The easten lands of Málaga are a never-ending source of inspiration for artists. Poets, musicians, sculptors, painters... they all found, in the region of the Axarquía, the idealised paradise where they could capture their deepest concerns. A place where mother nature runs prodigiously wild, where the immense blue of the sea melts with purples and ochres of the high mountains, with the mild greens of the fields and with the sparkling whites of the villages. A place where the countryside seems to dodge time, just like an island lost in the middle of the insatiable ocean of progress.

ESSENCE OF A LANDSCAPE
One of the most fascinating features of this region is the beauty of its sites, gleaming, overwhelming nuances, the interior lands of the eastern Málaga strike since the very first moment for their marked constrasts. Just a few kilometres separate the sandy beaches from the sheer summits. An orography that has marked its very personal essence. Its vertiginous layout makes it unique, different, it isolates and shelters it, it protects it and grants it its own identity signs.
This natural enviroment, almost wild, reaches its peak in the mountains Almijara and Tejeda. They have recently been appointed natural parks. Life here goes on under a very serious law of enviroment protection. This massif, that goes up to a two thousand metres height, is an animal and plant life sanctuary, unique in Europe. If we go downhill, the ecosystem is much different (the human one). There appear the firts villages, sign of a quiet and wise civilisation, and the fields.

This area of Málaga is basically agricultural. Olives, grapevines, almond trees, orange trees, next to the small plantations of tomatoes, lettuces, potatoes or carrots. The valleys appear full of banks, flourishing terraces with fuits. A full range of plants that flood to the coast. And by the Mediterranean Sea, the newest and vigorous agricultural technique.
The age of the greenhouse, its implantation has been decisive, in the last years, socially and economically.
Here it is still possible to feel the slow passing of time. To sit on a field and take a rest. To admire the swaying of the hills in Competa on their way to the sea, or the shape of the stolen waters of the Guaro River within La Viñuela reservoir, or the inclination of the Tozones stream from the little bridge of Solares or, why not?, the free sound of the goats grazing on the slopes of Alfarnate.

PEACE MADE OF LIME
This pictorial trip through the depths of the Axarquía stops in the core of the white villages. Villages invaded by history, by art, by the most faithful little manners... Places where silence rises daily while the feasts show in their most roaring way, where gastronomy is an irresistible tradition and where property is respected as sine qua non element of their own being.
The rute of Oil, of Wine, of raisins, or the Mudejar Route, are short trips in space but long in time. La Axarquía preserves its Muslim spirit almost untouched. A legacy appearing in the narrow and perpendicular roads, in the patios crowded with flowers, in the numerous fountains, in the shadowy passages or in the remains of the castles, mosques or minarets that witness the greatness of the Al-Andalus Empire. One of the most beautiful vestiges of this moorish past is found in Solares. The minaret tower, of the XIII century.
Historic-Artistic National Monument, its carefully preserved brick structure stands out among the intense whiteness of the facings. Another outstanding particularity of Solares is its old town, with no traffic allowed in order to keep its essence. This redoubt of quietness appears within and exuberant environment, the green of the slopes and the flow of the rivers and the strems, which helps to the consolidation of this natural paradise.
Very close to here we find Sedella. Enveloped by fertile banks of fuit and vegetables, this precious village is equally marked by the indelible Arabic traces. Its houses, covered in blinding lime, the bougainvillea and the grapevines break the monochromatism in the resplendent and brilliant balconies. As monuments we can highlight the Casa Torreón (Tower house), ancient palace of the Major of los Donceles.

 

 

A bit further, Canillas de Aceituno, Arab name that means "the olive trees". Thus it will be easy to guess the kink of trees that surround this village, Canillas is another good example of simplicity in habits and ways of living. This village is witness to cruel battles during the Reconquest. Several elements stand out in the town. First of all, there are no squares, something unusual, not only in this area, but also in the whole region. then, its town hall, with a beautiful and picturesque popular style and the Casa de los Diezmos, best known as Casa de la Reina Mora (Moorish Queen House).
Periana, in the birth of the Guaro River, is peculiar for its stepped little roads and for its captivating corners. Patios and squares whitewashed witli care, coloured by the flowerspots or by decorative dishes made of clay. Some of these places resurrect lost traditions, such as the ancient Lavadero (place ro wash clothes) in Periana. This was the ancient meeting point of the neighbourhood where the dirty clothes were washed and gossip was the main topic. Federico García Lorca in his work "Yerma" clearly explained the secrets of these meetings of gossip: "In the cold stream / I wash your ribbon / just like a hot jasmine / is your laughter".

In the Routes that cross the Axarquía, the traveller may find small hamlets with infinite charm, with stone bridges over streams, with hermitages hidden among mountains or with delicious ventas (country restaurants) where good food comes together with legend.
Good samples of taht is the Hermitage de Santa Ana or the venta de Alfarnate. The sanctuary, placed in the town of Canillas de Albaida, is of the XVII century. It rises on a breathtaking watchtower that lets us monitor the great mountains of Almijara and Tejeda. On the other hand, the venta is symbol of romantic banditry.
Nowadays it is and attractive restaurant-museum where you can taste the exquisite dishes and the autochthonous wine surrounded by all kind of devices and emblems belonging to the bandits of the XIX century.

 

Some say that it was built in the year 1690 (this is part of the legend), and some can assure that the famous Luis Candelas blocked here the Royal Courier, but he was arrested and imprisoned in the cell that is still inside. These are anuances of the castern Málaga, part of this land named Axarquía by the Andalusís. Portions of this Mediterrranean corner that throughout time has been idealised and captured by artists of the whole world. A portrait of this island of quietness, the sea of calm, that has escaped, so tar, the implacable intentions of the times.