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The Sayalonga landscape is formed by the valley
of the Algarrobo-Sayalonga river and by the Ravita
de Sayalonga hills. The
valley is deep and with steep slopes, but at
the banks of the river, in some low areas and
around the town, man has known how to make the
best of the water creating a humanized surrounding
of crops which smooth the hardness of the environment.
Being typical, the town offers a special beauty,
crossed by two parallel streets, which branch
out into narrow valleys.
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There
is an old fountain, "del Cid", and another
two, more modern ones, and there are various prettily
designed squares. The traditional houses have two
storeys, with railed balconies covered with Arab
tiles. Although it is near the coast, the terrain
within the municipal boundaries of Sayalonga is
more characteristic of the inland regions of La
Axarquía, with mountains that are steep
and rugged but not very high. The highest point
in the municipality is La Rábita (672 meters),
followed by the peak of El Mercado (638 meters),
in the outlying township of Corumbela.
The rivers that cross these lands are short and
seasonal, due to the level of rainfall in the region.
The River Sayalonga runs from north to south and
upon
leaving this municipality takes the name Algarrobo, while the River Güi,
also known as the Huit, runs through the eastern part. Both receive the waters
from several tributaries but these only have a small flow during the rainy months.
Despite the diminutive area of the municipality (a little more than 18 square
kilometres), Sayalonga has both a separate village, Corumbela, in its northern
part that takes up 20 per cent of the municipal territory and the curious outlying
hamlet of Carraspite in the south, which is made up of a good number of small
farmhouses that are only occupied between August and September during the season
of greatest agricultural activity.
The origin of Sayalonga is undoubtedly Arabic, but it is not known at what moment
in history it began to take shape as a town, and the meaning of the name is equally
a mystery; some studies support the theory of its Roman or Visigothic origins.
Historical records on the locality begin to appear beginning with its surrender
to the Christian troops as a consequence of the fall of Vélez, in order
to prevent bloodshed that would have been useless in view of the strength of
the Catholic Monarchs’ army against the ever-weakening Muslim resistance.
At one time, the modern outlying district of Corumbela played a greater historic
role than Sayalonga, and even the farm community of Batarxis, of which today
only traces remain to show its location, is more often mentioned in chronicles
than the main population centre of the municipality. In any event, the Moors
of this entire region took a very active part in the uprising that ended in the
famous battle of Frigiliana.
The so-called Andalusia Earthquake (25 December 1884) also damaged Sayalonga,
but in contrast to other towns in La Axarquía, there was no loss of human
life here.
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