Algarrobo

Algarrobo is a town and municipality in the province of Málaga, part of the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. The municipality is situated in the coastal area of La Axarquía, 32 kilometers from the city of Málaga. It is bordered on the north by the municipality of Arenas and Sayalonga, to the east and west by Vélez-Málaga and to the south by the Mediterranean Sea. It is situated at an altitude of 86 meters. The main center for the population is Algarrobo, a town of Arab architecture situated 3.5 kilometers from the coast. Other towns in the municipality are Algarrobo Costa, Mezquitilla and Trayamar.It has a population of approximately 5,000 residents. Natives of the town are called Algarrobeños. Its surface area is 9.73 km2 and has a density of 639.16 inhabitants/km2.HistoryIts origins likely date back to the Paleolithic period, although the first documented prehistoric settlement is from the Copper Age. The Phoenician necropolis Trayamar and the remains found in the Morro de Mezquitilla have been catalogued by German professors Schubart and Niemeyer as one of the most important Phoenician remains that still exists in the West.The entry of the Arabs in the Iberian Peninsula entailed a resurgence when Berbers from Algiers founded the town of Algarrobo more to the interior and introduced crops such as almonds and raisins and small industries of silk.