December 23-24, 2020
Today was our second and final day in Málaga. Our next city would be Granada, which we would travel to via bus at 5:30 PM. We checked out of our hostal at 11 AM and headed on an adventure to find coffee and to visit the Catedral de la Encarnación de Málaga, or Málaga Cathedral for short in English.
We found a spot to have coffee (which ended up being terrible) and spent quite a while viewing the church and then walking around it. We admired the architecture, learned more about the history, and saw other interesting buildings nearby.
The Málaga Cathedral, both its exterior and interior built in Renaissance architectural style, was built between 1528 and 1782. It is the second tallest cathedral in Andalucía. One of the towers remains unfinished, and the original medieval Moorish walls that bordered it are now missing.
We had lunch at a nearby Italian restaurant, and then we were on our way to our next sites.
Roman Theater and Alcazaba of Málaga
Our next stop was to see the Alcazaba and the Teatro Roman. These sites stand side-by-side. Entrance into the Alcazaba was 1,50€ with a student discount, and the Roman Theater is observed from above without any required entry. Here’s very brief descriptions and some photos that just scratch the surface of how beautiful and intriguing this remant of history was.
Alcazaba (Arabic for “citadel”), a defense fortress and palace built between 1057 and 1063 during the era of Muslim rule over Southern Spain. It overlooks the bay and is situated above the remains of the Roman theater and connected to a passageway to the Castle of Gibralfaro. It originally consisted of 110 main towers and some smaller ones.
It’s been restored on multiple occasions but original remnants of the Roman walls and flooring can be found throughout.
The Roman Theatre is the oldest monument in Málaga City and one of the only remaining ancient monuments and symbols of Roman Hispania in the city. It was built in the 1st century under the reign of Caesar Augustus. It was discovered and excavated in the 1950s. It is situated at the base of the Alcabaza fortress.
We spent some more time walking around downtown, then headed to the bus station to travel to our next stop: Granada.
