Bobastro is an ancient village so don't expect to find any people living there today. It is located near the village of Ardales in Malaga's lake district. The site comands exceptional views of the surrounding countryside.
The legend of Bobastro goes back to the time when the Moors ruled Al Andalus. The fortified village was the headquarters of Umar ibn Hafsun who led a revolt against the caliphal government at Cordoba between 879 and 918 AD. By 899, he had converted from Islam to Christianity and some time in the early tenth century, he commissioned the construction of a church.
This church the highlight of the ancient village is a church cut directly out of the rock. Its primative structure can still be seen as three sections separated by horseshoe shaped arches. The church is perfectly orientated towards the East and measures about 16.5 metres long and 10.3 metres wide.
The ruins are located in an area known as Las Mesas de Villaverde between the hills called Tintilla, Castillón and Encantada. The nearest road to reach Bobastro is the MA 444 which runs from Alora to Ardales past the famous El Chorro gorge.
Interesting historical villages in the vicinity of the plains around Antequera are Campillos, Mollina, and Teba.