Ruinas del Castillo árabe de Bezmiliana

Rincón de la Victoria, Spain, Spain

---

Ruinas del Castillo árabe de Bezmiliana, also called the Castillón, in Rincón de la Victoria near Málaga, Spain, is a medieval Islamic fortress likely built between the 9th and 10th centuries on a 103-meter hilltop, originating as an emiral alquería that grew into a defended settlement with walls, houses, workshops, a mosque, cemetery, and cisterns during al-Andalus instability. Its trapezoidal 400-meter perimeter enclosure of large ashlars and tapial adapted to the terrain, with a horseshoe-arch gate and barbacana, served as refuge through the Nasrid era until rapid depopulation by the 15th century post-Reconquista, when Christian refortification efforts failed. Now a first-order archaeological site and Bien de Interés Cultural amid urban encroachment, it awaits €750,000 restoration for cleaning, consolidation, access paths, QR panels with historical recreations, and new excavations to reveal its role defending against maritime threats.