Antequera Town and region

To visit Antequera, the biggest sizeable town in Inland Lake District, with in a two-hour drive from Marbella or a half hour from Malaga Town is to take a journey back in time to the Bronze Age. Archaeological discoveries near the city gates have unearthed the ancient Roman city of Signilla Barba, together with some fabulous mosaics and on the other side the prehistoric dolmen caves of Menga, Viera and El Romeral. There are megalithic mass tombs nearly 5,000 years old, created by the original Iberian people. The Menga cave is the largest of its kind in Andalucia, its roof formed by an immense 180-ton monolith. When it was excavated in the 19th century, hundreds of skeletons were found in its inner chamber.

Beautiful Town and full of culture

Antequera is an attractive modern town built around a Moorish castle, its Gothic church spires and Baroque bell towers surrounded by a patchwork of ploughed fields cultivated for asparagus, olives, almonds and giant yellow sunflowers. Know as the City of Monuments because there is virtually one in every street, points of especial interest are the recently excavated Roman baths, the Renaissance church of Santa Maria la Mayor, the Baroque church of El Carmen which contains one of the finest altarpieces in all Spain, the 19th century bullring and the Arch of the Giants, built in 1585, which leads up to the 13th century Moorish castle.

Buy fresh bead from the nuns.

Freshly baked bread and pastries can be bought at the Convento de la Descalzas, courtesy of the Barefoot Carmelites. This strict order of nuns is not allowed visual contact with the public, and transactions are executed by means of a bell-rope and a revolving wooden door. On the edge of the town, an ominous-looking slab of limestone towering 880 meters high is also in the tourist trail.
According to legend, La Peña de los Enamorados – Lover’s Leap – was named after a Christian boy and an Arab girl who hurled themselves to their deaths in the abyss below when their families forbade them to marry.

Pink Lagoon with the Flamingos.

Close to Antequera, Fuente de Piedra – the Pink Lagoon – is one of the largest saltwater lakes in Spain, so-called because of the flamingos which arrive in spring to breed and spend the summer before migrating south to Africa for the winter. The birds are attracted by the seaweed and crustaceans which flourish in the rich saline waters, and are the basis of their diet. Since 1986, the young fledglings have been tagged in an annual operation by scientists to learn more about their habits.

The Carratraca Spa and hostal Del Principe, Alora.

Back towards Alora, Carratraca Spa has been famous for its sulphur water baths since Roman times. IN its heyday in the 19th century, Lord Byron, King Fernando VII and Napoleon’s wife the Empress Eugenie, were among its celebrated visitors. The baths are open to the public at certain times of the year and of especial interest are the injection rooms containing a frightening array of antique instruments used for squirting spa water into various orifices.

Direct connected to the baths is one of the must elegant hostales in Andalucia. Originally a royal palace built by King Ferdinand VII in the 19th century to accommodate the spa’s illustrious guests; the hostal Del Principe has since been restored to its former glory and re-opened for business this year. Now a five-star luxury establishment in the Ritz-Carlton stable, it can once more take its place as one of the top hotels in Europe. Carrataca is also noted for its Semana Santa passion play, performed in the bullring by the villagers on Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

Visit hotel Posada del Torcal.

Although this Inland Lake District is with in a one drive from Fuengirola or Benalmadena, a feasible day trip can be converted into an idyllic long weekend with a stay at one of the region’s atmospheric rural hotels. One of the many lovely places is the Posada del Torcal, a noble Andalusian Cortijo decorated with 300-year-old wooden ceiling beams to recapture the style of a bygone era. Set on a hilltop within an 11 acre estate of almond groves, the ten bedrooms, all with en suite facilities, are unique in design, each paying tribute to one of Spain’s greatest artists and furnished with magnificent brass, gothic or four poster beds.

Antequera in the future

Antequera is going to be the next big building boom on Costa del Sol. Some of the biggest cheap and low price air lines companies from England and Germany are together building an airport in Antequera to get better flight times and lower start and landing prices in competitions with Malaga International Airport. Already have many builder and constructor company move to Antequera and starting building new apartments, villas, townhouses, industrial buildings and shopping centres for the future. The whole area is going to change in good and bad ways.