Benalmadena Overview

Benalmádena is a townthat is part of the metropolitan area ofMalaga,in the judicial district of Torremolinos and in the region of theCosta del Sol.

Under this territorial division,Benalmádena is pooled together with other municipalities within theCommonwealth of Municipalities of the Costa del Sol.

The township of Benalmádena is situated inthe coastal strip between the Sierra de Mijas and the Alboran Sea, just over100 km from the Strait of Gibraltar. It is built on a mountain beside the sea,which makes up its geography. Moreover, it is crossed by creeks and streams andadjoins the municipalities of northeast Torremolinos, Alhaurín de la Torre tothe north, Mijas and Fuengirola to the east, as well as theMediterranean Sea to the south.

The climate istypically Mediterranean, with mild temperatures all year round, no frost in thecolder months and an average of 19 degrees centigrade. Its climate and itslocation on the southern coastEurope areimportant factors for the tourism industry is the main industry of themunicipality.

It has a populationof 60,000 and has experienced tremendous growth since the 60s due to tourismdevelopment. However, it is estimated that around 80,000 regular residents, anumber that triples during the summer. The population is distributed around the three main towns in the Boroughdistinguished as the following.Benalmádena Pueblo Benalmádena Pueblo is known as the old part of town and its surrounding neighbourhoods.

Situated on the slopes of Pico Mijas, where there was once awalled town and a fortress of which there is no longer any remains. This is theaesthetic of the white villages of Andalusia and theMediterraneanis home to the central units of the City Council. The post code is 29639Benalmadena Pueblo.

Benalmádena Costa The coastal area of Benalmadena is known by this name, “Coast” is thetourist heart of the town and here is concentrated the bulk of the hotels. Itis built on the old road of Cadiz (now the Avenida Antonio Machado and Avenidadel Sol), which runs parallel to the coastline, the Puerto Deportivo deBenalmádena and the beaches, which are accessed from a promenade that crossesthe town from the border with the neighbouring towns of Fuengirola toTorremolinos. The zip code is 29630 Benalmádena Costa.

Several authors havepresented theories on the origin of the name of the town, but none has beenproven as true. The first documents in which references to Benalmadena date ofthe fifteenth century in the context of the struggles of recapturing the crownof Castileagainst the Nazari Kingdom of Granada. The assumption on which most historians agree is one that relates the Arabicname Ibn al-ma’din with “children of mine” by the existence of ocherand iron deposits in the area.

Another theory, also related to the miningindustry, says the current name of Benalmadena comes from the Arabic wordal-Bina ma’din whose Castilian translation would be “the construction orbuilding of the mine.”

Among the theories are less meaning thatthe claim that the original name of the place means “people from springs,whose voice would be Arabic Ena Bena-A. Furthermore, it is believed that thepotential Madina al-Bina name could refer to “the wealth of the familyal-Madina”, which historical data was a wealthy Muslim family from Malaga who may have ownedland in the area.

Finally it has been suggested that the name of themunicipality referred to a lineage where Arabic “al-Madan Ben would liketo refer to the lineage of the Madan.