Antequera
sits on the edge of the 540 metre high
plain of the valley of Guadalhorce, with rugged
mountainous territory to the east and south.
It is an attractive white walled market town
with a well preserved centre including some
very fine buildings and a couple of outstanding
natural sites of great interest.
The town was first inhabited around 2000 BC
by native Iberian peoples who erected some of
Europe's largest megalithic dolmens (tombs of
huge slabs of rock). In Roman times Antequera
was known as Anticaria (ancient city) and had
a substantial population and in Muslim times
it was a popular place for the Emirs of Granada,
but in 1410 the town was the first to fall to
the Christian forces and also the first to experience
the use of gunpowder in Spanish warfare.
Antequera is a bustling
market town of two parts, the "monumental
quarter" at the foot of the hill that is
dominated by the Alcazaba and the "commercial
sector", mainly 19th Century that is the
hub of modern Antequera.
South of Antequera lies
the Parque Natural El Torcal,
a massive glaciated gnarled, pillared and serrated
limestone rock formation, formed as a seabed
150 million years ago. El Torcal is home to
thirty species of orchid, hawthorn, ivy, wild
rose, 82 species of bird, including the spectacular
Griffon vulture, 22 mammals and a myriad of
walking routes.
Valle de Abdalajìs
dates back to Roman times, the pueblo is surrounded
by gently undulating agricultural land and riverside
orchards irrigated by Las Piedras Riachuelo
(stream), the main crops being batatas (sweet
potato) cítricos (citrus trees) and cereals.
The village takes its name from the Valle de
Abdalajìs Sierras at the southern edge
of the Antequera region.
Teba
is situated in the west of the Antequera region
and also has Roman roots. Its landscape is also
mainly small hills and undulations with a backdrop
of the Sierra Peñarrubia. It is mainly
an agricultural area producing cereals, vid
(grapevine), olive groves and vegetables with
some stone quarries.
Campillos
stands on a natural route that links the province
of Malaga with the north of the province of
Cadiz in the fertile valley of Antequera. In
the series of hills can be found lagoons of
both salt and fresh water the home of many aquatic
birds and is now a nature reserve. The main
produce here is potatoes, sugar beet, bee keeping
and cereals.
Sierra de Yeguas
lies in the north of Malága province
on the border between the provinces of Seville
and Córdoba separated by the mountains
of the Sierra de los Caballos.
Fuente de Piedra an agricultural
village situated in the Antequera Basin and
gets its name from the lagoon of the same name,
which is home to thousands of flamingoes and
other migratory birds in winter.
Mollina
a village with long, straight streets with whitewashed
houses and rejas de ventana (iron window grilles)
situated on the fertile land with vineyards
which produce the fine wines of the MALAGA label.
Villanueva de
Algaidas lies at 540 metres above sea
level and is located in the north east of the
Antequera region. It dates back to the 18th
Century when the buildings began to appear around
the Franciscan monastery and eventually formed
the village, although, there are signs of prehistoric
origin in las cuevas de El Pedroso.
Cuevas de San
Marcos are found near the province
of Córdoba on land crossed by the Rio
Genil and is an area of immense beauty. A population
existed here before Roman times and many artefacts
have been discovered, even a stone menhir in
an area known as Las Cruces (the crossings).
Villa Nueva de
Tapia, a village located on the eastern
edge of Antequera near the provinces of Granada
and Córdoba with the backdrop of the
Sierra del Pedroso. The main activity of this
area is olive groves and the oil mills.
The Río Guadalhorce
and the Higueral water the pueblo of Villanueva
of Trabuco, it is characterised by
its steep streets and the whitewashed houses
with their frontage of flowerpots crammed with
colourful flowers that brighten up the town.
As with the other pueblos in this area the main
produce are vegetables, olive trees and cereals.
Archidona
stands at the foot of the Pico del Conjuro surrounded
by del Conjuro and la Sierra de las Grajas amidst
olive groves and meadows, on the road that links
Antequera with the province of Granada. It boasts
a myriad of places and sights of natural and
urban interest. The joining together of several
streams from springs in the mountains forms
the Rio Guadalhorce here.
Villanueva de
Rosario lies at the foot of the Jobo
and Camarolos Sierras, close to the Malaga Mountains
and its landscape is both beautiful and spectacular
with a variety of vegetation. The Rio Guadalhorce
flows through the village, its banks lined with
ash trees and both poplars and black poplars.
The Romans and Arabs have contributed to the
nucleus of the village with well-preserved buildings,
whitewashed houses and narrow streets.
Villanueva
de la Concepcìon locality situated
at the foot of the extraordinary natural place
of the Sierra del Torcal, overlooked by the
impressive Torcal Roca (rock). It is an area
that has boasted agriculturalists for more than
100 years and is still a producer of wheat,
olives and almonds. It is named after "the
Immaculate one" and was previously known
as Sopalmito and Cuesta. It has been declared
an official Beauty Spot with its carefully preserved
white houses, wide streets, extraordinary water
and marvellous climate.
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