subject: Mijas Area Guide For September 2010 [print this page] One of the jewels of the Costa del Sol is the beautiful little village of Mijas, which nestles comfortably in the mountainside at 428 meters above sea level; it is a superb choice for either holiday or full time living. Of the 7,500 population, there are so many foreign and English speaking residents in and around the pueblo that the Town Hall has a very helpful Foreigner's Department
The Department caters for the many needs of those who do not speak Spanish. When you wander through the narrow cobbled streets of this Andalucian village, you can understand what has attracted foreigners to settle here over the years. Many artists and writers have made it their home, enjoying the benefits of an excellent all year round climate, without being part of the busier, more commercial coastal towns just 7 kilometres down the mountain side. The craft shops have some wonderful hand made pottery and often affordable paintings and prints by acclaimed local artists, such as Don Clarke and Michele Lehmann. A holiday memento could turn out to be a sound investment. From the Arab gardens of La Muralla (remains of the old fortress) built by Abdalaziz in the eighth century and later reinforced by Abderraman III, the visitors pupil will contract, victim of the luminosity that the blue Mediterranean distils from the sun. A few steps away from the unique landscape of La Muralla is one of the few irregular shaped bullrings to be found in Spain (built in 1900) and close by, the church of the Immaculate Concepcion, built over the remains of an old Arab mosque. Further down is the Plaza de la Constitucion (Constirucion Square), in which centre is a beautiful fountain carved from the marble blocks that came down from the mountain in the 1884 floods. The coastal towns of Fuengirola and Benalmadena can also be clearly seen from the esplanade called El Comps, that spreads before the Hermitage of the Virgen de la Pea, Patroness fo Mijas. It is a sanctuary carved in the hard rock by the monks of the Order of our Lady of Mercy in 1520, after the conquest by the Catholic Monarchs. Tradition has it that it was around here where the Virgin appeared to two shepherds and since then, an image of the Virgin is witness to the passing fo time in her sanctuary with a door of wild ivy; to where the prayers and pleas of a faithful and believing people are directed
