It is the second day of my Summer vacation. This year I have decided to try another part of Spain, I travel to Andalusia. And the main point of destination is the big city of Malaga, which is the 6th largest city in Spain by population (about 600 thousand residents here).
It is Sunday morning. The streets are empty. Most probably yesterday's night was the busiest night of the week, and people now are having a late sleep. Honestly, I got used to waking up early (and of course, no night parties for me), so I can enjoy the perfect time, when there is a beautiful sunlight and at the same time it is not very hot.
Interestingly, Malaga is one of Europe's oldest cities, it counts nearly 3000 years with Phoenician, Roman, Islamic and Christian influences. So, one of the coolest things about Malaga is that you can stand near the Roman Theatre, look up at an Islamic fortress, walk a few minutes to a Renaissance cathedral and then continue straight to a modern Mediterranean port - all within a relatively small part of the city.
The port of Malaga is one of the city's most important features. It sits right beside the historic center, so it is well integrated with everyday city life. Nowadays it is widely used for cruise ships, ferries, cargo, yachts, fishing and waterfront tourism.
Parque de Malaga is a very beautiful park, which stretches parallelly to the port. It is planted with species from many parts of the world, such as palms, ficus, dragon trees and other tropical and subtropical plants. With fountains, statues and shaded benches it is a real paradise during a hot day.
After visiting the park I thought that it could be a good exercise to climb the hill, which is dominating over the city. It is called Gibralfaro, and it has the height of 130 metres.
From above you can see the port of the city and also the bull ring. By the way, bullfighting is not banned in Andalusia, and you can attend the traditional bullfights here (in Catalunya it is legally permitted, but practically there are no such events at all). Usually corrida can be watched in Malaga in April and August.
I have not read anything about Malaga before arriving. The only thing which I knew about this place is that it is very popular among Czech people, and they prefer to buy the property around this location. Unfortunately, I even did not know which landmarks this city has to offer.
As I have found out today, the castle on the hill, the Castillo de Gibralfaro, is one of Malaga's main historic sites. It was built in the 14th century by the Nasrid rulers of Granada to house troops and protect Alcazaba, the older fortified palace below.
The standard admission is 5.50 euro (including entrance to Alcazaba). But on Sundays, from 2pm the admission is free. Honestly, I did not want to wait, so I paid 5.50 euro.
This fortress has 8 towers. And the walls of the castle stretch more than 1.3 kilometres.
And the views on the whole city from these walls of the castle are just gorgeous!
So, below the castle there is another remarkable landmark, which is a real jewel of the city. The Alcazaba. And you should enter it from another side of the hill! Unfortunately, these days they are not interconnected (but they say, in the past there was some direct passage between them). In fact, the Alcazaba and Gibralfaro became so closely associated with Malaga that they even appear on the city's coat of arms.
The Alcazaba was both a fortress and a palace/government complex, where Malaga's Muslim rulers lived and administered the city.
Actually, there are two layers of fortifications here. An attacker had to pass through multiple walls, towers and gates before reaching the palace. Many entrances deliberately turn at angles rather than running straight through, making them much easier to defend.
Inside the Alcazaba you get arches, shaded rooms, intimate courtyards, water, gardens and domestic-style spaces.
The whole complex, which covered about 14200 m2, was functioning almost like a small independent town within Malaga, with residential, administrative and military areas.
Malaga also has a Roman theatre dating from the 1st century! In fact, it was forgotten for over a thousand of years, and rediscovered only in 1951. So, in the 1990s this theatre could be fully excavated and restored.
In the city center I also came across Malaga Cathedral, which is nicknamed "La Manquita" or "The One-Armed Lady". The reason of such name is that one of its two planned towers was never completed, which gives the cathedral its distinctive asymmetrical appearance.
The completed north tower is roughly 84 metres tall, making it the second tallest church tower in Andalusia, but the first tallest is the Giralda in Seville.
Tapas. Of course. While staying in Spain you definitely should eat tapas. For this evening I have chosen patatas bravas, pimientos de Padron and fritura malaguena. Everything was delicious!
My vacation has just started, and I already know that it will be a good time in Malaga. Honestly, I have no plans to leave the city for any other places during my vacation. I only want to enjoy the city atmosphere, the warm sea and red wine (or maybe white wine). This is how the real vacation should look like: no rush, good food and full relax...
PS. Just my luck, I was careless about extremely active sun here and did not put any sunscreen. As a result, after conquering the castle and long walking, my arms and shoulders are burnt. I hope, the aloe-gel will help me to survive, and I will be able to visit the beach the following days without struggling much.
