Istán Travel Guide

 Beach_dog Says:  A solitary tree sits amonst a field of poppies. The backdrop is a green hillside that was partly shaded from the sun by a cloud, giving a deep obscure green. I took the photo just below the town, on the path down to the river. 

 Beach_dog Says:  The one thing I really love in Andalucia, is the way the mountains appear, late in the day. A series of greys overlapping each other. I´ve seen this effect many times in the late afternoon. My old art teacher would have explained it as the filtering effect of the atmospere,... 

 Beach_dog Says:  A mirador is a point where you can take in a panoramic view. The mirador in Istan, is set upon a small hilly rise just to the west of the town, set in a small park. It affords good views of the town of Istan, the steep river valley falling away below, the Sierra Blanca and... 

 Beach_dog Says:  A surprising find, on our walk up to the mirador, we saw this painting on the side of a house. An almost full size rendition of Pablo Picaso´s Guernica. I´m not sure what it was doing there, or if Picaso himself had ever had anything to do with Istan, I doubt. Maybe it was... 

 Beach_dog Says:  The churches single nave is quite simple, with just a couple of side chapels. Around the walls are hung some paintings dating from the 18th century. 

 Beach_dog Says:  Just inside the entrance porch is a small chapel housing the icons or statuettes carried around the town at Easter and on the village saints day. Normally mounted on a throne and carried upon the shoulders of representatives from the village. 

 Beach_dog Says:  The village church, built in the 16th century and dedicated to Saint Michael. Its a small church built in the baroque style, with a tower housing its bells. 

 Beach_dog Says:  Visiting in May, we had the benefit of seeing all the wild flowers. They were everywhere and the combination of the many colours contrasting against the green hills of the Sierra Blanca is a sight I wont forget quickly. 

 Beach_dog Says:  If you take a walk down to the river you pass through the agricultural district of the pueblo. Orange and patatoes are the main product of the area. I met this goatherder taking his small flock of goats and four dogs down the hill.It was a great shame that this year the... 

 Beach_dog Says:  I saw numerous springs around the village, all renavated at various dates. Time for another drink to cool off. 

 Beach_dog Says:  In another corner of the cemetary, I found the quaint shrine with the statue of the village virgin within, decorated with plants and flowers. 

 Beach_dog Says:  While walking around the village I encountered the village cemetary, not having seen one before I decided to call in. The graves are located one on top of another in the walls. People take great pride in remembering the deceased as nearly all were well decorated with... 

 Beach_dog Says:  At one time the main source of water for the village, it has been restored and tidied to show its beauty. The arches on the left still have the original stones on which the women would have washed the laundry. On a warm afternoon is was a welcome source of water to cool off... 

 Beach_dog Says:  Typical Andalucian white village, situated just a few miles from Marbella, but it seems to have been forgotten, not many people visit, for two reasons. The road to it has many sharp bends and takes time to travel. The road also leads nowhere, except to the village. The drive... 

 Beach_dog Says:  Sunday the day of rest, church has finished for the day... What do the locals do?My next two photos illustrate this. The ladies sit in the shade near their front doors, sewing or carrying out some other handicraft. Watching the world go by and chatting with the neighbours. 

 Beach_dog Says:  A mountainous region north of Marbella that was made into a natural park in 1989, because of its diversity of fauna and flora. In my opinion a good thing as it will help to keep the area free from the developement that has affected so much of the coastal regions of...