Valle de Abdalajís
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Valle de Abdalajís () is a town and municipality in the province of
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 ...
, part of the
autonomous community eu, autonomia erkidegoa ca, comunitat autònoma gl, comunidade autónoma oc, comunautat autonòma an, comunidat autonoma ast, comunidá autónoma , alt_name = , map = , category = Autonomous administra ...
of
Andalucía 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 ...
. It is located in 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, ...
of
Antequera Antequera () is a city and municipality in the Comarca de Antequera, province of Málaga, part of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia. It is known as "the heart of Andalusia" (''el corazón de Andalucía'') because of its central locat ...
. The municipality is situated approximately 50 kilometres from the provincial capital of
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 ...
. It has a population of approximately 3,000 residents. The natives are called ''Vallesteros''.


Geography

The village is in the heart of the '' Penibetica mountain ranges'' and it's at the foot of the ''Abdalajís'' mountain range. The municipality is one of the smallest, in terms of area, in the province of Málaga. It has 21.4 km². It belongs to the ''
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 Provinc ...
'' region. Valle de Abdalajís is near to
Antequera Antequera () is a city and municipality in the Comarca de Antequera, province of Málaga, part of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia. It is known as "the heart of Andalusia" (''el corazón de Andalucía'') because of its central locat ...
(21 km),
Álora Álora is a town and municipality in southern Spain in the province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Located c. 40 km from Málaga, on the right bank of the river Guadalhorce and on the Córdoba-Málaga railway, within t ...
and the city of
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 ...
(50 km).


Flora and fauna

The vegetation of this county is typical of a
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
mountain town, abounding in low brush scrub and xerophytic vegetation due to dry and hot weather. Furthermore, the rockiness of the mountains and the fate of the lands to the cultivation of
almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ...
,
grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...
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'' ...
trees, the forests are absent. In the mountains gives predominantly the typical vegetation of Mediterranean limestone areas characterized by low scrub (
thyme Thyme () is the herb (dried aerial parts) of some members of the genus ''Thymus'' of aromatic perennial evergreen herbs in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are relatives of the oregano genus ''Origanum'', with both plants being mostly indigenou ...
,
rosemary ''Salvia rosmarinus'' (), commonly known as rosemary, is a shrub with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers, native plant, native to the Mediterranean Region, Mediterranean region. Until 2017, it was kn ...
,
lavender ''Lavandula'' (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the Old World and is found in Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, and from Europe across to northern and easte ...
,
gorse ''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are n ...
, prickly pears,
agave ''Agave'' (; ; ) is a genus of monocots native to the hot and arid regions of the Americas and the Caribbean, although some ''Agave'' species are also native to tropical areas of North America, such as Mexico. The genus is primarily known for ...
s,
palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...
s, rock roses, hawthorn and broom). Along with a number of lower plants such as evergreens, vincas,
St John's Wort ''Hypericum perforatum'', known as St. John's wort, is a flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae and the type species of the genus ''Hypericum''. Possibly a hybrid between '' H. maculatum'' and '' H. attenuatum'', the species can be found a ...
, poppies,
peonie The peony or paeony is a flowering plant in the genus ''Paeonia'' , the only genus in the family Paeoniaceae . Peonies are native to Asia, Europe and Western North America. Scientists differ on the number of species that can be distinguished ...
s,
lilies ''Lilium'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. M ...
, and several types of Mediterranean orchids ... In the margins of the stream (The ''Arroyo de las piedras'' stream) are numerous species of vegetation of Mediterranean coastline and promenade, such as blackberries, rushes and sedges,
Oleander ''Nerium oleander'' ( ), most commonly known as oleander or nerium, is a shrub or small tree cultivated worldwide in temperate and subtropical areas as an ornamental and landscaping plant. It is the only species currently classified in the ge ...
, water lily, watercress, matagallos, ivy, ... However, the riparian woody vegetation has completely disappeared due to cultivation of the fields adjacent to the stream. In spite of what popularly believed, currently there is no natural reserve (national park, nature reserve, natural park ...) in the municipality Abdalajís Valley, although there is the natural landscape of Los Gaitanes in the neighboring towns of Alora, Antequera and Ardales. The Sierra de Abdalajís has, however, an interesting fauna amongst which are a considerable number of protected species such as
owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...
s,
ibex An ibex (plural ibex, ibexes or ibices) is any of several species of wild goat (genus ''Capra''), distinguished by the male's large recurved horns, which are transversely ridged in front. Ibex are found in Eurasia, North Africa and East Africa. ...
,
griffon vulture The Eurasian griffon vulture (''Gyps fulvus'') is a large Old World vulture in the bird of prey family Accipitridae. It may also be known as the Griffon vulture, though it may be used for the genus as a whole. It is not to be confused with Rü ...
,
golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of p ...
, the ladder snake, the Horseshoe Whip Snake, wild cats, genets or
Ocellated lizard The ocellated lizard or jewelled lizard (''Timon lepidus'') is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae (wall lizards). The species is endemic to southwestern Europe. Common names Additional common names for ''T. lepidus'' include eyed lizar ...
. In addition, a variety of smaller birds (swifts, sparrows, canaries, robins, swallows ...), insects, spiders and small mammals (rabbits, hares, moles). In the surroundings of the stream avenue are common frogs and toads, water snakes, common turtle, terrapin, foxes, rabbits, hares, ferrets, badgers and other species common in the Mediterranean area.


History


Prehistory and Iberian peoples

The situation of this small valley between the lands of
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 ...
, communication channel to the sea and the city of
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 ...
and
Antequera Antequera () is a city and municipality in the Comarca de Antequera, province of Málaga, part of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia. It is known as "the heart of Andalusia" (''el corazón de Andalucía'') because of its central locat ...
land between the Upper and Lower Andalusia, make it an important step along the history . A story that although was very ancient history, as evidenced by the numerous remains found in the area, has its first significant page in the
Iberians The Iberians ( la, Hibērī, from el, Ἴβηρες, ''Iberes'') were an ancient people settled in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula, at least from the 6th century BC. They are described in Greek and Roman sources (among ...
times. Since prehistoric times, the Abdalajís Valley has served as a must or a link between the area of the Guadalhorce and the Vega de Antequera which has provided an extraordinary archaeological wealth and evidenced by numerous archaeological sites and remains found in his term municipal (the caves called ''Cuevas del Gato'' and the cave called ''Cueva del ermitaño''). Already in the last century, writers such as Guillen Robles Berlanga and were amazed at it. This author in his book "Historia de Málaga y su provincia" said: "... have also been found in our country many stone axes found in our province, Almogía, Alora, Ronda, ... but be collected with greater abundance in the Abdalajís Valley, so I suspect that at this point would be found an important prehistoric station."Historia de Málaga y Provincia. Guillén Robles, F. Editorial Arguval, Alcazaba, 1983 Indeed, countless quantities of finds of stone axes, flint tools and prehistoric pottery found in this locality. After primitive indigenous peoples, left important traces of their passage
Iberians The Iberians ( la, Hibērī, from el, Ἴβηρες, ''Iberes'') were an ancient people settled in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula, at least from the 6th century BC. They are described in Greek and Roman sources (among ...
. It found the existence of an Iberian population, which later came into contact with 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 ...
and
Punics The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of the ...
, as evidenced by the deposits of "El Nacimiento" and "Cerro del Castillo" (both have made Greek pottery fragments of the 5th century BC).


Roman Era

In the last quarter of the 1st millennium BCE, the
Iberian peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
became part of the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
. The people quickly adopted Roman culture and the
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
language, and the transition to Roman rule was largely peaceful. As in many other places in Andalusia, the current city plan and the name originate from when Spain was part of the Roman Empire; the Latin name of the city was ''Neskania''. The town appeared in the 70 (before Christ). Under the Romans, the city was an important commercial center and an important town, as the ruins show us.


Middle Ages and Modern Era

The Roman town is destroyed by people crossing the
Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...
, including
Vandal The Vandals were a Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The Vandals migrated to the area betw ...
s,
Alans The Alans (Latin: ''Alani'') were an ancient and medieval Iranian nomadic pastoral people of the North Caucasus – generally regarded as part of the Sarmatians, and possibly related to the Massagetae. Modern historians have connected the Al ...
,
Suebi The Suebi (or Suebians, also spelled Suevi, Suavi) were a large group of Germanic peoples originally from the Elbe river region in what is now Germany and the Czech Republic. In the early Roman era they included many peoples with their own names ...
and
Visigoth The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kno ...
s, in the middle of the 4th century. Juan Alonso Serrano (Bachiller) gave Valle de Abdalajis to ''Juan de Eslava'' in 1559. Then the village was ''Juan de Eslavas lordship. In 1811, the
Cortes of Cádiz The Cortes of Cádiz was a revival of the traditional ''Cortes Generales, cortes'' (Spanish parliament), which as an institution had not functioned for many years, but it met as a single body, rather than divided into estates as with previous o ...
which served as a parliamentary Regency after
Ferdinand VII , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles IV of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Parma , birth_date = 14 October 1784 , birth_place = El Escorial, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Madrid, Spain , burial_plac ...
was deposedabolished all the lord's domain and the lordships were returned to the people. After the French Domain ended and Ferdinand VII was reinstated, he returned the lordships to their lords. In 1833,
Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies ( it, Maria Cristina Ferdinanda di Borbone, Principessa delle Due Sicilie, es, link=no, María Cristina de Borbón, Princesa de las Dos Sicilias; 27 April 1806 – 22 August 1878) was Queen of Spain from 1829 ...
turned the lordships into villages governed by means of city councils.


Art and folklore


Verdiales

''
Verdiales Verdiales are a Flamenco music style, and song form belonging to cante chico. Originating in Almogía, near the Spanish port of Málaga in Andalucía, it is based upon the fandango. For this reason, the verdiales are sometimes known as ''fandang ...
'' are an important kind of ''
flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...
'' music. It is a typical music and dance of the
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 ...
province. ''Verdiales'' are a kind of ''Fandango''. A ''Verdiales'' band is formed by a violin, a guitar, a lot of cymbals and tambourines. The village has two verdiales bands. There are 3 different Verdiales styles: ''
Comares Comares is a town and municipality in the province of Málaga, part of the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. The municipality is situated approximately 28 kilometers from the provincial capital and 24 from Vélez-Málaga. It is ...
'', ''Los Montes'' and ''
Almogía Almogía is a town and municipality in the province of Málaga, part of the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , nati ...
'' style. The village sings ''Almogía'' style.


Extreme sports

In the village mountains one can practice climbing, paragliding and other
extreme sports Action sports, adventure sports or extreme sports are activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly specialized gear. Extreme tourism overl ...
.


Economy

Historically, the region's economy was based on the production and processing of agricultural products (
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'' ...
s,
grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...
, and
milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. Immune factors and immune ...
). Today, rural
tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
is an important industry, but the
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'' ...
s production is the main economic source.


Sister cities

*
Baler A baler or hay baler is a piece of farm machinery used to compress a cut and raked crop (such as hay, cotton, flax straw, salt marsh hay, or silage) into compact bales that are easy to handle, transport, and store. Often, bales are configured ...
,
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valle de Abdalajis Municipalities in the Province of Málaga