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Feature Comares
Saturday, 09/03/2011 - 16:22 -

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Comares

So, you step off the plane, sigh with relief at the first sight of the sun
in weeks, hit the beach and the pool for a few days and think 'What now?'
You know that Spain has more to offer than sunny beaches, a warm sea and
beachfront restaurants, very pleasant though they are, and maybe a trip inland
to a more historic Spain would be of interest.
A thirty minute drive from Velez-Malaga would take you to one of the
most picturesque and historic villages in the Axarquia, Comares.

Any mountain top with a water supply and an easily defensible position was
always going to be seen as valuable by the different groups which
have ruled Spain and this has been true for Comares. Over the
centuries, various empires have held this part of Spain.
The Roman, Islamic and Spanish empires have all, in their turn, controlled this
important walled village. As you drive up towards the village from the coast, the white-
walled houses on the peak of the mountain come in and out of view. You realise that
at 735 metres above sea-level there are going to be tremendous views towards the coast, the surrounding 'campo' and the mountains.

The village was built long before the motor car so the car parks are located just
below the old entrance to the town itself. An addition to the tourist experience this year
is the availability of donkeys and horses to hire for trips around the town and the campo from 'Burro Taxis'.
Six euros will buy a trip around the village beginning at the car park nearest the
entrance to the village. Slightly longer routes outside the village can also be experienced.
These animals must be among the best looked after in Spain with their
customised shade and copious supplies of water. Later in the year, more adventurous trips are planned, starting with a local breakfast and going further into the campo. This will have to wait until the weather is more suitable.

From the car park, you pass the walls which defended the village and arrive in the Plaza. Most tourists can't resist going to the Balcon, a shaded space which projects from the hill top and provides spectacular views over the countryside; Mount Maroma to the left, the coast and sea to the front and the Mountains of Malaga to the right. The bar situated in the Plaza is an obvious attraction for those who are already thirsty, with its umbrellas shielding the customers from the sun.

Slightly less obviously, is the hotel, 'Molino des Abuelos', with its entrance on the Plaza, an old mill, which has been transformed by the two Dutchmen who run it
into a sophisticated centre of food and entertainment. It has the advantage of a terrace where every Saturday in August, and monthly thereafter, a show is presented to the diners on a Saturday night. Recently, these shows have included a 'Flamenco Night','1001 Nights', 'Bollywood Night' and 'Mama Mia'. Friday night is a Salsa night, when those who have attended the Salsa class run on a Monday turn up to demonstrate what they have learned, or not, as the case may be. Others turn up just because they enjoy the music and the ambience. On a tuesday, a barbecue is run where for fifteen euros per head, the customers have the chance to enjoy the terrace view as well as the food. It also operates as a hotel as well as a restaurant and
it is possible to stay as guests.

From the Plaza, if you walk away from the Balcon towards the arch at the back,
you will see ceramic footsteps on the street suggesting a route around the village.
If you follow the footsteps to the left up the Calle Real, it takes you to the Calle Perdon. The ceramic illustrates the conversion of a number of muslim families after the conquestof Spain by Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492. The route takes you to the top of the village, passed the church (which was originally a mosque. This is also marked by one of the ceramics. The route returns via the street of the arab arches to a new arch,
built in the moorish style, with a spectacular vista of the campo to the rear of the village
and from which the centuries old road went from the village to the fountain which provided water. Finally, the route climbs to the castle with one of the original watchtowers, dating back to the Romans, is still in place. From this elevation, it is very easy to give way to delusions of grandeur, imagining what it would be like to have dominated the surrounding area from this position.

The route goes back to the Plaza via two Spanish bars,Tres Balcones and Bar Tropicana. Many English tourists find their way to a restaurant just outside the village.
As you approach the third bend on the way down with a row of apartments on the left,
there is a sign for the Mirador restaurant. Most English speakers refer to this as the Camping bar and even some Spanish speakers now refer to it as 'El Camping'. Currently it offers a 'Menu del Dia' for seven euros at lunchtime.

Comares also has a number of festivals, the largest of which usually takes place towards the end of August.

If you drive up from the coast, you might see someone walking to or from his piece of land in the campo. Often, this person will look very familiar in that he will have a straw hat, a short sleeved check shirt, blue trousers, sandals, skin that looks as if has been longer in the sun than most health professionals would now recommend and a wooden handled tool such as a hoe. It is not hard to imagine that this image would be instantly recognised by anyone from the past one thousand years or more. The clothes might have changed but the work of making the land productive is constant. The land has been weeded, irrigated, harvested and fought over for centuries and Comares has been the key to controlling the land around. Come and discover Comares.



Horrible Histories fact: Only for the children.
The ceramic at the top of the village namechecks Omar Ibn Hafsun (850-917). This person controlled Comares and thus this region at this period. He changed sides from Islam to Christianity, probably to help his fight against other local leaders known as Emirs. After he died, an Emir was so enraged by this Omar Ibn Hafsun character that he had his dead body, and the bodies of his sons, dug up and crucified outside the mosque at Cordoba. They have long memories in this part of the world.




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