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Arenas
| AREA |
26.40 Km² |
| ALTITUDE ABOVE SEA LEVEL |
416 m |
| AVERAGE ANNUAL RAINFALL |
630 l/m² |
| WHAT THE NATIVES ARE CALLED |
Areneros |
| MONUMENTS |
The ruins
of Bentomiz Castle, Santa Catalina church, the Arabic
minaret and fountain in the outlying district of
Daimalos |
| GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION |
In the
central part of the region of La Axarquía,
10 kilometres from Vélez Málaga and
44 from the provincial capital. |
| POPULATION CENSUS IN 1994 |
1267 |
| AVERAGE ANNUAL TEMPERATURE |
17.5 ºC |
| TOURIST INFORMATION |
Town Hall,
Plaza de la Ermita, 17 (29753). Telephone: 952 509
005; Fax: 952 509 005 |
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The unmistakable La Axarquía landscape, permanently
watched over by the Tejeda and Almijara mountain
mass, frames the municipality of Arenas. Its
village centre, of clear Moorish origin, lies
situated
near the Seco river between Cerro Alto (627 m.)
to the north and Benthomiz (706
m.) to the south, in the Axarquía mountains.
With the exception of these
two high grounds, the terrain is composed of
a succession of gentle hills abounding with almond
and olive trees and grapevines, crops that occasionally
yield to leafy pine groves that sprinkle the
landscape with an intense green. The
landscape characterizes these mountains: hills
covered in almond trees, olives and vines,
and speckled with farmhouses.
As in most parts
of the Axarquía towns, the olive oil is
one of its jewels which can be bought in
shops
and oil
mills. |
The
crooks and turns that must be negotiated on the
road before getting to Arenas afford beautiful
wide angle views left and right of La Axarquía,
and the backdrop of the sea that is visible not
far in the distance is intermittently succeeded
by views of the country farther inland, which
are especially striking in the almond blossom
season.
.
The Bentomiz fortress, built on a hill of the same name and close to the town,
has played such a decisive role in the history of Arenas that no reference is
possible to this locality without first alluding to the Bentomiz castle, whose
origin has been dated to the Iberian era. It is believed that the Phoenicians,
Greeks and Romans all successively occupied and modified it. Although there is
a certain amount of confusion about which parts of its ruins belong to which
era, the Roman sign is clear after discovery of some baths that with complete
certainty belong to that period.
In any event it was the Arabs, once again taking advantage of existing construction,
who made an excellent defensive position of it, so much so that together with
the castles of Comares and Zalía, Bentomiz castle was considered one of
the three most important Muslim bastions in the central part of La Axarquía.
Once the castle had been taken by Christian troops, its inhabitants, under a
pact with Fernando the Catholic, were allowed to retain their religion and customs,
privileges that they lost after the Moorish rebellion even though they did not
participate in it. What they did do before losing those prerogatives was to swear
allegiance to Aben Humeya, king of Granada, with the result that the Christians,
not without serious confrontations, wound up occupying the castle to reinforce
the guarding and defence of that area. |
| How to Get There
Go to Vélez Málaga by the Mediterranean
Expressway (A-7) and there take MA-117, a road that
is in good condition but must be travelled with a
little extra caution since its very winding route
runs through mountainous terrain.
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