Ojen is a town which sits in the mountains behind Marbella

Marbella

Marbella is a town in Andalusia, Spain. It is situated on the Mediterranean Sea, in the province of Málaga, beneath the La Concha mountain. In 2000 the city had 98,823 inhabitants, in 2004, 116,234, in 2010 approximately 135,000....

 in Andalusia

Andalusia

Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...

, Southern Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

.

Its name is oddly derived from an Arabic word, hoxán, meaning "rough" or "bitter" place, and therefore curious that the Moors should establish a settlement in a place they presumably did not care for. But they did, and in common with other inland villages such as Istán

Istán

Istán is a village in Málaga province, Andalusia, Southern Spain, with an estimated population in 2005 of 1,422. It lies beneath the Sierra Blanca in the valley of the Rio Verde about 15 km from Marbella and the Mediterranean coast...

, it was allowed to survive the Christians' embargo on Moors

Moors

The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...

 living too close to the sea after the Reconquest.

It is situated beside the Almadán stream above the valley of the rio Real at an altitude of approx 200 metres, hemmed in by the Sierra Blanca

Sierra Blanca

Sierra Blanca is a range of volcanic mountains in Lincoln and Otero counties of south-central New Mexico. The range is about from north to south and wide, and is dominated by Sierra Blanca Peak, whose highest point is at...

 and Sierra Alpujata

Sierra Alpujata

The Sierra Alpujata is a mountain range in southern Spain, part of the coastal mountain range that lies behind the Costa del Sol Occidental, in Andalusia. It is situated between the Sierra Blanca and the Sierra de Mijas....

. These may provide a clue for the Moors' determination to stay in spite of their apparent antipathy, for both ranges of mountains have long been known as rich sources of talc

Talc

Talc is a mineral composed of hydrated magnesium silicate with the chemical formula H2Mg34 or Mg3Si4O102. In loose form, it is the widely-used substance known as talcum powder. It occurs as foliated to fibrous masses, its crystals being so rare as to be almost unknown...

, nickel

Nickel

Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...

, iron

Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...

 and lead

Lead

Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...

. This mineral wealth put the area in the forefront of the Spanish industrial revolution of the 19th Century.

Ojén used to be famous for the production of aguardiente

Aguardiente

Aguardiente , aiguardent , aguardente , and augardente are generic terms for alcoholic beverages that contain between 29% and 60% alcohol by volume...

, an anise liqueur that once played a major part in the town's economy. This liqueur gained widespread fame abroad and was especially popular in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

.

Close by, in the Serrania de Ronda

Serranía de Ronda

The Serranía de Ronda is a comarca in the western part of province of Málaga, Andalusia, Spain. As is currently the norm in Andalusia, it has no formal status...

, is the Refugio de Juanar. Originally the private hunting lodge of the wealthy Larios family, and a favoured retreat of King Alfonso XIII, this is now a hotel popular with tourists and hunters. The Serrania is still very much a hunting reserve where ibex, wildcats and eagle

Eagle

Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...

s abound. It is also a favourite with ramblers and hikers who come to for the mountain air and the stunning views of Marbella and the coast 1000 metres below.

External links

• A Brief History of Ojen Discussion of the Ojen liqueur and its history and popularity in New Orleans, Louisiana