Their packages will include flights, transfers, accommodation, meals and unlimited local drinks, and is poles apart from the industry’s trend of the past decade or so which saw the majority of travellers building their own holiday holidays.

Using the internet to book your accommodation and flights separately exposed the huge profit margins that travel companies were enjoying, but two sectors fought back bravely; cruises and the all inclusive holiday.

A fun and informative video has been released to highlight First Choice’s bold move, which s hows a typical arriving in a resort where they are greeted by first Choice employees and everyone as old friends, then they spot a piece of deserted paradise with a plethora of empty loungers by a pool with a backdrop of a beautiful sunset. The tagline is that there is nothing like the feeling of an all inclusive holiday, and there certainly isn’t.

The appeal of an all inclusive holiday is clear to see, as food and drink takes the biggest chunk of spending money, having all paid for in advance relieves the pressure on spending money, and anyone who has been on holiday with little ones who are constantly asking for drink will appreciate the savings that can be made by taking the all inclusive option.

With the reputation of being one of the best travel company’s in the UK, the decision to only have all inclusive holidays looks like being a very clever move, and one that will benefit us all.

The holiday experts at Thomson know how important these holidays, and also how important that your holiday lives up to your expectations and that there are no nasty surprises once you arrive in your resort. It is with this mind that they have released their latest television commercial, a 30 second snippet of how important it is to holiday with your family while they are still at that age to go away with their parents.

The choice of designated family resorts that Thomson specialise in are vast and varied and there are resorts to suit everyone, whatever the ages of your children will be. The hotels are all child friendly too and have so many activities through the day to entertain the youngsters that you will never have bored and grumpy children moaning that they want to be home with their friends.

By simply logging onto the user friendly Thomson website you can see the latest range of family resorts they have to offer, and there is also a video to watch that shows hoe committed Thomson are to creating your ideal family holiday. With kids clubs or all ages and academies for all ages, you can relax in the knowledge your children are in safe hands while you relax by the pool with a cocktail, and also have a great holiday.

It is for this very reason that Capital One, the credit card company, has launched a new campaign to educate people into the many ways they can save money while out of the country. “Credit made clearer” is the title of the campaign, and two videos have been released online to get the point across in a humorous and informative manner. They give several tips and hints to make sure that your holiday doesn’t end up costing you more than you had bargained for.

There are still thousands of us who fly off to sunnier climes clutching our credit cards, then when we go to make a purchase find out that it has been declined. With credit theft becoming so common, the first piece of advice that Capital One offers is to always notify your credit card company that you are going away, and tell them where you are going and also the dates.

Whilst on the phone, make sure that all your contact details are up to date and ensure that they have a mobile phone number you will be taking with you. This means that if anything untoward turns up on your account they can contact you immediately. As far as your foreign currency is concerned, always pay for it in cash and shop around for the best rates. Never use your card or buy it at the airport, you are then hit with the double whammy of paying a charge and getting a poor exchange rate.

Check out the videos on their website, where you will also see plenty more tips for booking a worry free holiday.

She was with Danielle, both us the same management group, in sexy bikinis and straw hats playing it up for the cameras and smiling away, all the while soaking up all the attention tossed their way. She said the fun in the sun is therapy to help her recover from her recent split from Dan Foden.

She said she was gutted, had a cry or two and has felt somewhat sorry for herself saying she thinks she will be a lonely old lady that will have a high number of cats and stink like pee and will never find anyone to be with. She said after having been single a year prior to Foden she was excited to be in a relationship and had high hopes but then to have this happen. She misses sex but also the cuddling and kissing.

History

The first inhabitants of these lands were from the Neolithic period, judging by the archaeological remains of the Sierra de la Camorra, next door to Mollina. There, in the Cave of the Leaks there has been found Fig Tree ceramics from this period. In another cave, the Los Porqueros also found cave paintings depicting human figures.

Also there has appeared the Neolithic site called Cerro de la Fuente and Cerro de las Vinas. From the Roman era there is a preserved mausoleum-shrine Cortijo La Capuchina and a strong, Capiruzon castle, unique in Andalusia with those characteristics, in the hamlet of Santillan. We are unaware of what happened here during the Middle Ages, it is only known as the remains of a watchtower on the Cerro de la Fuente, from which its foundations can still be seen to be circular.
In the area of Torre Molina, where the town now sits, was a large piece of undivided land that was delivered to the council of the city of Antequera. This piece was called Cortijo de la Ciudad, and with an area of 1816 acres and was divided between the new settlers in 1575, giving rise to the founding of the modern town. Shortly after the deal was created the first parish, in 1687, already had 200 inhabitants. At that time, the Humilladero Mollina parish became independent at the end of the century.
Birth as a municipality

Mollina was born as a township in the early twentieth century, separating from Antequera under the provision of the Constitution of 1812 which said that people of more than 1,000 should have a municipality to itself. The first record is by Mollina City Council on June 9^th 1820.

There are remains of Arab origin, situated several miles from town at the foot of the Sierra de la Camorra. Of interest are the church of Nuestra Senora de la Oliva, from the late seventeenth century and the convent of the Ascension, from the eighteenth century, with a Baroque main entrance and a courtyard with a chapel belfry.

The village has long, straight streets with traditional whitewashed houses with bars on the windows.
In the town there are many archaeological sites that have been cited in the history and others that stand out as being picturesque places of tourist interest or caving. Thus, for caving are the caves of Mortar, de la Higuera, de la Rosa Chica and the bodies.
Festivities

February 2^nd has special relevance for the feast of Candlemas, in May is the festival of the Virgen de la Oliva and between 13^th and 16^th August are the fiestas in honor of the former Marian devotion. Fair harvest is on the second weekend of September.

Ojen is located along the Arroyo de Almada, is very peaceful and rich in water, surrounded by the Sierra Blanca, owned by the IARA, and Alpujata which is rich in iron ore, nickel, lead, talc and dunite.

The Penoncillo iron mine was operated by an English company and employed many people of Marbella and Ojen. The proximity of the sea makes Ojen have a temperate climate, despite being a typical mountain village.

Colloquialisms

The ojenetos were once given the humorous nickname of “churruca” by neighboring villages.

Nature

The mountains of Ojen have great Mediterranean forest of oaks, cork oaks, pines, agaves and cacti that reach the edge of the road. As for the fauna inhabiting these forests, we must mention the beautiful Cabra Hispanica, a protected species which is virtually extinct, and the Golden Eagles.

They live there along with the genet, the mongoose, rats and many small mammals, birds and insects of various species. In addition, several medicinal plants such as sage, rosemary, thyme, Cantahueso, Fennel and Chamomile are present here. In abundance are the shrubs Tojos, Retamas, Jaras, Abulagas and evergreens. Also noteworthy for its rarity are the presence of a colony of Pinsapos.
In the rivers, in places like “El Charco Las Vinas” it is not uncommon to find Turtles, Frogs and Snakes. Multicolored flowers such as odor or Orchid collie sites abound in the Sierra de Ojen, where the watchman of the night is the Eagle Owl, an endangered bird that is very difficult to locate now.

History
In the Middle Paleolithic period, this area was inhabited by Neanderthals, who lived in nomadic groups, and the Neolithic were a settled population. During the Roman Empire, the coast was heavily populated and there was speculation that the area had a village exploiting agriculture and livestock. Ojen was cited in the “Chronicle of the deeds of the emirs of Cordoba”.

According to the chronicle, Rahman III begins a battle to subdue the rebellion of the Mozarabic (Christians living in Muslim lands) and the Muladis Malaga. It is known that one of the battles between rebels and the army was before the walls of the Castle of Ojen.

The revolt of the Mozarabic caused the ephemeral existence of a kingdom with its capital in Bobastro; in 921 Ojen Rahman and his Church were released and it was converted into a mosque. In 1485 the Muslims capitulated to King Ferdinand and squarely into the modern age. At that time Ojen Marbella sent for export to Africa, raisins, dried figs, almonds, silk, wax and honey from their hives.

Moorish Muslims become vassals of Castile, Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492 fully taking the Kingdom of Granada, ending the Reconquista. Ojen Council is constituted and made the proper demarcation of the term. Marbella Ojen depended on who was appointed an alderman with civil and criminal jurisdiction. The Kings did not allow the presence of Muslims within a mile of the coast and many residents were sent to Ojen Marbella.

The measure was taken to avoid collaboration with Muslim Turks and Barbary pirates. There were then 114 Ojen neighbors, four of them old Christians. In 1505, by order of the archbishop of Seville, Diego de Deza was the canonical erection of the present parish of Our Lady of the Incarnation.

In 1568, during the reign of Philip II the rebellion of the Moors of Istan, and in 1569 they were joined by the Moors in Ojen. They fled with their families and belongings to the nearby mountains abandoning the land after killing their neighbors, the Old Christians and burned the church, houses and crops.

Philip II appointed the Duke of Medina Sidonia and the Duke of Arcos to pacify the Serrania de Ronda and end the rebellion. In 1570 the war ended and Ojen was repopulated by Old Christians. The problem continued in Moorish Spain until in 1609 King Felipe III expelled the Moors.

In 1772 the British writer Francis Carter described Ojen as “a nation of friendly people, simple, ignorant about tea and coffee, but enjoy goat’s milk in their cups of clay.” In 1807 Charles IV granted irrespective of the jurisdiction Ojen to Marbella. Pedro Fernandez in 1905 built the Fountain of the Jets, which was restored in 2006 by Henry Except Rabasco and his team of restorers.

In 1906 the Marquis de Larios used the Palace of John as a hunting lodge where he was once invited by King Alfonso XIII. Juanar Palace was restored as a Parador in 1965 and since 1984 it has operated as a worker’s cooperative of Ojen.