Let's Discover Mijas, the jewel of Andalucia, Southern Spain

By Jack Cox

The setting of Mijas is spectacular. Just a few years ago it was a farming village, but today it is one of Spain's richest towns, with nearly 75,000 residents. It is one of the beautiful 'Pueblos Blancos' or 'White Towns', situated at the coastal mountain range known as Cordón Montañoso del Litoral. The two highest points here are the Pico de Mendoza (1103 meters) and the Pico Mijas (1150 meters) from where there are breathtaking views over the Costa del Sol.  Also in this mountain chain are the Pico Castillejo (955 m), Cerro del Moro (973 m), Pico Calamorro (772 m) and Pico Abalcuza (606 m).

This is a typical Andalucían village, perched on the side of a hill with white  houses and spectacular views to the coast and surrounding wooded mountains. It's old town has become a showcase, one of the most popular visiting spots with tourists along this part of the Costa del Sol

Donkey (Burro) Taxi are a familiar sight around the town.  When burros were no longer needed to bring marble and lime from the quarries down to the coast, they were not put out to pasture but converted into "taxis" for the tourists. So make your way around the maze of streets by hireing a donkey taxi for just 7 Euros. You can also take a donkey or pony trap ride to see all it has to offer at a most leisurely pace.

The 18th century Ermita del Calvario (Hermitage of Calvary) is situated above the town, half way up the mountain. The hermitage was built around 1710 to be a place of retirement and meditation for the Carmelite monks.

Visible from almost anywhere in the town, its whiteness stand out from the lush green of the dense pine woods which surround it. Each Easter there is a Romería precession to the hermitage. Despite the climb, many people enjoy a stroll to the hermitage. The footpath is quite clear with iron crossings. Those who make the climb enjoy superb panoramic views of Mijas and the coast.

The town of Mijas (Mijas Pueblo) has a thriving arts and craft movement. There are many small craft shops selling leather work, pottery and other traditional wares. On sale you will always find lots of local linen, ceramics, wicker items, paintings, bread and honey.  Tiny shops line the village streets and there are view points all around the village. 

Mijas has Spain's only square or oval bullring (Plaza de Toros) which is also unusually small, accommodating only some 600 spectators.  It dates from the beginning of the twentieth century.

The modern bullring was built in 1900, following many petitions made by the villagers. It was inaugurated on the 8th of September of that year.

This tiny bullring also has a privately owned bullfighting museum.  It is situated in the La Muralla area of the town. These days the bullring is chiefly used for the training of matadors.

Spain is the only country in the world where bulls are still killed for amusement.  Elsewhere bullfighting usually takes the form of plucking rosettes from the bull's horns.

Mijas has some interesting gardens, churches & other monuments giving insight to its Roman, Moorish and Spanish past.  One of the most interesting is Iglesia Parroquial de la Inmaculada Concepción (Church of the Immaculate Conception), which was built on the site of the ruins of an ancient Moorish castle and mosque. One of the castle's towers (shown in the picture) is still used as the bell tower.

Building of the present church began in 1541 but was not finished until 1631. It is a stone building with three Mozarabic naves supported by marble pillars.

During the restoration in 1991/92 a series of frescos of the apostles were discovered on the columns which date back to approximately 1632.

What is left of the old Moorish castle fortifications now forms part of an attractive park close by.

In the lower area of La Muralla, towards the town centre, there is a fountain built with blocks of marble that slid down the mountains after the floods of 1881. Just up from here is the little square of the Siete Caños, where the Casa de la Cultura, formerly the Town Hall, stands.

Iglesia de San Sebastian (The Church of San Sebastian), with its distinctive white facade, was built in the seventeenth century.  This church has a single nave and a square main chapel covered by a domed vault resting upon penndentives with moulded plasterwork and scrolled plaques. At the head of the high altar is a groin vaulted niche with an 18th century fresco of small angels.

At the eastern entrance, a simple portico incorporates a round arch framed by pilasters. The whole façade is crowned by a belfry gable with a single opening.

El Santuario de la Virgen de la Peña (The Sanctuary of the Virgin of the Rock) has been carved out of the solid hillside near the El Compás viewpoint as a tribute to the patron saint of Mijas. The shrine dates back to 1586 when, according to legend, an image of the Virgin "miraculously" appeared there. Subsequently an image of the Virgin was found concealed in a recess in the tower where it had been hidden for 500 years. The legend goes something like this:

In the Village of Mijas in the year 1,536 lived Pedro Bernal Manrique and his wife Asunción Alcantara y Torreras, both born in the area of Trujillo. The couple had a son called Pedro who married Catalina Linaire Sánchez in 1573; she being the daughter of Juan Linaire Herrero and Pilar Sanchez Estevez; iron merchants from Torrijos of Toledo, family of the parents of Saint Teresa of Jesus.

The couple had two children Juan and Asunción, both of working age (he was 12 and she was 10). Their father bought them a few lambs for them to look after.

One Sunday, the 30th. of May, (being the day of Holy Trinity) at midday the two children were playing, when all of a sudden a beautiful dove flew between them. The children ran to catch the dove. They caught it while it was perched on the old tower where a "heavenly queen" appeared. They stroked and kissed the dove with tenderness and were lost for words. They awoke thinking it had all been a dream, as the dove was no longer there. When they returned home, they told their parents what had happened, but they took no notice of their childish talk.

The next day, Monday the 31st. of May they returned to the same place, having forgotten everything that had happen to them the previous day. Once again at the same time and at the same place the same happened to them.

Again they told their parents what had happened. Their parents told them that they should not return to the site, as something could happen to them. They did not return until Wednesday, 2nd of June. They had once again forgotten everything that had happened to them. It was midday and the children were looking after their lambs when they heard a voice “look at me Juan”; they turned their heads to see who was calling them, there they saw the dove perched on the window of the tower.

All of a sudden a beautiful light of colours shone around the dove, and amongst the light appeared a lady with a child in arms.
The dove flew down and settled on the breast of the "heavenly lady". The children knelt to see so much beauty.

The little girl exclaimed “what a beautiful lady”. “Who are you?” asked the little boy innocently “I’m the Mother of God” said the Lady. “What do you want from me and my sister?” said the little boy.” “I want to talk to you”, answered the lady. The little girl warned the lady, “Careful you are going to fall off the tower”. “No, my girl, I won’t fall!” answered the lady. “Now go home, tell your parents what has happened and also tell the leaders of the village and the priest. Tell them that I have been hidden here for over 500 years”. Having said this, she disappeared.

The children told their father of the vision, he then informed the town elders and priest and then went with the children to the castle. The father, who was a builder, climbed the tower to the place the children had seen the Dove. He knocked on the area the children had said and it sounded hollow. He began to break away the wall. He then exclaimed in a shocked voice “Jesus, it’s here”, and then fainted.

Later the priest of the village presented the image of the Holy Virgin to the villagers. The whole village knelt to pay their respects. Inside the cavity where they found the virgin, they also found a strange shaped pair of candle sticks, two guardians relics, a ciborium, and pieces of jewellery and the history of the virgin.

 

The Virgin was known from then on as the Virgin of the Tower. They gave Juan the image of the Virgin for him to carry it to the Parish Church.

The next day was Corpus Christi. The celebration was more serious than ever because of the discovery of the image; which happened the 2nd. June1586 at midday, in the reign of Philip II.

This is the story of the Holy Virgin, who was once called Santa Maria de la Encarnación, who is claimed to have appeared to the children, Juan & Asunción Bernal Linaire.

Of course a cynic could claim that she was the patron saint of attracting pilgrims with cash (then) or tourists with cash (now) but I could hardly comment.  Whether you choose to take it literally or not, its still a charming story.

Mijas as a prehistoric Iberian settlement, was originally part of the ancient territory of Turdetania.  There are still some remains from that era in the town walls. Some say Mijas was founded by the Tartars, one of the tribes that prospered in Spain prior to the arrival of the Carthaginians and the Romans. The town's rich mines were certainly worked by Phoenicians and Greeks, and the ores set to the Far East in small ships. The Roman name for Mijas was Tamisa and it was an important commercial centre close to the via Appìa linking Malaga with Cadiz.

From the eighth century Mijas was inhabited by the Moors (a race of Arabs).   It belonged to the kingdom of Ben Hafsun and flourished under the Arab settlers until, in 1492, it fell to the Christian "Reconquistadores".

I have always found this an amusing term because the people who "re-conquered" Iberia were not of the same race as those who lost the country to the Moors in the first place.  The Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals and Visigoths all had their turn here before the Moors arrived. Indeed the Visigoths retained a presence in Spain, with Toledo as their capital, until 715 

The people who drove the Moors out were none of these. They were an odd mixture racially but united by a common religion, Christian Catholicism. The Visigoths of course had not been Catholics at all. Their brand of Christianity had been Arian.  If you are interested in looking moor deeply into this I can recommend http://www.languedoc-france.info/1011_moors.htm

The Muslims of Mijas fought bravely against this so-called "re-conquest" by the Christian armies but after Malaga fell to the Catholics, Mijas surrendered.

Mijas offers a great alternative to sun and sea. Peering down from its 428-metre elevation, the town boasts Muslim roots mixed with the influence of waves of European artists who have settled here in the last century. In the height of the season, it is probably best visited in the evening when the tourist coaches have departed. Other "white villages" a little farther to the West include Ojén, Monda, Guaro, Coín and Tolox.

The local festivities take place on 17 January, in the first fortnight of September and on 15 October. In January it is the festival of San Anton which is celebrated, with a romería (open-air party) at the holy hermitage, which is reached in carriages and on carts, food being taken along, too. In September homage is paid to the patron saint, La Virgen de la Peña.

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