When Rach's job sent her to Malaga for four days' work, we had the opportunity to spend a quick weekend there tacked on to the end. So why not?
To show its history, Malaga has and well-preserved Roman amphitheatre in its city centre.
And like Sevilla, there was a relic of the Muslim era in Spain, the old Alcazabar fortress behind the amphitheatre. It was an imposing, grim fortress from the outside, but like many Muslim buildings (Morocco and Spain) was more luxurious and impressive inside. The Alcazabar had some very nice gardens and palaces inside it.
We were very lucky to stay at a nice hotel and enjoyed a couple of hours poolside reading and drinking beer before having some dinner and a couple of drinks near the Alcazabar.
And again, as it was Spain, we could not pass up the opportunity for tapas. Some of the highlights were:
Like the rest of the Costa del Sol, Malaga has a bit of a reputation for being a trashy place full of alcohol-fuelled Brits on hen/stag dos. As I boarded the plane, I did notice one hen party - and as is habit for Brits, everyone in the group had their custom-made t-shirt marking them out as being on a hen do.
Malaga is surprisingly is very pretty, and we got to see a bit of it on our obligatory Saturday morning walking tour. The tour was probably one of the better walking tours we've been on across European cities - the guide was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about her city.
She also had some great little anecdotes about the history of the city:
She also had some great little anecdotes about the history of the city:
- Malaga was founded by the Phoenicians as a source of salt, and salt became so valuable it became used as a form of currency. Rubbing salt together between your fingers was a way of checking the quality of the salt, which is (apparently) the source of the universal gesture for money.
- A tower block government building was constructed in black, and then a few years later was painted white - leading Malaguenos to call it the "Michael Jackson building"
- Construction on Malaga cathedral stopped in the 1700s and it was never finished. It resulted in only one complete tower, and Malaguenos call the cathedral "the one armed lady"
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| The lady's armed side |
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| The lady's un-armed side. |
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| Pablo Picasso was also born and raised in Malaga |
And like Sevilla, there was a relic of the Muslim era in Spain, the old Alcazabar fortress behind the amphitheatre. It was an imposing, grim fortress from the outside, but like many Muslim buildings (Morocco and Spain) was more luxurious and impressive inside. The Alcazabar had some very nice gardens and palaces inside it.
We were very lucky to stay at a nice hotel and enjoyed a couple of hours poolside reading and drinking beer before having some dinner and a couple of drinks near the Alcazabar.
And again, as it was Spain, we could not pass up the opportunity for tapas. Some of the highlights were:
- Sardines and montadito at Casa Lola
- Fried anchovies with passionfruit sauce, calamari, and wild boar at Cervantes bar
- Croquettes and cold roasted peppers at El Pimpi
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| Cervantes dishes |
Gracias Malaga!
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