Costa del Sol
Istan
Istan is one of a number of villages of Moorish origin which owes its survival to its distance from the coast. After the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula in the 15th century, Arabs were barred from living within a league of the shoreline in order to prevent them from communicating with their kinsmen across the straits in Morocco. Istán, 15km inland, was allowed to remain while the coastal Arab settlements were depopulated and frequently destroyed.
The village is tucked away beneath the Sierra Blanca at the head of the valley of the Rio Verde, close to the Serrania de Ronda hunting reserve. To reach it, leave the N340 coastal highway 5km south of Marbella just beyond the Hotel Puente Romano.
As with so many mountain villages, creations of a time and place in which the only practical means of transport was the mule and the packhorse, Istán's streets are narrow and unsuited to the motorcar. The only sensible way to experience it is on foot. There are 4 à la carte restaurants in Istán, Troyano, El Baron, Rincon de Curro, Entresierras and the new Las Jarales at the entrance of the village.
The village aptly echoes all night and all day to the sound of water running constantly from its drinking fountains. This is because it stands close to the huge reservoir created by the Presa de la Concepción dam, built in 1972, which provides drinking water to towns all along the coast.