A few days in Malaga..... Malaga and Mildenhall both start with an 'M' but sadly there the similarity ends! Although I'm very glad we don't have a bullring here.

We climbed the steep hill to Castillo de Gibralfaro, which was built in 929AD by Abd-al-Rahman III, Caliph of Cordoba, on a former Phoenician enclosure and lighthouse, from which its name was derived - gebel-faro (Arabic and Greek, meaning rock of the lighthouse). Yusef 1, Sultan of Granada, enlarged it at the beginning of the 14th century. The castle is famous for its three-month siege by the Catholic monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, which ended only when hunger forced the Malagueños to surrender. Afterwards Ferdinand occupied the site, while his queen took up residence in the town. Interesting historic fact: this was the first conflict in which gunpowder was used by both sides. Spectacular views from atop the castle... The Alcazaba, a Moorish fortified palace built in the mid 11th century, the name comes from the Arabic for citadel..... From the Alcazaba looking towards the Roman Theatre .... The Cathedral the locals call La Manquita (one-armed lady) due to its unfinished state in that it only has one tower. It was constructed between 1528 and 1782. La Concepcion Historical Botanical Gardens, founded in 1855 by the Marquis of Casa Loring and his wife and currently there are over 2,500 tropical and subtropical species as well as 400 native plants... stunning gardens, a lovely peaceful place to visit.... And this is a tile designer's impression of the Loring's ....! At first I thought these plants were 'behind bars' as they may be dangerous, being carniverous, but I then discovered they're only dangerous to insects not to strange English women ..... ....these are much nicer .... My new little friend ... And so was I ... founded in 1961!