Malaga

M?laga (Spanish pronunciation:?[?mala?a]) is a city and a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 568,507 in 2010, it is the second most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth largest in Spain. This is the southernmost large city in Europe. It lies on the Costa del Sol (Coast of the Sun) of the Mediterranean Sea, about 100?km (62.14?mi) east of the Strait of Gibraltar and about 130?km (80.78?mi) north of Africa.

M?laga enjoys a subtropical-mediterranean climate. It has one of the warmest winters in Europe, with average temperatures of 17 ?C (62.6??F) during the day and 7?8 ?C (45?46??F) at night in the period from December to February. The summer's season lasts about 8 months, from April to November, although also in remaining 4 months temperatures sometimes reach around 20 ?C (68.0??F).

M?laga's history spans about 2,800 years, making it one of the oldest cities in the world. It was founded by the Phoenicians as Malaka about 770 BC, and from the 6th century BC was under the hegemony of Ancient Carthage. Then from 218 BC it was ruled by the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire as Malaca (Latin). After the fall of the empire it was under Islamic Arab domination as M?laqah (?????) for 800 years, but in 1487 it came under the dominion of the Spaniards in the Reconquista. The archaeological remains and monuments from the Phoenician, Roman, Arabic and Christian eras make the historic center of the city an "open museum", displaying its rich history of more than 3,000 years.

This important cultural infrastructure and the rich artistic heritage have culminated in the nomination of M?laga as a candidate for the 2016 European Capital of Culture.

The internationally acclaimed painter and sculptor Pablo Picasso and actor Antonio Banderas were born in M?laga. The magnum opus of Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona, "Malague?a", is named for the music of this region of Spain.

The most important business sectors in M?laga are tourism, construction and technology services, but other sectors such as transportation and trucking logistics are beginning to expand. The Technology Park of Andalusia (PTA), located in M?laga, has enjoyed significant growth since its inauguration in 1992. As of 2009, this high-tech, science and industrial park is home to 509 companies and employs over 13,600 people.

The Phoenicians from Tyre founded the city as Malaka about 770 BC. The name Malaka or mlk is probably derived from the Phoenician word for "salt" because fish was salted near the harbour. (Cf. "salt" in other Semitic languages, e.g. Hebrew ??? m?la? or Arabic ??? mala?).

After a period of Carthaginian rule, Malaka became part of the Roman Empire. In its Roman stage, the city (Latin name, Malaca) showed a remarkable degree of development. Transformed into a confederated city, it was under a special law, the Lex Flavia Malacitana. A Roman theatre was built at this time. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, it was ruled first by the Visigoths and then by the Byzantine Empire (550-621).

In the 8th century, during the Muslim Arabic rule over Spain, the city became an important trade center. M?laga was first a possession of the Caliphate of C?rdoba. After the fall of the Umayyad dynasty, it became the capital of a distinct kingdom ruled by the Zirids. During this time, the city was called M?laqah (Arabic ?????). From 1025 it was the capital of the autonomous Taifa of M?laga, until its conquest by the Taifa of Granada in 1057.

The traveller Ibn Battuta, who passed through around 1325, characterised it as "one of the largest and most beautiful towns of Andalusia [uniting] the conveniences of both sea and land, and is abundantly supplied with foodstuffs and fruits". He praised its grapes, figs, and almonds; "its ruby-coloured Murcian pomegranates have no equal in the world." Another exported product was its "excellent gilded pottery". The town's mosque was large and beautiful, with "exceptionally tall orange trees" in its courtyard.[3]

M?laga was one of the Iberian cities where Muslim rule persisted the longest, having been part of the Emirate of Granada. While most other parts of the peninsula already succumbed to the reconquista, the medieval Christian Spanish struggled to drive the Muslims out. M?laga was conquered by Christian forces on August 18, 1487,[4] five years before the fall of Granada.

On 24 August 1704 the indecisive Battle of Velez-M?laga, the largest naval battle in the War of the Spanish Succession, took place in the sea south of M?laga.

Malaga had a period of rapid development in the 19th century, becoming with Barcelona one of the two most industrialized cities of Spain. But that early industry was gradually dismantled, because the different governments were supporting the industrial centers in the north of the country.

M?laga suffered heavy bombing by Nationalist or Republican air forces and naval units during the Spanish Civil War in 1936. The well-known British journalist and writer Arthur Koestler was captured by the Nationalist forces on their entry into M?laga, which formed the material for his book Spanish Testament. The first chapters of Spanish Testament include an eye-witness account of the 1937 fall of M?laga to Francisco Franco's armies during the Spanish Civil War.

After the war, Malaga and his old haunts of Torremolinos and the rest of the Costa del Sol enjoyed the highest growth of the tourism sector in Spain.

M?laga is located in southern Spain, on the Costa del Sol (Coast of the Sun) on the northern side of the Mediterranean Sea. It lies about 100?km east of the Strait of Gibraltar and about 130?km east of Tarifa (the southernmost point of continental Europe) and about 130?km on north of Africa. Lies on a similar latitude (36?N) as Algiers in Algeria, Tunis in Tunisia, Aleppo in Syria, Mosul in Iraq, Tehran in Iran, Kunduz in Afghanistan and Fresno, California in the United States.

M?laga, together with the following adjacent towns and municipalities: Rincon de la Victoria, Torremolinos, Benalmadena, Fuengirola, Alhaurin de la Torre, Mijas, Marbella y San Pedro Alc?ntara form the urban area with a population of 1,046,279 on 827.33?km? (density 1,264 hab / km?) ? 2009 data. The urban area stretches mostly along a narrow strip of coastline. The M?laga metropolitan area includes additional municipalities located mostly in the mountains area north of the coast and also some on the coast: C?rtama, Pizarra, Co?n, Monda, Oj?n, Alhaur?n el Grande and Estepona on west; Casabermeja on north; Total?n, Algarrobo, Torrox and V?lez-M?laga eastward from M?laga.

Municipalities of the metropolitan area are connected to the road network (including motorways) with the urban area and M?laga city (the urban area can be reached by car in 20 minutes and M?laga city in 45 minutes). Sometimes the metropolitan area includes other municipalities where M?laga's public transportation network extends ? establishment Consorcio de Transporte Metropolitano del ?rea de M?laga (en: Consortium of Transportation of M?laga Metropolitan Area). Together about 1.3 million (max. to 1.5 million) people live in the M?laga metropolitan area and the number grows every year because all the municipalities and cities of the area record an annual increase in population.