Malaga is one of those places people fly into, see the airport, and then move on to where-ever they have booked down the coast. Unfortunately it is not viewed as a place to visit by many of the expats coming into (and out of) the south of Spain. Its a pity as the city has much to offer, as we found out with a couple of KL friends (Dave and Monica), who have now returned to the UK and found time to spend a few days with us.
Starting at the Alcazabar (or Kings Palace), we were able to roam through this Moorish palace and its beautiful interior gardens, see the small museum dedicated to the Roman and Moorish bowls and urns found during various city excavations and generally get some wonderful views across the city.
A short walk from the high exit finds the ruins of a Roman ampitheatre. Whilst work is underway to excavate additional areas including more of the stage area, an impressive amount of restoration work has been carried out - it is almost unbelievable that something this old is still standing. As we walked down the road we were able to look back up towards the palace with the Roman ruins in the foreground - amazing history from different periods side by side. Coming from such a young country, Australians consider anything over 100 years to be old.....Europe's ruins dating from earlier than the 11th century are impressive.
A drive up to the top of the hill bought us to the Castillo de Gibralfaro. Originally a palace, it was rebuilt as a fortress during the Moorish period in the 14th century.
It is possible to walk the entire way around its walls - again with terrific views of Malaga as it is built overlooking the old town. Inside the museum displayed elements of Spanish military history, plus a model of the old town and the various connections between the palace and the fortress. Whilst we did not have time on this trip, previous visits to Malaga have included a walk through its old town - much of which is now up-market cafes and shopping areas. A very pretty place with some great tapas bars (particularly off the main streets).
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