Gibralfaro Castle

The best observation tower in Málaga is without any question the Gibralfaro Castle. A tour of its crenulated walls and its towers will afford a view of practically the whole city, with the exception only of some of the eastern neighbourhoods that are hidden behind the mountains. Every indication is that this fortress, which was built in the fourteenth century, was erected to defend the Alcazaba. It is linked to it by a zigzag barbican, thus designed to avoid the necessity of costly “albarranas” (detached towers).

The place name derives from the Arabic word “yabal”, meaning mountain, and from the Greek “faruh” (lighthouse). According to some experts this indicates that the mountain was probably used since the Phoenician-Punic era as a coastal lookout.

Historians agree that the interior of the castle was a mosque that, after the conquest of the city, came to be used as a Christian temple that ceased to exist due to the military use that was made of the fortress until the first years of the twentieth century. Inside it is found the Arabic-era Pozo Airón (Airón Well), which is more than 40 metres deep and dug out of the rock, several cisterns, two bakery ovens, guard booths from the modern era and the former powder magazine structure in which the fortress’ Interpretive Centre is now housed.