Comares - Castle

CAPTION HERE © Michelle Chaplow
CAPTION HERE © Michelle Chaplow

Comares Castle

The castle of Comares is of Arab origin, it was built in turn on an old Roman fortress. The remains of the fortress are popularly called "La Tahona" (a  bakery or mill )  and from the top you can see a wonderful general view of the town, which seems suspended in a rock, as well as the impressive massif of Sierra Tejeda to the north and the sea to the south . In fact, Comares is called the Balcón de la Axarquía malagueña.

Of the original sizable castle today there only remains one original bastion section of the wall. It is of uncertain date and appears to be a large rock that was once clad with stone to form part of a defensive wall. The cladding stone has fallen away and the indents where the stone cladding was tied in can be seen. On the top is a concrete post which is a modern triangulation survey post.  

What is known is that any original castle was transformed into a large fortress during the Muslim occupation, built on the site that now occupies the village cemetery. 

This area of the village been restored with neat paths, gardens, and mock castellated castle looking walls.   

The cemetery is open to the public in the daylight and in an interesting place to wander around. The practice of artificial paper flowers on the graves makes it ever colourful.

There is also an Moorish Aljibe (water deposit)  located under the cemetery entrance area. It has a barrel vault ceiling.  The visitor can observe the steps leading down to the tank but it is not open to the public. 

 

The castle and the city gates of Comares. ©Michelle Chaplow
The castle and the city gates of Comares.