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The city of Antequera is located 35 minutes North of Malaga at the crossroads of Granada, Seville and Cordoba. Its strategic location has made it a hub for commercial distribution as well as a great location for many expatriates to settle in.
One of the many famous landmarks is the Indian's Head or Penion de Los Enamorados. It is a rock formation which can be viewed very clearly from various points and depicts the head of a native American Indian with its head on a pillow, this can be seen from two opposing directions and is very clear. The other local story of this landmark is that of a young couple whose families were of different religions and due to this they were not allowed to be together, because of this one of the young partners took a leap from the top of the rock followed by the other, a Romeo and Juliet Spanish version.
Antequera is based at the foot of El Torcal mountain range, and is 575 metres above sea level and overlooks a fertile valley.
Historically Antequera's economy was based on agricultural products such as olives, grains and wool, but now although these industries still exist tourism has become its main industry.
Antequera has a very long traceable history dating back to pre Roman times and many structures still stand where they have been for many centuries. Antequera's museums now hold 80% of all art treasure sin the province of Malaga and therefore considered one of the most important towns in the region in relation to art.
There are numerous beautiful churches and other monuments to visit in Antequera one of them being the Place of Najera which is now the Municipal Museum. Another example is the 11th Century Real Colegiate de Santa Maria la Major which has now been designated a national monument. The bullring in Antequera which was built in 1848 is believed to be the most beautiful in Spain.
To the north of the city two Bronze Age burial chambers can be seen, which are the largest example of these in Europe.
Antequera was settled in by the Iberians and after the Roman occupation it was named Antikara. The current city plan is based upon the Roman development of the city and under Roman rule Antequera continued to grow as a commercial centre. There are lots of structures still visible for the visitor to see, including the impressive Roman Baths.
After the Moor's invaded Antequera they changed its name to Medina Antaquira and during their occupation there was an atmosphere of religious tolerance. The Moors built the fortified castle and walls around the town to defend against the Spanish Christian army. The position of Antequera along with its fortification enabled the Moors to defend the town against the Spanish for many years until it eventually fell to the Spanish in 1410. The conquering leader Ferdinando I of Aragon was given the title of Ferdinando Antequera and the main street in the city was named after him.
Antequera continued to flourish as it became the centre of the crossroads for trade with Malaga in the South, Granada to the East, Cordoba to the North and Seville to the West. Agriculture still remained an important economy for the area. However its craftsmen working in the city and the development of Antequera as a centre for arts established the town as the heart of Andalucia.
Between Antequera and the twelve hamlets that surround it there is a population of approximately 45,000 inhabitants with most of them concentrated in the Old Town.
Apart from being a hub for commercial purposes and a historical attraction with numerous churches and monuments, close to Antequera you will find El Torcal which is a nature reserve known for it's unusual limestone rock formations, this whole region was under water up to 100 million years ago. Within close proximity to Antequera the Parque de los Lobos (Wolf Park), this is a very popular attraction for tourists and locals alike.
In the 21st century, Antequera is a modern and vibrant city with a new Airport currently under construction within close proximity and an ever expanding industrial estate and facilities. The city of Antequera offers the house buyer a chance to buy a piece of history in beautiful surroundings.
Property prices in Antequera are higher than in the bordering villages and hamlets. However, there are a good range of apartments for sale in Antequera city centre as well as charming and traditional townhouses towards the outskirts and the Alcazaba area of Antequera. Traditional townhouses tend to have great features such as archways and exposed wooden beams, the important point to keeping mind when looking for townhouses for sale in Antequera is to make sure that they have adequate outside space such as a terrace or a patio. Traditionally, older style houses have limited outside space, this is an important factor as one of the key criteria when searching for houses in Spain is to be able to enjoy the weather!. On the outskirts of Antequera you will find a good range of modern villas for sale which usually come with large gardens and range in sizes. Close to Antequera you will also find traditional Fincas and Cortijos for sale. A cortijo is by definition, a farmhouse or rural property built around a courtyard. These proeprties tend to be large as they would have been built originally to house large rich families as well as workers, in some cases they will even have their own chapel, these properties do sell for a lot of money as in general they still have large plots of land usually planted with olives. The older style and traditional finca is a farmhouse, now-a-days, the land has been split and come with good sized gardens rather than large plantations!
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