Peña de los Enamorados

Peña de los Enamorados

Peña de los Enamorados seen from the railway line between Seville and Granada
Official name: Antequera Dolmens Site
Type Cultural
Criteria i, iii, iv
Designated 2016 (40th session)
Reference no. 1501-002
State Party Spain
Region Europe and North America
Peña de los Enamorados
Peña de los Enamorados

Spain

Highest point
Elevation 880 m (2,890 ft)
Coordinates 37°4′4″N 4°29′24″W / 37.06778°N 4.49000°W / 37.06778; -4.49000Coordinates: 37°4′4″N 4°29′24″W / 37.06778°N 4.49000°W / 37.06778; -4.49000
Geography
Location Málaga Province, Andalusia
Parent range Penibaetic System
Geology
Mountain type Limestone
Climbing
Easiest route From Antequera

Peña de los Enamorados ("The Lovers' Rock") is a mountain near the city of Antequera, Málaga Province, Andalusia, Spain. It reaches a height of 880 metres above sea level.

Name

The mountain was named after a legend from the local oral tradition. The most well-known version of the legend says that two young Moorish lovers from rival clans, a young man from Antequera and girl from nearby Archidona, threw themselves from the rock while being pursued by the girl's father and his men. This romantic legend was later adapted by Robert Southey. In his Laila and Manuel the lovers were a Muslim girl and her father's Christian slave.[1]

Christopher Columbus knew of this name. His chronicler, Barholome de Casas copied a log entry from Oct 29, 1492 in which Columus describes what he saw 8 days earlier in Cuba, "Remarking on the position of the river and port, to which he gave the name San Salvador, he described its mountains as lofty and beautiful, like the peña de las enamoradas... ". NB, the mistaken choice of gender by someone, be it the chronicler or the translator, the gender referenced is incorrect.

The mountain is also popularly known as "Montaña del Indio" because it looks like the head of an Indian when seen from certain angles.

Sleeping giant.

References

  1. ↑ José Luis Trujillo Rodríguez, Peña de los Enamorados (Spanish)
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