Notes

Colomares Castle, the 33-metre-tall Buddhist Benalmádena Stupa, the largest Buddhist stupa in Europe, the Benalmádena Marina and the Benalmádena Cable Car.
Benalmádena has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Benalmádena experienced a remarkable development during the period of Muslim domination. Its development was paralyzed after joining the Crown of Castile in 1485 due to various natural disasters and the intensity of the activity of privateers in the area. The paper industry and vineyard cultivation reactivated the local economy during the 18th and 19th centuries.
In the early 21st century Benalmádena is one of the main tourist destinations on the Costa del Sol, with leisure facilities including an amusement park, two aquariums, a casino, a cable car and one of the largest marinas of Andalusia.[6a]
Benalmádena has both a traditional Spanish village and a modern, coastal, tourist area.
Before Roman Empire
The first human settlements in the area are from the Upper Palaeolithic, 20,000 years ago according to the finding of some caves located in the area: “Cueva del Toro”, “Cueva del Botijo” and “Cueva de la Zorrera” In the 8th and 7th centuries BC the Phoenicians, were interested of the mining of the zone. the Phoenicians founded several colonies all along the Spanish coast. Romans replaced Phoenicians as traders and started to use the wealth of the Mediterranean. Among the Roman remains are the ruins of Benal-Roma, a salting factory located on the coast, the site of Torremuelle, and enamelware and other items preserved in the Museum of Benalmádena. The wine culture had great importance during the period of Roman domination.

Middle Ages
In the following centuries the area became depopulated. People sought refuge within Málaga’s city walls from attacks and looting from the sea. The municipality was included in the Roman province of Baetica. It was later taken by Visigoths and Byzantines. After the Muslim invasion of the Iberian Peninsula, the area was greatly developed. In the 11th century, the population were concentrated into a walled town and a fortress, both located in "Benalmádena Pueblo". Muslims developed the agriculture and introduced sugar cane, figs, grapes and mulberry (used in the textile industry) from the East. Ibn al-Baitar, one of the most important botanists and pharmacologists of the Middle Ages, was born here in 1197.

Before French revolution
In 1456 the fort and the town were destroyed by Christian armies under the command of King Enrique IV of Castilla. The villagers took refuge in Mijas to rebuild their homes, which were destroyed again in 1485 by King Ferdinand the Catholic in his final conquest. Over the next six years the town was deserted. In 1491 the king ordered Alonso Palmero to colonise the area with thirty old Christians and Palmero as mayor, but an earthquake and the constant pirate attacks made it impossible to inhabit the town. It was in these times that the Arabic name became Castilianized and the town became Benalmaina.

Modern age

One of the 'floating houses' in Puerto Deportivo in Benalmádena

Chinese junk making trips for tourists in Benalmádena
In 1784 the Italian Félix Solesio purchased the farm “Arroyo de la Miel” to build six paper factories to supply the Royal Factory of Playing Cards of Macharaviaya. The destination for most production was the American market. This would mean the birth of the nucleus of Arroyo de la Miel around the new business and the factories built at what is now “Plaza de España”, containing the “Portal de San Carlos” (San Carlos gate) with the arms of Solesio and the “La Tribuna” building. A monument to the founder of this complex was erected in the square. In the 19th century the city grew through the exploitation of muscatel grapes for the wine production, but the vine plague of phylloxera ruined crops across the province. Epidemics of malaria, typhoid and cholera also undermined the population. The municipality's population boom began in the 1950s with the birth and development of mass tourism on the Spanish coast. Many established hotels, restaurants and businesses opened in this period, such as the Hotel Triton [1961], Tivoli World amusement park [1973], Torrequebrada casino and hotel [1979], Selwo Aquarium, Sea Life Aquarium, Chollocasa, Cable car, Irentinsapain, Hotel Alay. Many more were constructed in the early 21st century.
The municipality has three main urban areas:

Benalmádena Pueblo, the original village, which lies about three kilometres inland at an elevation of approximately 200 m above mean sea level. Its core consists of a typical white-fronted Andalusian village, although including numerous recent buildings in modern architectural styles. The town of Benalmádena also has an archaeological museum with locally derived artefacts dating back to the Bronze Age.
Benalmádena Costa, an urban agglomeration on the coast. Here there are discos, hotels, beaches, shopping centers and an extensively-equipped marina.[7] Tourist attractions include SeaLife aquarium and Selwo Marina, a theme park with dolphins, penguins and seals among other species. The Parque Paloma is a more recent addition to the attractions, a landscaped park containing a large lake and animals running wild.
Arroyo de la Miel (Honey Stream), originally a separate village, is in the interior between the other two areas. It has become the main residential area, and is also the most commercially active. Buildings, many of them apartment blocks. are tightly packed. It has attractions such as the Tivoli World amusement park, and a teleferico (cable car) running to the summit of the 769-metre Calamorro mountain, which provides panoramic views of the Sierra Nevada, Gibraltar and, on clear days, the Moroccan coastline.
Málaga (/ˈmæləɡə/, Spanish: [ˈmalaɣa]) is a municipality, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain.






Málaga


Málaga (/ˈmæləɡə/, Spanish: [ˈmalaɣa]) is a municipality, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 571,026 in 2018,[4] it is the second-most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth-largest in Spain. The southernmost large city in Europe, it lies on the Costa del Sol (Coast of the Sun) of the Mediterranean, about 100 kilometres (62.14 miles) east of the Strait of Gibraltar and about 130 km (80.78 mi) north of Africa.

Málaga's history spans about 2,800 years, making it one of the oldest cities in Europe and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. According to most scholars, it was founded about 770 BC by the Phoenicians as Malaka[5] (Punic: 𐤌𐤋𐤊𐤀, mlkʾ)[6] From the 6th century BC the city was under the hegemony of Ancient Carthage, and from 218 BC, it was ruled by the Roman Republic and then empire as Malaca (Latin). After the fall of the empire and the end of Visigothic rule, it was under Islamic rule as Mālaqah (Arabic: مالقة‎) for 800 years, but in 1487, the Crown of Castille gained control after the Reconquista. The archaeological remains and monuments from the Phoenician, Roman, Arabic and Christian eras make the historic center of the city an "open museum", displaying its history of nearly 3,000 years.
This important cultural infrastructure and the artistic heritage have culminated in the nomination of Málaga as a candidate for the 2016 European Capital of Culture.

The painter and sculptor Pablo Picasso, Hebrew poet and Jewish philosopher Solomon Ibn Gabirol and the actor Antonio Banderas were born in Málaga. The magnum opus of Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona, "Malagueña", is named after the music of this region of Spain.
The Andalusia Technology Park (PTA), located in Málaga, has enjoyed significant growth since its inauguration in 1992. Málaga is the main economic and financial centre of southern Spain, home of the region's largest bank, Unicaja, and the fourth-ranking city in economic activity in Spain behind Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia.[7]

Phoenicians from Tyre founded a colony named Málaka (Greek: Μάλακα)[8] or Malake[6] about 770 BC. The town controlled access to the Guadalmedina and served as a waypoint on trade routes between Phoenicia and the Strait of Gibraltar. Like other Phoenician colonies, it fell under Carthaginian rule during the 6th or 5th century BC.

After the Punic Wars, the Roman Republic took control of the town known to them as Malaca. Transformed into a confederated city, it was under a special law, the Lex Flavia Malacitana. A Roman theatre was built at this time.[9] After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, it was ruled first by the Visigoths and then by the Byzantine Empire (550–621).[citation needed] It was regained by the Visigoths in 621 and ruled by them until the Umayyad Caliphate's conquest of the area in 711.


A 19th-century reconstruction of Moorish Malaqah

Málaga in 1572: Castle of Gibralfaro (center)
In the 8th century, the city became an important regional trade center. After its secession from the caliphate, Cordoba ruled over the town known to them as Mālaqah. After the fall of Spain's branch of the Umayyads, Malaqah became the capital of a distinct kingdom ruled by the Zirids. From 1025 it was the capital of an autonomous taifa, until its conquest by the Emirate of Granada in 1239.

The traveller Ibn Battuta, who passed through around 1325, characterised it as "one of the largest and most beautiful towns of Andalusia [uniting] the conveniences of both sea and land, and... abundantly supplied with foodstuffs and fruits". He praised its grapes, figs, and almonds; "its ruby-coloured Murcian pomegranates have no equal in the world." Another exported product was its "excellent gilded pottery". The town's mosque was large and beautiful, with "exceptionally tall orange trees" in its courtyard.[10]

Málaga was one of the Iberian cities where Muslim rule persisted the longest. While most other parts of the peninsula had already been won back during the Reconquista, Moors still occupied Malaqah. Málaga was retaken by Christian forces on 18 August 1487,[11] The Muslim inhabitants resisted assaults and artillery bombardments before hunger forced them to surrender; virtually the entire population was sold into slavery or given as "gifts" to other Christian rulers,[12] five years before the fall of Granada.

On 24 August 1704 the indecisive Battle of Málaga, the largest naval battle in the War of the Spanish Succession, took place in the sea south of Málaga.

After the coup of July 1936 the government of the Second Republic retained control of Málaga. Its harbour was a base of the Republican navy at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. It suffered heavy bombing by Italian warships which took part in breaking the Republican navy's blockade of Nationalist-held Spanish Morocco and took part in naval bombardment of Republican-held Málaga.[13] After the Battle of Málaga and the Francoist takeover in February 1937, over seven thousand people were killed.[14] The city also suffered shelling later by Spanish Republican naval units. The well-known British journalist and writer Arthur Koestler was captured by the Nationalist forces on their entry into Málaga, which formed the material for his book Spanish Testament. The first chapters of Spanish Testament include an eye-witness account of the 1937 fall of Málaga to Francisco Franco's armies during the Spanish Civil War.

After the war, Málaga and Koestler's old haunts of Torremolinos and the rest of the Costa del Sol enjoyed the highest growth of the tourism sector in Spain.

The urban area, stretching mostly along a narrow strip of coastline, has a population of 1,066,532 on 827.33 square kilometres (319.43 sq mi) (density 1,289 hab / km² – 2012 data). It is formed by Málaga proper together with the following adjacent towns and municipalities: Rincón de la Victoria, Torremolinos, Benalmádena, Fuengirola, Alhaurín de la Torre, Mijas, Marbella and San Pedro Alcántara. The Málaga metropolitan area includes additional municipalities located mostly in the mountains area north of the coast and also some on the coast: Cártama, Pizarra, Coín, Monda, Ojén, Alhaurín el Grande and Estepona on west; Casabermeja on north; Totalán, Algarrobo, Torrox and Vélez-Málaga eastward from Málaga.

The old historic centre of Málaga reaches the harbour to the south. In the north it is surrounded by mountains, the Montes de Málaga (part of the Baetic Cordillera) lying in the southern base of the Axarquía hills, and two rivers, the Guadalmedina – the historic center is located on its left bank – and the Guadalhorce, which flows west of the city into the Mediterranean, in the Churriana district.

The oldest architectural remains in the city are the walls of the Phoenician city, which are visible in the cellar of the Museo Picasso Málaga.

The Roman theatre of Málaga, which dates from the 1st century BC, was rediscovered in 1951.[26]

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mesta koja mozemo da posetimo
View of the old Alcazaba
The Moors left posterity the dominating presence of the Castle of Gibralfaro, which is connected to the Alcazaba, the lower fortress and royal residence. Both were built during the Taifa period (11th century) and extended during the Nasrid period (13th and 14th centuries). The Alcazaba stands on a hill within the city. Originally, it defended the city from the incursions of pirates. Later, in the 11th century, it was completely rebuilt by the Hammudid dynasty.[27] Occupying the eastern hillside that rises from the sea and overlooks the city, the Alcazaba was surrounded by palms and pine trees.

The entrance of the complex featured a grand tower that led into a sophisticated double bent entrance. After passing through several gates, open yards with beautiful gardens of pine and eucalyptus trees, and the inner wall through the Puerta de Granada, one finds the 11th- and 14th-century Governor's palace. It was organised around a central rectangular courtyard with a triple-arched gateway and some of the rooms have been preserved to this day. An open 11th-century mirador (belvedere) to the south of this area affords views of the gardens and sea below. Measuring 2.5 square metres (27 square feet), this small structure highlighted scalloped, five-lobed arches. To the north of this area were a waterwheel and a Cyclopean well (penetrating forty metres or 130 feet below ground), a hammam, workshops and the monumental Puerta de la Torre del Homenaje, the northernmost point of the inner walls. Directly beyond was the passage to the Gibralfaro above.

The Church of Santiago (Saint James) is an example of Gothic vernacular Mudéjar, the hybrid style that evolved after the Reconquista incorporating elements from both Christian and Islamic tradition. Also from the period is the Iglesia del Sagrario, which was built on the site of the old mosque immediately after the city fell to Christian troops. It boasts a richly ornamented portal in the Isabeline-Gothic style, unique in the city.

The Basílica y Real Santuario de Santa María de la Victoria, built in the late 17th century, has a chapel in which the vertical volume is filled with elaborate Baroque plasterwork.

Other sights include:

Walls. Phoenician, Roman, Byzantine, Arab and Spanish remains of the defensive compounds of the city.
Church of the Sacred Heart.
San Felipe Neri Church.
Church of the Holy Martyrs.





Markbella

Marbella is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the region; it is also the head of the judicial district that bears its name.

The municipality covers an area of 117 square kilometres (45 sq mi) crossed by highways on the coast, which are its main entrances.

The city also has a significant archaeological heritage, several museums and performance spaces, and a cultural calendar with events ranging from reggae concerts to opera performances.

According to the census of the INE for 2011, Marbella had a population of 135,124 inhabitants,[19] which ranked it as the second most populous city in the province of Málaga and eighth in Andalusia after surpassing Cádiz in 2008.[20][21] Unlike other towns in the Costa del Sol, Marbella had a significant population before the population explosion caused by the tourist boom of the 1960s. The census counted about 10,000 people in 1950; population growth since has been as significant as that of neighboring towns. Between 1950 and 2001 the population grew by 897%, with the decade of the 1960s having the highest relative increase, at 141%. In 2001, only 26.2% of Marbella's population had been born there, 15.9% were foreign-born, and those born in other towns in Spain made up the difference. During the summer months the population of Marbella increases by 30% with the arrival of tourists and foreigners who have their second homes in the area.