Municipal area, which stretches from the sierra of
the same name to the sea, consisting in low ridges
and rolling hills dotted with houses. The city itself,
typically Arabic in appearance, is built like a balcony
across the mountainside, its whitewashed houses contrasting
sharply with the green of the pine trees, creating
a picture postcard scene which is one of the coast
is most beautiful panoramas. Mijas is home to a number
of places of particular interest, such as the Virgen
de la Peña Chapel and the Bullring, as well
as the area comprising Immaculate Conception Church,
the Auditorium and the adjacent gardens. Mijas boasts
all of the facilities associated with sun and sand
holidays, the coastal highlight being Calaburras beach.
History
The rich mineral deposits in the surrounding area
attracted the Phoenicians and Greeks. The Romans called
the village Tarnisa. During this period, it enjoyed
economic prosperity due to the export of marble from
the quarry in the Sierra de Mijas and to its proximity
to the road that linked Malaga and Cadiz. In 714,
the village was affected by the Arab conquest of the
peninsula; a pact made with Abdalaziz, son of the
Moslem leader Muza, allowed its Hispano-Gothic inhabitants
to conserve their customs and religion in return for
the payment of a tribute. Records tell us that in
the 9th and 10th centuries, the people of Mijas supported
the rebellion led by Omar Ben Hafsun agaibst the Caliphate
of Cordoba, with some even joining the ranks of the
rebel army. While part of the Nazari kingdom of Granada,
its inhabitants offered stiff resistance to the attempts
to capture the village made by the Catholic Monarchs,
refusing to surrender until the fall of Malaga (19
August 1487). Such fierce opposition to the Christian
troops brought cruel reprisals, and a number of the
Moslem defenders were put to the sword, though the
majority were sold as slaves. In 1494, the village
was repopulated by Old Christians, and its houses
and land were shared out among them. In return for
its support of Emperor Charles V in the War of the
Communities, the village was declared exempt from
sales tax and granted independent village status in
1521. On 2 December 1831, General Torrijos and 52
men came ashore on El Charcon Beach in an attempt
to instigate a rebellion against the absolutist régime
of King Ferdinand VII; they crossed the Sierra de
Mijas and took refuge in a location known as "La
Alqueria" in Alhaurin de la Torre, where they
were taken prisoner by the governor of Malaga’s
troops and shot on the beach at San Andres on 11 December
1831.
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