Ardales

Attractions El Castillo de la Pena dates back to the end of theninth century during the revolt of Omar Ben Hafsun. He was part of theirdominion until the Umayyad Cordoba put an end to the rebellion with theconquest of Bobastro. In the vicinity of Ardales there are also the natural environments of theGuadalhorce reservoirs and the gorge of Gaitanes (used in the Frank Sinatramovie Von Ryan’s Express). Notably, several kilometers from the town center is a home-nursery of theHydrographic Confederation of the South.

CultureFestivals The main festivals of the people are the Fiesta de la Matanza (in February) andthe Fair in honor of their patron saint, the Virgen de Villaverde (inSeptember). CraftsEsparto craft articles are traditionally made and consist of iron and bobbinlace.

Gastronomy The cuisine in Ardales is traditionally made using lamb and goat meat, cookedin dishes such as stews, knows as the shepherd andalusia kid stew. They alsoinclude products from pig meat and gazpacho. Baking cookies are made with almonds and the threads of wine, while Empanadillais made with angel hair and oil cakes.

Ardales is a municipality situated within the province of Malaga and part of the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain.It is centrally located in the foothills of the Sierra de las Nieves as ittranscends towards the Guadalhorce reservoirs, between the districts of Alor andTeba Casarabonela. In 2008 it had 2638 inhabitants. Its superficial expanse is that of 106 km² andit has a population density of 24.13 inhabitants / km². The geographicalcoordinates are 36 ° 52 ‘N, 4 ° 50′ W and it is situated at an altitude of 445meters above sea level and 52 kilometers from the provincial capital, Malaga.

History There are several traces of prehistoric caves in theenvironment, particularly the first evidence of the enclave work from the Celtiberians(Turobriga) and subsequently further evidence extending through Roman times. Atthat time the language used was Arabic (Ard-Allah) which holds relevance to theenclave, especially during the rebellion of Omar Ben Hafsun against the emir ofCordoba (880), who also built the town of Cave Bobastro. It was then conqueredby the Christians in 1389.