Casares

Casares is in the heart of Malaga, not far from the golden beaches of the Costa del Sol yet surrounded by some of the most spectacular scenery that the Peninsula has to offer.

I bet things have changed a bit since ol’ Ibn woz 'ere. For one thing, Casares, deep in the heart of the verdant Malagueñan countryside, is a haven for those seeking the good life far from their shores or origin. For another, it’s a place striving to project an image of being a twenty-first century village whilst retaining a clear link with its colour.

Surrounded by the peaks of the Sierra de Utrera on one side and the Sierra Crestellina, with its flourishing colony of Griffon vultures on the other, Casares is the ideal of an Andalusian village in a location blessed by an almost year-round benign climate and the abundance that that brings.

The ‘Andalusian’ label sits well in Casares as this was the birthplace of Blas Infante, the founder of the nationalist Andalucista political party. Even though, recently, this formation has been languishing in opinion polls, the influence of Blas Infante is still felt many years after his death and a bronze bust in the centre of the village records his memory.

Casares, known as Caxares by the Arabs, a name that means ‘fortress’, an obvious choice when you see the location of the now ruined castle on top of an almost impregnable plug of rock that commands sweeping views across Andalusia.

The town fell, after nearly 800 years of Arabic rule, to Rodrigo Ponce de León in 1492 only a few days before the last bastion of Arabic rule in the Peninsula, Granada fell.

Before that and for many years, the village had formed part of the frontier zone between the two immiscible cultures of Christianity and Islam with the nearest town, Jimena de la Frontera often being in different hands. The first documented mention of the fortress was made by an Arabic chronicler, one Ibn - al Jatib in the 13th century.

Centuries before these battles of genocide, Casares formed part of the Roman empire in Hispania and was a key fortress on the network of roads joining Acinipo (Ronda) and Italica (Sevilla) with the sea.

It’s said, even today in hushed tones such was his legend, that Julius Caesar stayed in this small village recuperating from the many wounds inflicted during his wars of conquest across the Peninsula.

And, during the War of Independence during the early part of the 18th century Casares, along with the city of Cádiz, was the only town to resist the Napoleon’s invading forces, an act of defiance that still resounds through the closely packed narrow streets.

Today Casares is a sleepy town that welcomes tourists and travellers. The chances are that the bars and hotels located in the narrow streets are owned by Bob rather than Paco but there’s no doubt that, after many centuries of war, harmony has been restored and latter-day explorers can expect a great welcome.

Try, in particular, the Old, New Bar in the centre of town, a great place to relax and watch the world go by....