Calle Trinidad |
Árchez is a small
municipality of five square kilometres, and to get there, one
follows the Mudéjar Route towards Salares. Another way to reach the town
is to take the road through
Arenas, by Daimalos (in the municipality of Arenas)
and Corumbela (municipality of Sayalonga). Once past Sayalonga, one travels
down a slight incline to Árchez, about four kilometres on. Arenas is
11 kilometres from Árchez. The
municipality forms a triangle from south to north,
in the valley of the river Turvilla, and is surrounded by the peaks of
Tetuán (528 metres) and Zorra (542 metres). There
is an abundance of water in the region almost all year round. The Sierra
Tejeda riverbeds are fed by the river Árchez, which takes the name Algarrobo
further on. Numerous tributaries join it along the way, such as the
Cortijuelo and the Acequia de Corumbela, increasing its volume in the
lower reaches. This makes for an
excellent tourist attraction, with many people
visiting the area as a result. Walking along the river banks one can see
three ancient and abandoned flour mills, known as the mills of Doña Fidela,
Reusto and Castrán. The landscape in the area is mostly scrubland, with
low trees here and there. There is plenty of wildlife here too, including
rabbits, hares, partridges and other birds. Árchez
is known as the Joya Merinita (Merinite Jewel) of the 12th century. The
earliest settlers here were the Moriscos, and the town probably grew up
from the original farmhouse.
This explains the narrow streets and the close distribution
of the houses. The town¹s centre is small and fairly flat. One sees,
walking through the town, that the design of the houses differs from street
to street, some with simple roofs and others with terraces, which are
of more recent construction.
Many of them have their own wells, taking water from
the numerous underground streams that flow through the area
Places
to be visited
 |
Church
of Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación
The Church of Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación dates from the
15th century, and was built in
the Mudejar style with a single nave and three side chapels
at the top. The ceiling was built in a
timber structure. The Christian church
was built over an older mosque, the only remaining relic of this
being the minaret, a jewel of 14th
century Moorish architecture that rises 15
metres over a 3.64 square metres base with a central pillar of
1.07 metres. A vaulted stairway
leads to the top. The outside
of the minaret is decorated in figurative and geometric designs,
with arabesque lines. The colouring on
the surface is still well preserved, in
tones of red on most of the four facades. It is roofed with tiles
in a rhombus shape, with an
even smaller roof over this made with interlacing ironwork.
The minaret has been restored and was officially declared to be
of historical and artistic interest in
1979. Restoration work ended in 1989. There
are two well-known bells in the minaret¹s bell-tower, the Nuestra
Señora del Pilar and the María de la
Encarnación. The latter has an inscription
that reads: "I was made by D. Ramón Rivas, being priest D.
Ildefonso Tomé y García and mayor D.
Antonio García Azuaga. Year 1876".
Doña Fidela Mill
This mill is worth visiting, especially for lovers of old legends.
The Molino de Doña Fidela is
situated on the banks of the river Turvilla, right beside
the town. It is now abandoned, but the local story goes that soon
after Doña Fidela had sold the mill
to a neighbour, he had found an earthenware
jar under a huge rock in the river that contained a wealth of
silver and gold coins.
Plaza Andalucía market
Árchez is a quiet town, but it fills with the sounds of the
market-place on Wednesday
mornings, when stalls are set up in the Plaza de Andalucía. All
types of products, most local, are
sold here.
|
| Where
to eat |
Bar Mesón Río
Turvilla. Specialising in home cooking, rice, kid and
rabbit (reserved in advance).
Ample parking. In the middle of beautiful countryside.
Tel: 952 553 145. Árchez.
Mesón Mudéjar. Specialising
in kid and lamb with honey in sauce, fries and roasted
kid foot. C/Álamo, 6. Tel: 952 553 106. Árchez. |
| Where
to sleep |
Posada
Mudéjar. Double rooms. Tel: 952 553 106.
Árchez.
Rural
Accommodation in the province of Malaga
(in
Spanish)
|
A typical corner of
Árchez |
FIESTAS
The festival of the patron saints of the town, San Sebastián and Nuestra
Señora de la Encarnación, takes place from August 18th to 20th, with a
bullfighting festival included. An Andalusian Night is celebrated in May
and June. The Holy Week celebrations are very important here, with
processions through the narrow and winding streets. The throne of Jesus of
Nazareth is the principal one carried aloft, but on Good Friday the Virgen
de los Dolores (Virgin of Sorrows) and the Soledad is carried out at
midnight. Only the women of the town are allowed carry this image, and the
images of the Virgen de la Purísima and Virgin of Easter Sunday. In the
festival known as the Sanjuaneo, on June 24th, the families of the town
and
surrounding areas head out to the countryside to bathe themselves in the
river as a mark of purification, then collect handfuls of mastrantos, a
herbal plant that grows near the water, to perfume
their houses.
GASTRONOMY
The Árchez cuisine consists mainly of local produce, mostly from the
surrounding
countryside. One of the most popular dishes is rice with fennel,
but also excellent are the fried bread crumbs
accompanied by sardines, the
garlic soup and
the little cod and honey pasties.
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