Torre del Mar is a seaside city at the Costa del Sol (the sunshine coast). It is part of the municipality of Vélez-Málaga whose center is located at a few kilometers towards the countryside. Beyond paleolithic vestiges found back in the caves of the Sierras of Alhama, Tejeda and Almijara, the most ancient remains in the area are dated back to the time of the Phenicians and Carthagians. The most ancient written story is dated back to the 11th century in memory of the last king from the Zirí dynasty in Granada. Torre del Mar was named "Miraya Ballis" at those times. At the end of the 15th century, Torre del Mar was mainly made of some kind of fortress ("la fortaleza militar") making the first line of defense of Velez-Malaga. In 1487, the fortress  felt into the hands of the catholic kings of Spain whose descendants are still around nowadays. On the 13th of august 1704, the largest and most bloody naval battle of the Spanish succession war (1701-1714) took place off the coast of Vélez-Málaga bringing face to face ships from France (assisting the kings of Spain) and England (together with The Netherlands), one of the last time the french navy attempted to overcome at sea in full strength. The admiral George Rooke took Gibraltar over just a few days before and engaged in this battle based on intelligence that the french navy was targeting Gibraltar.

Contrary to many other places on the coast, Torre del Mar has a seaside walk of several kilometers along the beach far from the main national road and the road traffic. This walk integrates gardens, sports grounds, restaurants, etc It gets longer every year thru new urbanization projects. It reaches towards the east a small yachting and fishing harbour. The area has been also known for two centuries for its tropical fruit cultures. In the middle of Torre del Mar near the famous Casa Larios hosting now community services, you will find factory chimneys which are the remains of a past industry around the sugar cane. In 1796, the very first spanish sugar factory were opened in Torre del Mar. In 1852, the family Larios revived that industry with new investments. In 1949, the production was reaching 4 millions of kilos of sugar. Following a long agony, the very last sugar production campaign occured in 1991. The sugar factories of Nerja and Malaga shutted down also respectively in 1968 and 1994. Nowadays the chimneys of Torre del Mar are preserved in memory of this industrial past. A sugar museum is forseen in the many development projects of the city authorities.

Justifying its name and often symbolyzing it, Torre del Mar is featuring one of the 6  lighthouses ("el faro") on the Costa del Sol. This fully automated lighthouse is not associated to an harbour but is guiding the maritime traffic off the coast of Torre del Mar. Following a long history started in 1864 and several moves, the lighthouse as we can see it today went live in 1976. Before that year, the small 11 meter-tall tower just next to the current lighthouse had been operating as lighthouse from 1930 until 1969. Thanks to its height of 24,7 meters, the light of the current lighthouse can be seen at about 13 nautical miles (about 24 km). It emits a short flash followed by 2 long flashes every 10 seconds. To answer complaints from people living in the buildings around it and built well after the lighthouse had started to work, its light is no more visible from the seaside city.

Our apartment is in the family since 1973. It is integrated into one of the oldest buildings of Torre del Mar coming from the first waves of urbanization around the 60's. The street where the building is located, already existed in the mid-19th century. A large majority of the owners and residents of this building are originated from Spain. Some of them are living there over the full year. It is very calm and peaceful all the year round. Despite the many activities in the neighborhood in the summer, including the outdoor movie theatre just next to the building operating only in the summer, the nights are remaining quiet at the level of the apartment even with the windows wide open.

In 2006 and 2007, following the departure of one tenant who had remained there for 25 years, this apartment underwent a complete restoration. Thanks to one of the best climates of Europe on the Costa del Sol, we can take holidays there all the year round. This apartment is rented for short holidays to tourists over the remainder of time via the professional services of a local estate agency.

Someone living in Torre del Mar is called a "torreño".