The towns to the west of Almería have a tropical climate and tropical productions. Dailas, said to be the first permanent settlement of the Arabs, is famous for its raisins; to it succeed Adra, at the mouth of the Rio Grande of Alpujarra, Motril, Vélez Málaga, and Málaga, embosomed in gardens watered by the Guadalmedina.

Málaga, like most of the ports on that coast, is of Phœnician origin, and the most populous town of Andalusia. Less rich than Granada, Córdova, and Seville in Moorish monuments, or than Cádiz in historical traditions, it is indebted to its port and to the fertile country surrounding it for its commercial pre-eminence. Its exports, consisting of raisins (pasas), almonds, figs, lemons, oranges, wine, olive oil, &c., are the product of the immediate vicinity. There are foundries, sugar refineries, and factories. Seen from the sea, the cathedral appears to be almost as large as the rest of the town, but in the latter must be included not only the houses standing at the foot of the citadel of Gibralfaro, but also the numerous villas dotting the surrounding hills. Nay, even the picturesque towns and watering-places in the neighbouring mountains, such as Alora, Alhaurin, Carratraca, and Alhama, may be looked upon as dependencies of the city, for scarcely any but Malagueños resort to them.

[Μ]

Fig. 157.—GIBRALTAR.

Scale 1 : 150,000.

Antequera and Ronda, in the interior of the country, belong to the basin of the Me­di­ter­ra­nean, for the one stands on the Guadalhorce, which enters the sea near Málaga, whilst the other occupies a position in the upper basin of the Guadiaro, which washes the foot of the hills of San Roque, to the north of Gibraltar. Antequera is one of the most ancient towns of Spain, and acts as an intermediary between Málaga and the valley of the Guadalquivir. On a hill near it stands a curious dolmen, twenty feet in height, known as Cueva del Mengal. {413} The picturesque Moorish town of Ronda is surrounded on three sides by a gorge 600 feet in depth, 120 to 300 feet wide, and spanned by three bridges, one Roman, one Arab, and the last (built 1740–88) Spanish. Ronda still possesses some strategical importance, for it defends the road leading from the valley of the Genil to that of the Guadiaro. The Rondeños are noted for the skill with which they train horses for mountain travel. They are notorious smugglers, as are also many {414} of the inhabitants of the small seaport towns of Marbella, Estepona, and Algeciras, near Gibraltar.[146]

The rock of Gibraltar, of which the English obtained possession in 1704, has not only been converted into a first-rate fortress, but is likewise a busy place of commerce. Gibraltar produces nothing except a little fruit, and most of its provisions, including meat and corn, are imported from Tangiers, in Morocco. The inhabitants of the town are dependent for their support upon passing vessels, the English garrison, and a brisk contraband trade with Spain. Gibraltar affords very indifferent shelter, and only one-fourth of the vessels passing through the strait call there, and even these generally confine themselves to replenishing their stock of coal. Nor is a residence on this picturesque rock very pleasurable, for fevers prevail, and the military character of the place entails numerous restrictions. During the heat of summer many of the English residents—facetiously called “lizards of the rock”—seek refuge at San Roque, a village to the north of the bay, the neighbourhood of which affords excellent sport.[147]

IV.—THE MEDITERRANEAN SLOPE OF THE GREAT PLATEAU. MURCIA AND VALENCIA.[*]

In a few hours we are able to travel from the inhospitable plateaux to the hot valleys and plains of Murcia and Valencia debouching upon the Me­di­ter­ra­nean.