Torre de Urique, Molino de los Corchos, Fortaleza Fahala (Alhaurin el Grande, Málaga)

17 02 2019

This is my 3rd attempt at getting this walk right!.
I should have called this walk the Ruta del Aguacate, because so many avocado trees are being planted.

To get to the top of the Fortaleza Fahala (castle) I would recommend walking poles as there is a steep incline. ( I took a path around the back, probably not the best thing to do, as it could be classified as trespassing). The best way would be to book an appointment with the Alhaurin town hall for a guided walk. The area is being made into a tourist attraction at the moment, so is closed off to the public at present.

A bit of info on the 3 famous monuments.

The Tower of Urique (Torre de Vigía Nazarí de Hurique) built by the Moors circa 1400-1500 served as a lookout tower for surveillance of the surrounding territory. This type of fortification, which proliferated in medieval eastern Andalusia, offered refuge to the peasantry of the small villages against the rapid incursions of the Christian troops that devastated harvests and destroyed houses and other constructions. With the conquest of these territories by the Christians at the end of the 15th century, many of them were demolished because they were no longer considered necessary for the protection of the subject population, part of which, were new settlers brought from nearby towns. The tower of Urique, next to that of Ortegícar in Cañete La Real, are the only preserved examples of this type of fortification in the province of Málaga. It was declared a protected Monument in 1985.

Molino Morisco de los Corchos
Its construction dates from the fifteenth or sixteenth centuries and is one of the few examples of traditional water mill that remains in the province. The mill was mainly used to grind wheat and other grains, although its name came from the business of the milling of cork, used as insulation for the export of grapes between 1905 and 1941.

Fortaleza o Castillo de fahala,
was a Nazari walled enclosure located on the outskirts of the town and situated on a high plain of a strategic area. It served as a grain silo from the numerous mills that used the force of the water of the river Fahala.
Today remains of walls, ceramics, tiles and bricks can be seen, and the city council, which acquired the land in 2006. There is now an archaeological and architectural project to enhance the monument.