All about
GU AD AL HO RC E THE
VALLE Y
November 2024
www.theolivepress.es
EXPLORER: A young Dilip on his first visit to the stunning Embalse del Conde de Guadalhorce 35 years ago
W
in 1990 HEN I first visited Andalucia and I knew my girlfriend (now wife)the region. remarkably little about holiday flat After settling into our out the road atlas (rein Mijas Costa, we got to plot a route to member them?) and started explore Andalucia. and Puerto Banus, After ticking off Marbellato discover the ‘real we decided to head off start? The likes of CorSpain’. But where to to mind, but they doba and Granada sprang a later holiday being a would have to wait for
Valley time forgot, but the Guadalhorce It is not quite the land thata glimpse of how things once were certainly gives more than couple of hours away. inland away from the Instead we literally drove first to charming Miteeming costas, up inland an intriguing windy jas village, then followed to exotic sounding mountain road signposted ‘Alhaurin el Grande’. we had discovered the Within just 15 minutes all its Arabic influencGuadalhorce Valley, with
By Dilip Kuner
in every single direction. es and amazing views best-kept secrets, we Easily one of Malaga’s full of rich history and found the fecund valley charm. authentic Andalucian almost by accident, an We had come across,
ANDALUCÍA
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just a short trip inland escape into rural Spain from the bustling coast.clearly perfect for marThe fertile soils were heavy, sweet scent of ket gardening and the it has its own orange blossom (so distinctive us everywhere on our name - Azahar) followed spring adventure. is the land, the Arabs Indeed, so productive garden’ - which has gave it the name ‘Allah’s times as Alhaurin (both modern come down to
The land that time forgot. Read our special supplement on the Guadalhorce valley inside ●SEE PAGE 13
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FREE Vol. 18 Issue 456 www.theolivepress.es October 30th - November 12th 2024
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WEATHER SPECIAL
Cars swept away, roads destroyed and rivers burst their banks as storms batter Andalucia
COMING OUT SWINGING
A HIGH-flying Costa del Sol mayor ‘threatened to sack’ a local police officer if he didn’t go along with ‘perverted’ sexual trysts, it has been claimed. Judges are now studying whether Estepona’s long-term PP leader should face charges over the grim ‘sexual harassment’ claims. An official denuncia (complaint) was only finally accepted by Estepona’s Court 5 against Jose Garcia Urbano on Tuesday (yesterday), a week after being delivered. It comes after the Olive Press spent nearly eight days trying to stand up
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the claims against the mayor who has been in power since 2011. Despite confirmation from both the lawyer of the victim and a rival PSOE councillor, legal threats from the town hall and the Malaga authorities prevented us from publishing it. We were unable to ask any questions at a public promotional event in the town on Monday. The general secretary of the PSOE in Estepona, Emma Molina, told the Olive Press the allegations against Garcia Urbano were ‘extremely serious’. “Neither the mayor nor the town hall can remain silent,” she said last night. “ T h e y have to show their faces and explain what is behind this comBest prices for Meet plaint, & Greet Valet Service w h i c h tarnishes One week for 30€!! the name of EstepoOne year for 600€!! na,” she 24-hour security & CCTV
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Mayor denies ‘perversions’ against a male employee and wife in sensational sexual harassment claim added. The employee, who is currently based in Cordoba and on ‘mental health leave’, claims he faced the ‘sexual harassment’ between March 2022 and June 2023. He had only recently taken a job with the town’s local police force, according to reports. His lawyer, Antonio Granados Caballero, told the Olive Press, this week: “The mayor ‘invited’ him to have sexual relations under all kinds of perversions.” “It came under the threat of losing his job,” he added. The accusations even allegedly involved the victim’s wife, who ‘had little choice but to go along with it’. The bombshell complaint paves the way for a sensational investigation into the rising Popular Party heavyweight, 61, who has overseen a giant
transformation of Estepona in the past decade. Many have even tipped the former lawyer and notary for the top job at the Junta. Initial steps will see an investigating judge taking testimony from the alleged victim with the mayor then expected to attend court to answer the claims. The mayor - who gained a record 69.4% of votes in the 2019 elections - came out fighting yesterday afternoon denying the claims, calling himself ‘the victim of false allegations of sexual harassment’. “It is an inexcusable and unjust campaign to damage my personal dignity and my trajectory with a clear and spurious goal,” he insisted in a statement. He added in a social media post that he was going to hire a team of lawyers who will ‘prove the absolute lack of foundation of this complaint’. *Data extracted from process closure surveys after using our roadside assistance and breakdown services. See page 17 He was last seen in public on Monday, when he *Data extracted from process closure surveys after using our roadside assistance and breakdown services. gave a speech to a crowd TheOlivePress-256x170-Multi2404.indd 1
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Tommy tears ON-OFF Spanish resident Tommy Robinson has been jailed for 18 months for contempt of court in the UK. The Far-Right leader, who spends much of the year on the costas, admitted to repeating false allegations against a Syrian refugee school child at Woolwich Crown Court. Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, to use his real name, breached an injunction made in 2021 after teenager Jamal Hijazi successfully sued him for portraying him as a violent thug in a documentary. Robinson was remanded in custody after handing himself in at a police station on Friday. He has repeatedly played the film, even to thousands of people at a farright rally in July.
Fled
EXCLUSIVE By Walter Finch
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● SEE PAGE 2
The following day he fled the country to Spain, where he has been mostly living around Albir and Alfaz del Pi, on the Costa Blanca, with a few side trips to Marbella and Tenerife, the Olive Press has established. After sentencing, Judge Johnson said: “In a democratic society underpinned by the rule of law, court orders must be obeyed. Nobody is above the law.” Lennon faces further charges, including his refusal to give a pin number of his phone to police. He will face the charge under the Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000, on November 13. The anti-Islam activist was previously convicted of contempt of court in 2018 after he live streamed individuals involved in a grooming trial in Leeds as they arrived at the courthouse. Since then, Spain has mostly been his home, popping up all over the country and without any restrictions as he carries an Irish passport. This summer alone Lennon popped up having a full English breakfast in Puerto Banus, regular one-day jaunts to Tenerife and various podcasts and rants in Albir and even Benidorm.
2/4/24 11:56