Velez-Malaga, Costa Del Sol, Andalucia, Spain
Velez-Malaga
The
best way to get to Vélez-Málaga by road is by taking the Autovía del
Mediterráneo in the Motril direction and turning off as signposted. But it is
also possible to reach this huge municipality by sea and by air. La Caleta de
Vélez has a large fishing port with a section for pleasure craft, while the
Royal Malaga Aeroclub uses an airfield at El Trapiche.
Vélez’s climate is mild all year round, with an average of 23 ºC in winter and
26 ºC in the summer months. This has attracted people from many parts who have
come to settle here.
Since it covers such a huge surface area, 156.40 square kilometres, the
municipality is dotted with towns and villages. The largest of these is the town
of Vélez-Málaga itself, just a few kilometres inland, while the resort of Torre
del Mar is on the coast, as is the port of La Caleta de Vélez. All three are
well linked by road: the Autovía del Mediterráneo, the various older roads and
the Avenida Rey Juan Carlos I, which links the town centre with Torre del Mar.
There are various explanations as to why the main town, Vélez-Málaga, is not on
the coast, as is usual with municipalities which reach down to the seashore. (Mijas
is another exception.) One of these explanations refers to an earthquake in the
year 365. The huge waves caused by seismic movement devastated the only
settlement on the coast. Remains of this town are to be found at the Phoenician
archaeological site of Los Toscanos and in the surrounding area. After this
catastrophe it was decided to build a town on the hill where the fortress
currently stands.
Another explanation, rather less scientific and more legendary, tells the story
of a shepherd who found an image of the Virgin Mary in the countryside. He liked
it so much that he decided to take it home for his daughter but lost it on the
way. The next day it was back in the same place where he had found it and again
he picked it up and tried to take it home. Again he failed. The story spread
like wildfire and all the local people began to think that it was a miracle,
erecting the present shrine at the spot where the image had been found.
The countryside around
Vélez-Málaga is scattered with small market gardens and orchards, with an
increasing number of tropical fruit trees as they grow well in the micro-climate
created by the Sierras of the Tejeda, Alhama and Almijara Nature Park.
There are remains of several settlements in the municipality, such as the
Mozarab Eremitic Complex at Valle-Niza, the Phoenician remains at Los Toscanos
and the Cerro Mar y Jardín burial grounds, some of which go back to pre-historic
times. The architectural gems in the town earned it the title of historical-artistic
complex in the 1970s.
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