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Tuesday, June 22, 2004
Malaga History
Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans... the major Mediterranean civilizations more than two thousand years ago found in Málaga an exceptional site to establish trade routes, thanks to the strategic position of its port. The Citadel (8th-11th centuries) is, as well as one of the city's symbols, one of the largest Arab fortresses in Andalusia. The Archaeological Museum is located in this building, which contains valuable pieces from the Phoenician and Roman periods and Car Hire Spain. The Castle of Gibralfaro (14th century), joined to the Citadel by a stretch of wall, gives the best views of the city, which opens out onto the sea with the port and the promenade of La Farola, one of the major leisure areas in the city. At the foot of Gibralfaro is the Roman Theatre, the bullring (known as "La Malagueta") and the historic quarter of the city.
In the centre of Malaga stands the Cathedral (16th-18th centuries), also known as “la Manquita” because of its unfinished right tower. This temple, beautifully executed in the Renaissance style, preserves an interesting series of chapels which contain fine examples of Andalusian images. In the old town, other prominent churches are Santiago (15th-18th centuries), with a beautiful Mudejar tower, los Mártires, Sagrado Corazón and Santo Cristo de la Salud.
Historic Malaga offers countless spots and corners full of local colour. The façade of the City Hall, from the early 20th century, can be admired, as can the Merced square, dominated by the Monument to Torrijos and where the house in which the famous painter Pablo Ruiz Picasso was born is situated. A tour of the historic quarter must take in the busy Pasaje de Chinitas, calle Granada, with the Fine Arts Museum, or calle Larios, the old town's main thoroughfare.
Andalucia and Malaga
Malaga is a fascinating place for its spectacular Moorish monuments, beautiful white hill towns, sparkling blue coast and natural beauty of its mountainous country. The Moors were a mixed race of Berbers and Arabs that occupied Spain (Al-Andalus) for almost eight hundred years. They developed the most sophisticated civilization in the Middle Ages, centered in Malaga, Andalucia and Granada. Every city, town and village, is a wonderful mixture of Christian and Muslim influence. Granada preserves the most beautiful Moorish monuments, the Alhambra palace, being the largest and most sensual building in Europe. Seville boasts the most spectacular of all Gothic cathedrals and largest church in the world.
The white towns surrounding Ronda, offer an unspoiled view into Andalucian life with their surrounding natural beauty, delicious home-cooking and stunning appearance-clustered beneath Moorish/Christian castles and churches.
The mountains in the Sierra Nevada and Sierra Morena offer good trekking and skiing, while the coast between Tarifa and Cadiz on the Atlantic has some of the best beaches in Spain. Beware of Europe’s most developed resort area on the Costa del Sol as it is hard to find peace and natural beauty, without paying a high price. Finally, Spain’s largest and most impressive nature reserve, Coto Donana, can be found near Cadiz.
Although unemployment in the province is the highest in Spain (about 20%), it is still known as one of the most high-spirited regions of Spain as it is home to flamenco dancing, bullfighting and a gigantic April carnival (Semana Santa).
Marbella and Malaga
This is a magnificent town, which concentrates on offering a multitude of attractions such as beautiful beaches, golf courses, Malaga Airport, pleasure harbours like Puerto Banus, luxury hotels, restaurants, commercial centres and its unbeatable natural surroundings and intense nightlife to its thousands of visitors. All this makes Marbella an inexhaustible place of enriching possibilities for body and mind, where life takes on a different meaning. Car Rental Malaga and visiting Marbella today means that you will prove straight way its spectacularly rapid change.
The local government, headed by its ex-mayor Mr. Jesús Gil y Gil, has done its utmost to improve the general image of Marbella, and at the same time executed and started important projects which define the "New Marbella", symbol of a town that works in the present looking towards the future.Car Hire Malaga and Marbella has become a clean, secure and beautiful town, offering a better quality of life to its visitors and inhabitants. In its constant search for new attractions, Marbella continues to progress, which places Marbella as the International City of Tourism, reclaiming the international acclaim it deserves. Car Hire Malaga Nobody before would have ever imagined that Marbella could change the way it did and the way it still does. Thanks to the management of the local council headed by Mayor Gil, which was based on the application of a company model to public administration, with imagination, effort and common sense, Marbella today enjoys the best infrastructure and has converted itself into a place of high interest for investors. Creating in this way richness for the municipality and thousands of jobs for its inhabitants. Car Hire Malaga Above all, Marbella has a touristic vocation and that of a modern town in continuous progress. The fact that a lot of the designed projects improve the range of facilities and spare time activities, only strengthens the reality of Marbella, which year after year, has become the prefered destination of hundreds of thousands of tourists.
The character of the people of Marbella, cordial and welcoming also helps to make nobody feel like a stranger in our cosmopolitan town.Car Hire Malaga On the following pages we will show you some typical aspects and particular sites of Marbella, but if you do have a specific request or would like to consult us for whatever reason, you can always contact the local tourist office.
MalagaToday
A visit to the centre of the city is not all we recommend. It is also worth taking in and getting a taste of the flavour of everyday life in the different adjacent neighbourhoods, such as El Perchel, El Egido or La Trinidad.
Gastronomy, festivals and Car Hire Malaga
A good time to visit Malaga is during Holy Week. This festival, declared in Malaga to be of International Tourist Interest, stands out because of its tremendous floats and the popular fervour it arouses in each neighbourhood. One of the best options for accomodation in Malaga is the Parador de Malaga Gibralfaro, located next to the Castle. It is a good idea, however, to book well ahead at this time of year.
The surrounding area of Malaga invites you to tour a province marked by sharp contrasts between the towns inland and those on the coast.The Costa del Sol is dotted with towns of considerable tourist tradition, such as Benalmádena, Torremolinos, Fuengirola, Marbella or Estepona. It is also possible on this stretch of coast to enjoy hotel establishments such as the Parador de Malaga Golf or its sister establishment in Nerja.
Golf lovers have an extra incentive to visit Malaga, since it has some thirty courses scattered around the entire province, some of which are ranked among the best in Europe.
There are several natural spaces in the provinces's interior, such as Alcornocales-Sierra del Aljibe Nature Reserve, the Montes de Malaga Nature Reserve or the Sierra de las Nieves Nature Reserve. The paradors of Ronda and Antequera stand out among the hotels available in the province's interior. Products from the sea and inland give rise to a rich and varied gastronomy. On the coast, the most famous dish is “pescaíto frito” (fried fish), although also typical, among others, are seafood rice, monkfish with potatoes and noodle casserole.
Soups occupy an important place in Malaga's cuisine, with specialities such as "gazpachuelo" (soup made from potatoes and mayonnaise) and "gazpacho malagueño" or "ajoblanco" (a kind of cold soup with almonds, oil, garlic and grapes). These dishes can be accompanied by the wines with Designation of Origin Malaga status.For dessert, the choice includes sweet potato (roasted or covered in syrup), oil pancakes or raisins from Axarquía.
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