second place in Spain in that category.
The Larios and Heredia families were the promoters of this intensive economic activity, and the city showed their appreciation to them by erecting statues and naming some of its main streets after them. It was in the nineteenth century that Malaga took on its urban layout: the working class neighbourhoods and factories were located in the western part and in the eastern part were the large mansions of the new middle class, while in the centre some of the streets were widened and architecturally striking buildings were erected. A new economic crisis was approaching, however. The flourishing industry began to falter and the phylloxera pest destroyed wine production, which had traditionally been one of the pillars of the province’s wealth. There were ups and downs, but the economy of Malaga did not take off until the 1960’s when mass tourism found in the Costa del Sol a destination that would ultimately become a global standard.
Fiestas
The festive calendar of the city of Malaga revolves around two large and well-attended
celebrations: the Semana Santa (Holy Week) and the Feria de Agosto (August
Fair). There are other festivities, however, that are deeply ingrained in
popular tradition, such as the Carnival in late February, Corpus Christi in
late May or early June, the Virgen del Carmen celebration with its marine
procession in mid-July, and the Fiesta Mayor de Verdiales (traditional “verdiales”
music festival) on 28 December at the Venta de San Cayetano in the neighbourhood
of Puerto de la Torre, where you can enjoy the traditional verdiales competition
while sampling the local wine and pork loin. And don’t forget that each
neighbourhood organises its own fiestas. During Semana Santa (Holy Week) Málaga
becomes a gigantic stage where the brotherhoods (cofradías) with their
thrones, enact the Passion of Christ in the street, amid tumultuous popular
fervour that runs the gamut of emotion. Grandeur, absorption, luxury, sobriety,
frenetic activity, singing of saetas, Baroquism in all its manifestations,
silence, cheers and applause...all forming a whole that is hard to explain
but quickly embraced by whoever wants to experience it.
The Feria de Agosto commemorates the taking of Malaga by the Catholic Monarchs and lasts for nine days, during which there is no time for anything but fun and revelry. For the last several decades the Málaga fair has been held in two different places: the historic quarter hosts the so-called Feria de Día (Day Fair) and El Cortijo de Torres, outside the city, is the site of the Real de la Feria (Fairgrounds) where the activity continues until the pre-dawn hours. In the city centre it is the bars that attend to the needs of the public, at the Fairgrounds it is the public and private booths-you can go into any of them–that draw crowds. The official programme for these dates is a voluminous one and satisfies even the most arcane tastes. There is special emphasis, however, on native folklore and flamenco and on the most up-to-date music especially for young people, who can attend concerts by the most famous artists of the moment in the Fairgrounds auditorium. Devotees of bullfighting also look forward impatiently to these days because Malaga’s best bullfights are presented then.
Food
Due to the open and tourism-oriented nature of Malaga and its large
number of restaurants, one can sample almost any type of food here, whether
native, regional or international. Likewise, the establishments run the full
range of categories, from the most modest and economical to the most select
and exquisite, including one (Café de París) with a Michelin
star. In any case the visitor generally demands indigenous specialties, and
there is absolutely no doubt that “pescaíto frito” (small
fried fish) is the gastronomic offer par excellence in this category. Pescaíto
frito can be of various species but boquerón (anchovies), jurel (horse
mackerel), salmonetes (red mullet), calamares (squid), and pijota deserve
special mention, and by extension grilled sardines, clams and coquinas. The
list is longer but this is the most common type of combination. This gastronomic
specialty is especially traditional in restaurants close to the beaches, but
it is served in any establishment in the city. Other quintessentially
Malagueño dishes are gazpacho and ajoblanco (cold soups), gazpachuelo
(a fish soup), ensalada malagueña (a salad of boiled potatoes, codfish,
oranges, hard-boiled eggs, olives, onions and olive oil) and plato de los
Montes. The last dish is characteristic of the many taverns that surround
the capital and consists of fried potatoes, pork loin in lard, blood pudding,
fried peppers and fried eggs.
How to get there:
From any point on either the eastern or western Costa del Sol take
the A-7 (N-340) expressway, where Malaga exits are perfectly marked. If coming
from the interior of Andalucia, first follow the signs to Antequera,
and there get onto the A-45 (N-331) expressway, which leads to Malaga.
Tourist information:
Plaza de la Marina, 11. Telephone: 952 12 20 20; Fax: 952 12 20
23.
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