Partial view of the
village |
Salares is situated on a hilltop, between two
riverbeds and amidst high mountains. Its position has conditioned the form
that the village has taken. This means that there is no square in the centre
and the streets are short and steep, most of them being formed by steps
because of the tremendous differences in level.
The houses are extraordinarily beautiful; some
of them are whitewashed and others are decorated with tiles depicting
different religious images and the Way of the Cross. Calle
Puente is the flattest one in the village; it leads to the surrounding area,
on the eastern slopes, and to the Roman Bridge, which still crosses over the
River Salares, a water course which used to link up to the mule tracks to
Alhama. The name of the village is Latin
in origin and comes from "Salaria Bastitanorum," due to the
existence of salt beds in the surrounding area at one time. However its
layout is clearly inherited from the days of Arab rule. The Moors built a
small fortress right in the village, of which one of the towers remains,
near the church, forming part of the house called Del Torreón.
The history of the village parallels that of the rest of the Axarquía.
Following its capture by the Christian forces, the Moriscos (Moors
"converted" to Christianity) were subjected to all manner of
harassment, until they finally rebelled and were subsequently expelled from
Spain at the end of the 16th century. At that time, the
population of Salares was 548. At the end of the 19th century the
area suffered a severe earthquake, and although there was no loss of life,
the town centre and numerous houses were damaged. Currently
the main source of income in Salares is agriculture, especially olives and
almonds, with large areas covered by vineyards.
Places
to be visited
 |
Roman
bridge and other archaeological remains
The bridge over the River Salares is on the eastern slopes of the
hill where the village is situated. Built by the Romans, it links
both banks of the river securely. Other archaeological remains are
those of the fortress in the village itself and the remains of the
mosque, beside the church.
Church of Santa Ana
The Church of Santa Ana, dating from the 16th century,
is the most architecturally important building in the village. It
was built in the Mudejar style, with a central nave and a simple
cross-shaped ground plan. The exterior is also simple, with a
semicircular arched entrance. It is clear that the church tower
was once a Moorish minaret, recycled for Christian use with the
addition of a bell-tower. In fact, this part of the building was
officially designated a National Monument in 1979, being one of
the finest existing examples of this type of architecture in the
entire country. It was built in red brick between the 13th
and 14th centuries, in two storeys with four impressive
openings. While being restored in 1991, remains of the original
paintwork appeared beneath thick coats of whitewash dating from
the 16th century.
Natural surroundings
One of the most interesting places to visit in the area is the
Albarrá Fountain, a mountain stream just half a kilometre from
the town centre where the water flows cold in summer and quite
warm in winter. Worth a visit too is the Cerro del Puerto, 1,658
metres above sea level and the highest peak in the region. It
forms part of the Sierra de Almijara mountain range, the most
southerly part of the province of Granada. The town is surrounded
by a series of hills: the Monte Chico to the east, the Peñas
Blancas to the south, and watered by the Salares and Tozones
streams. There are also interesting geological features here, like
the Cave of the Siete Salas, not yet fully explored, and the Monte
Chico.
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| Where
to eat |
Restaurante
Alminar. Calle Alminar, 3. Tel: 952 50 88 17. The
gastronomy of the town is based on products of the soil, with
fennel stews and gachas being especially popular here, and the
excellent orange-flavoured doughnuts are usually made for the
annual San Anton Festival
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| Where
to sleep |
Casa
Angeles. Tel: 952 54 20 58 (Axartur) and 952 27 62 29
(Rural Andalus)
Casa Puente. Tel: 689 77 83 30
Casa Angeles Aguilera. Tel:
952 50 89 26
Rural
Accommodation in the province of Malaga
(in
Spanish)
|
The Church Tower |
FIESTAS
The festival
in honour of San Antón, the patron saint of animals, takes place on the
weekend that falls closest to January 17th. The Romería of the
saint is held on the Sunday, when the image is brought to the area known
as The Era, accompanied by local horsemen and women. There the saint is
placed while animals pass by to be blessed by the parish priest. This is
followed by processions through the streets of the town with gifts made of
doughnuts and tapas. The town’s Feria
takes place at the end of July, falling on the Saturday nearest to the Day
of Santa Ana, patron saint of the town, in which there are processions
through the streets, fireworks, music and dancing. There is a mass on the
Sunday morning, followed by various games in the streets in which
everybody takes part. The most important of the purely religious festivals
is Holy Week, when an altar is made with flowers on Holy Thursday. The
images of the Virgen de los Dolores and Nuestro Padre Jesús are brought
out at night. On
Easter Sunday the women of the town carry the Virgin around the upper part
of the town, while the men take the Resurrected Child Jesus to the lower
part, and both groups then meet at the entrance to the cemetery.
GASTRONOMY
The rosco de naranja (orange
doughnut) is the gastronomic item most associated with Salares. According
to the local people, the secret of its cooking lies in the number ten: for
every kilo of flour, ten oranges, ten spoonfuls of olive oil, sugar,
canela and aniseed, with bicarbonate of soda added. The dough is then
formed into the traditional shape and fried in cooking oil, then sprinkled
in sugar. Other popular dishes of the area include fennel stew, omelettes
and fried breadcrumbs. The municipality is well known for its local
"rome" wine.
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