Situated in the south east of the Province of Almeria (Andalucía) in southern Spain and on the Mediterranean coast, Mojacar enjoys one of the hottest climates in Europe. Mojacar is immediately noticeable when travelling through the area. Perched atop a hill, this picturesque, white-painted village is steeped in history and culture.

Mojácar has been inhabited by many different cultures since times of antiquity. Populated since the Bronze Age around 2000 BC, traders such as Phoenicians and Carthaginians arrived to serve the growing communities. Under Greek dominion, the settlement was called Murgis-Akra, from whence came the Latinized Moxacar, the Moorish Muxacra and finally the current name of Mojácar. The north African Moors established themselves in Spain in the early 8th century and the province of Almería came under the authority of the Caliphate of Damascus and later ruled from Cordoba.

Under this second enlightened rule, Mojácar quickly grew in size and importance. With the coronation of Muhammad I of Córdoba in Granada, Mojácar and its lands became incorporated into the Nazari sultanate, and the town found itself on the frontier with the Christian forces to the east. Watchtowers and fortresses were built or reinforced during the 14th century, which nevertheless did little to discourage Christian incursions and fierce battles like the bloody event of 1435 where much of the population of Mojácar was put to the sword.

On June 10, 1488, the leaders of the region agreed to submit to the Christian forces, although Mojácar's alcaide refused to attend, considering his town to be already Spanish. At that time occurred the well-known meeting at Mojácar's Moorish fountain, where a pact of free association between the local Moors, Jews and Christians was agreed to. Mojácar once again began to expand until the early 18th century, when the census of the time recorded 10,000 people. Around the middle of the 19th century, Mojácar began another period of decline.

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The records state that several severe droughts brought about this drop in the town's fortunes, with a consequent emigration to northern Spain, Europe and South America. The depopulation of Mojácar was reaching worrying proportions by the 1960s when tourism began to reverse the trend. Today, Mojácar remains loyal to the past with architecture, the whitewashed houses and the openness of the people, who inherited the ways of understanding and sympathy from their forebearers.

Perhaps one result of this continuous mixing of cultures and religions is the Indalo or Mojácar man. This magical totem is said to bring protection and good luck, and from times past was always painted onto the fronts of houses once the whitewash was dry: keeping away the evil eye and protecting those within from storms. The figure might be interpreted to be a man holding a rainbow between his outstretched arms. The original totem is thought to be around 4,500 years old, and the earliest known one appears among other prehistoric paintings in a cave in Vélez-Blanco. The name, Indalo, is recent, and was coined by a group of artists and intellectuals who settled in Mojácar in the early 'sixties, attracted by the magic and bewitchment of the town, and who commercialised the totem which today signifies the whole province of Almería. Indalo Man has, probably due to the increase in tourism, spread in popularity and has been seen on houses as far apart in Europe as Brittany in France and Cornwall in England for the benefit of its protection from storms and the evil eye.

Undoubtedly the most romantic and picturesque resort town in south-eastern Spain, the white-washed houses and cobbled streets of Mojacar are sprinkled atop a hill overlooking pristine sandy beaches, washed by the warm Mediterranean. This unspoilt ancient Moorish fortress town has been a favourite with artists and writers for many years, and now attracts holiday-makers who fill up the hotels and villas which have proliferated along the nearby stretch of beach, fortunately not yet to the detriment of the town’s appearance or beguiling atmosphere. The village centre is honeycombed with narrow casbah-like cobbled alleyways, which hide many quaint surprises, like a Roman fountain pumping fresh spring water and the unusual fortified church of Santa Maria.

Mojacar history courtesy of Wikipedia.

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