Alhaurín de la Torre is a town in the

province of Málaga The province of Málaga ( es, Provincia de Málaga ) is located in Andalusia, Spain. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the south and by the provinces of Cádiz to the west, Seville to the northwest, Córdoba to the north, and Granada to ...

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

, in southern

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. The town is part of Málaga Metropolitan Area and of the

comarca A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, ...

Valle del Guadalhorce The Valle del Guadalhorce is a ''comarca'' in the province of Málaga, Andalusia, southern Spain. It includes 8 municipalities and is part of the natural region of the Guadalhorce river. Coín Coín () is a town and municipality in the Provin ...

. It sits at the entrance to the

Guadalhorce The Guadalhorce (from Arabic وَادِي (''wādī''), "river" + Latin ''forfex'', "scissors") is the principal river of the Province of Málaga in southern Spain. Its source is in the Sierra de Alhama in the Province of Granada, from which ...

valley on the slopes of the

Sierra de Mijas The Sierra de Mijas is a mountain range in southern Spain, part of the coastal mountain range that lies behind the Costa del Sol Occidental, in Andalusia. It separates the Valle del Guadalhorce region from the Costa del Sol. The highest point is ...

mountains, some 17 km from

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...

. The municipality covers an area of 82 km² between the Sierra de Mijas and Málaga basin, and is crossed by the river Guadalhorce. It is the most populous municipality in the region of Guadalhorce and third within the province, with 33,567 inhabitants, behind Antequera and

Ronda Ronda () is a town in the Spanish province of Málaga. It is located about west of the city of Málaga, within the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its population is about 35,000. Ronda is known for its cliff-side location and a deep chasm ...

. Alhaurin de la Torre experienced a marked increase of population in the 90s due to the expansion of the metropolitan area of Málaga. The population density is 409.35 inhabitants/km². The city was founded by the

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...

ns, mostly from

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

. Since 1991 it has been the headquarters of the Málaga Provincial Prison, just outside the city, which currently is one of the most well known in Spain, housing some of the special cases of social impact, like the Malaya case amongst others.

Geography

The township sits between the Sierra de Mijas, mountain formation covered with pines and oaks and belongs to the

Cordillera Penibética The Penibaetic System ( es, Sistema Penibético or ''Cordillera Penibética'') is the southernmost of the three systems of mountain ranges of the Baetic System in the southern Iberian Peninsula. It includes the highest point in the peninsula, 3 ...

, and the Hoya de Málaga, alluvial depression formed by the

Guadalhorce river The Guadalhorce (from Arabic وَادِي (''wādī''), "river" + Latin ''forfex'', "scissors") is the principal river of the Province of Málaga in southern Spain. Its source is in the Sierra de Alhama in the Province of Granada, from which ...

, which irrigates the whole district and is occupied by numerous crop orchards. The highest peak of Alhaurín de la Torre is Mount Jabalcuza in the Sierra de Mijas, but also include others such as Jarapalo or Abarcuza.

Location

It borders the towns of

to the east,

Cártama Cártama is a town and municipality in the province of Málaga, part of the autonomous community of Andalusia, southern Spain. The municipality is situated approximately from Málaga. It is one of the most extensive towns in the province, coverin ...

to the north,

Torremolinos Torremolinos () is a municipality in Andalusia, southern Spain, west of Málaga. A poor fishing village before the growth in tourism began in the late 1950s, Torremolinos was the first of the Costa del Sol resorts to be developed and is still t ...

to the southeast,

Mijas Mijas ( ; ) is a municipality in the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Located on the southeastern coast of Spain, Mijas belongs to the region of Costa del Sol Occidental. Its center is a typical Andalusian white ...

to the southwest, Benalmádena to the south and

Alhaurín el Grande Alhaurín el Grande is a town located in the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. It covers an area of 73.1 km2 extending from the northern slope of the Sierra de Mijas and the plain of the Guadalh ...

to the west.

Hydrography

The hydrography of Alhaurin de la Torre is limited in terms of river inflows. These include the passage of the river Guadalhorce by the municipality along with numerous streams, the majority deviant, dry or with very little flow. The most notable is the water that is often left after some heavy rains in winter, spring or fall. Alhaurín de la Torre is one of the municipalities belonging to the Andalusian Mediterranean Basin.

Description

The city centre has old Moorish-style streets and houses. Services are the main source of income. It was historically an agrarian village, where

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Lemon, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and lim ...

and subtropical fruit plantations and

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

groves still cover the landscape.

History

The origin of the place goes back to pre-historic times, and it is known that the

Phoenicians Phoenicia () was an ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient thalassocracy, thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-st ...

that set up factories in

and

in about 1,000 BC settled in Alhuarín. It was here that

Lauro Lauro is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Avellino, Campania, southern Italy. It is located in lower Irpinia, in a woody valley. Sights include the remains of a 1st-century BC Roman ''thermae In ancient Rome, (fro ...

was founded, and centuries later the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

called it Lauro Vetus. The

Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or ...

, after the

Islamic conquest of Iberia The Umayyad conquest of Hispania, also known as the Umayyad conquest of the Visigothic Kingdom, was the initial expansion of the Umayyad Caliphate over Hispania (in the Iberian Peninsula) from 711 to 718. The conquest resulted in the decline of t ...

, called it

Albarracín Albarracín () is a Spanish town, in the province of Teruel, part of the autonomous community of Aragon. According to the 2007 census (INE), the municipality had a population of 1075 inhabitants. Albarracín is the capital of the mountainous Sier ...

, and it grew from that into a larger collection of farm-houses. The re-conquest of the town in 1485 meant another variation on the name, and the place was finally called Alhaurín de la Torre. The population increased sharply due to the influx of

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

settlers after 1571. There are many

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

remains in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

, most of them being in the Estación de la Alquería area, officially designated as being of Cultural Interest.

Metropolitan Bus

Malaga Metropolitan Transport Consortium's (Consorcio de Tranpsporte Metropolitano del Área de Málaga) buses are the main form of transport around the town of Alora and the villages of the Metropolitan Area.

Sister cities

New Iberia New Iberia (french: La Nouvelle-Ibérie; es, Nueva Iberia) is the largest city in and parish seat of Iberia Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The city of New Iberia is located approximately southeast of Lafayette, and forms part of the Laf ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

References

External links

Official website

Malaga Metropolitan Transport Consortium Website

Málaga Airport Information
*
Asociacion de Empresarios La Torre.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alhaurin de la Torre Municipalities in the Province of Málaga