The Ely miner., 1930-05-16
prepared by the National Geographic
Society, Washington, d. CO.

prepared by the National Geographic
Society. Washington. D. CO.
NPAIN is once again in the worlds
news because OF its change Of
~ dictators, but IT is chiefly the
Spain of Madrid and the well
beaten path between the easily ac-
cessible cities, that most tourists trav-
el. Most travellers have their first ex-
perience with the Spanish carabinero
either at the customhouse of Irun,
south of Biarritz, or at Port Bou, on
the Mediterranean side. Then they
hasten to San Sebastian, on one end
Of the Pyrenees. or to Barcelona, on
the other. and after brief stay, pro-
ceed to Madrid. Later, If there Is
time, to Toledo. and southwark to
Seville and Granada.
Thus merely the high spots are
touched, while the unlimited beauty
and interest of Spain lying along the
bypaths remain scarcely known-and
are still waiting to delight the ven-
turesome traveller.
In seeking little-known Spain ore
Va thS pCSt pidNCo " Stuit quSst
is on the Spanish Riviera, along the
Mediterranean coast from Gibraltar to
Almeria. The center of this district
is the seaport of Malaga, city of
10000 inhabitants, surrounded by
semicircle of mountains which forms
natural rampant against the cold
from the north and gives to this de-
lightful spot mildness of winter
climate unequaled in all Europe.
AS a general description of Malaga
today, one need employ only three
words: clean, modern, charming. Polite
traffic officers-perhaps one should say
"bobbies," because they are dressed
in neat uniforms of British pattern
direct the stream Of automobiles just
as they do in London. There are broad
avenues, lovely villas, and well-kept
parks. in which an endless variety
of bright flowers is always in bloom.
Indeed, this Andalusian city, nesting
on the blue Mediterranean, has am
bition and is eXerting effort toward
it's accOmplishment-tO attract the
tourists, or at least some of them, who
have grown tired of returning year
after year to the French Riviera.
In the Market Place.
One center Of interest is the market
place, a large covered building built
around a picturesque Moorish arch
which serves as its entrance. There
are aisles of stalls devoted to meat,
fish, vegetables, and fruit; but the
market has overfiOwed its banks and
now extends out into the adjoining
streets, where in open air there are
rows of fruit and vegetable stalls in
charge of peasant men and women.
Apart from the fruit stalls is a
stand selling earthen water jugs, of
various sizes, arranged along the side
walk. These are open at the neck,
but have a tiny spout in the side. The
peasants drink by holding the jug
well above their heads and letting the
tiny stream of water fall into their
open mouths. A novice at this method
has considerable difficulty not only
with the aim, but also with swallow
ing against the steady stream of liquid.
The crescent of mountains which
surrounds Malaga is about 60 miles
from point to point and is formed OF
| five ranges. They still bear their quaint
Moorish names: Sierra de Mijas, Sier-
| ra de Abdalagis, Sierra de Albania,
Sierra de Tejeda. and the Sierra de
Almijara which drops suddenly into
the sea near Almunecar.
The old word sierra" means, in
Spanish, a "saw," and it is vividly
descriptive Of these irregular saw
tooth mountain lines along the sky.
Each range is in itself cut and Scared
| into jagged peaks and precipitous
chasms, the tops being of barren and
| forbidding rock. Then, lower down,
! is covering Of palmetto grass, thick
| ly interspersed with aromatic herbs
thyme, rosemary, and lavender-and
on the lower slopes, in symmetrical
rows, like soldiers, thousands upon
thousands of silver-green olive trees.
Here and there, on sleeper slopes.
the olives give place to almonds, and
in January their pink and white bios
SONS, which appear before any of the
/ green leaves, make a little picture of
fairyland. The valleys are all yellows
and greens-orange trees, lemon trees,
! grapevines, and sugar canes.
Everything Is "Paintable."
From almost any viewpoint in the
valley. not one, but three or four,
rugged mountain lines may be seen,
one piled up back of the other. The
last line, in the far distance, is in
the most delicate of blues and purples |;
and yet. because of the brilliant at
mosphere, ii stands out clearly against
the deep, cloudless sky. The tops OF
the nearer ranges take on deeper hues
Of blue and purple of startling beauty,
and the foreground has it's splashes
of brilliant yellow, green, and orange
| in the sunshine.
| AS if still not satisfied with this
lavish rainbow of bright colors, Ma
| ture has painted the cultivated soil a
deep, rich Venetian red; so that even
| the ground work in this Andalusian
land takes on beauty and interest all
4 its own.
| Artists who see this lovely country
or the frst time exclaim that every.