Benalmadena - Malaga

Benalmadena is situated in the comarca (region) of the western Costa del Sol, just 20 miles from the provincial capital Malaga and at an altitude above sea level of 280 metres. The average annual rainfall is 610 l/m2 and the average temperature is approximately 18 ° C.

The municipality extends from the foothills of the Sierra de Mijas to the coast, the coastal strip being only a small part. The town is dedicated to tourism, offering several alternatives: the first town is in the hills, with traditional architecture, which shows its origin, and from which you can see a beautiful panorama; coming down from here you find a very important town, Arroyo de la Miel, which has tourist centres like the amusement park Tivoli World, and finally on down to Benalmádena-Costa where you will find the majority of the tourist hotels, the casino, golf courses, marina etc.

The Muslims called the town "Spanien" (a name from the Byzantine occupation), in the year 711 during an occupation dominated by pacts and negotiation under arms. One of the few significant exceptions in the whole peninsula is the resistance carried out in Bobastro ( Malaga ) by Omar Ibn Hafsun until the early tenth century when he was finally defeated. Currently Benalmádena has no major population centres and only certain settlements that do not allow it to be more than a village.

Around the eleventh century a social structure began to develop in Benalmadena, around the urban area, where the present town stands, which at that time was a fortress and walled village.

In the thirteenth century there is evidence of the agrarian organization of the Muslim population as is evidenced by the geometric subdivision of land in the municipality, although uneven due to the many existing gullies, dominated by sugar cane (brought from the East by the Arabs themselves), figs, mulberry and grapes. The cultivation of mulberry trees was intended for use in the silk industry, as has been quoted by poets and geographers of the time.

Finally, it should also be attributed to the years of Muslim occupation of the locality which we know today as the town of Benalmádena, which was then apparently more widespread, a name which comes from the Arabic "Ibn-al-Madena" which means "Hijos de las Minos or Children of the Mines".

Monuments

Castillo de Colomares (Castle)
Castillo Bil Bil  
Torres vigias (Watchtowers)
Santo Domingo Church

Gastronomy

The most typical dishes in the municipality of Benalmádena are fried fish and spit cooked sardines.

Directions

The town is well connected to the rest of the Costa del Sol by the Autovia del Mediterraneo (AP-7, N-340), and by train (cercanias) also to Fuengirola, Torremolinos and the provincial capital.

Distances