BOOK MARBELLA SOL

Marbella is both a tabula rasa and a palimpsest. It can be anything to anyone. You might meet a rock star in the morning and a member of European royalty in the afternoon. There are few places where two such unique personalities can intersect. To paraphrase Churchill, it is a kaleidoscope, wrapped in a mosaic, inside a melting pot. The result of successive waves of visitors who have left their mark over the years, Marbella is a social archaeological site where generations have lived lives of leisure gilded by the sun. Today, the popular image of Marbella is that of a kind of European Miami, but scratch the glitzy surface and you are transported back to a time when Marbella was a simpler place.
In the 1950s it was a quiet, dusty traditional village, and even today the old town is a charming maze of streets, some so narrow that you can touch the rough white walls on either side. At Easter, solemn and spectacular religious processions wind through this maze of alleys and squares, as they have for generations. Yet what is truly striking about Marbella is that much has remained unchanged. The historical figures long associated with the coast, including Prince Alfonso von Hohenlohe, may have passed into history, but their presence lives on in those who come after them.
With a personal narrative text by historian and journalist Nicholas Foulkes, a long-time visitor to Marbella, this colourful volume illustrates the various aspects of this picturesque port, from mountain to sea, marina to yacht harbour.