Ojén
Ojén (population 5.045) is a town and municipality that sits in the mountains behind Marbella in the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. Nearby cities include Mijas to the east, Marbella to the south, Istán to the west, and Monda and Coín to the north.
Its name is oddly derived from an Arabic word, hoxán, meaning "rough" or "bitter" place, thus it is curious that the Moors should establish a settlement in a place they presumably did not care for. In common with other inland villages such as Istán, Ojén was spared the Christians' embargo on the Moors living too close to the sea after the Reconquest.
The town is situated beside the Almadán stream above the valley of the River Real at an altitude of approximately 200 metres, hemmed in by the Sierra Blanca and the Sierra Alpujata. These may provide a clue to the Moors' determination to stay in spite of their apparent antipathy, for both ranges of mountains have long been known as rich sources of talc, nickel, iron and lead. This mineral wealth put the area in the forefront of the Spanish industrial revolution of the 19th century.
Close by, in the Serranía de Ronda, is the Refugio de Juanar. Originally the private hunting lodge of the wealthy Larios family, and a favoured retreat of King Alfonso XIII, this is now a hotel popular with tourists and hunters. The Serranía is still very much a hunting reserve where ibex, wildcats and eagles abound. It is also a favourite with ramblers and hikers who come for the mountain air and the panoramic views of Marbella and the coast 1000 metres below.
Its name is oddly derived from an Arabic word, hoxán, meaning "rough" or "bitter" place, thus it is curious that the Moors should establish a settlement in a place they presumably did not care for. In common with other inland villages such as Istán, Ojén was spared the Christians' embargo on the Moors living too close to the sea after the Reconquest.
The town is situated beside the Almadán stream above the valley of the River Real at an altitude of approximately 200 metres, hemmed in by the Sierra Blanca and the Sierra Alpujata. These may provide a clue to the Moors' determination to stay in spite of their apparent antipathy, for both ranges of mountains have long been known as rich sources of talc, nickel, iron and lead. This mineral wealth put the area in the forefront of the Spanish industrial revolution of the 19th century.
Close by, in the Serranía de Ronda, is the Refugio de Juanar. Originally the private hunting lodge of the wealthy Larios family, and a favoured retreat of King Alfonso XIII, this is now a hotel popular with tourists and hunters. The Serranía is still very much a hunting reserve where ibex, wildcats and eagles abound. It is also a favourite with ramblers and hikers who come for the mountain air and the panoramic views of Marbella and the coast 1000 metres below.
Map - Ojén
Map
Country - Spain
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| Flag of Spain | |
Anatomically modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 42,000 years ago. The ancient Iberian and Celtic tribes, along with other pre-Roman peoples, dwelled the territory maintaining contacts with foreign Mediterranean cultures. The Roman conquest and colonization of the peninsula (Hispania) ensued, bringing the Romanization of the population. Receding of Western Roman imperial authority ushered in the migration of different non-Roman peoples from Central and Northern Europe with the Visigoths as the dominant power in the peninsula by the fifth century. In the early eighth century, most of the peninsula was conquered by the Umayyad Caliphate, and during early Islamic rule, Al-Andalus became a dominant peninsular power centered in Córdoba. Several Christian kingdoms emerged in Northern Iberia, chief among them León, Castile, Aragon, Portugal, and Navarre made an intermittent southward military expansion, known as Reconquista, repelling the Islamic rule in Iberia, which culminated with the Christian seizure of the Emirate of Granada in 1492. Jews and Muslims were forced to choose between conversion to Catholicism or expulsion, and eventually the converts were expelled through different royal decrees.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| EUR | Euro | € | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| EU | Basque language |
| CA | Catalan language |
| GL | Galician language |
| OC | Occitan language |
| ES | Spanish language |