Gecko Towers
As my regular readers will know I really like markets, street markets, indoor municipal markets, farmers market and flea markets! I like them all. Marbella’s Municipal Markets
In the summer, with some of the family, we were in Barcelona and visited the stunning Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria – often just called the “La Boqueria”. It is simply stuffed with amazing produce, fresh fruit, dried fruit, hams and cheeses. A beautiful stained glass and iron-clad building with masses of character. It has become quite a tourist centre with many visitors stopping the enjoy several courses of lunch at different stalls while the local shoppers collect their daily purchases.
There is a philosophy that runs don’t talk about something you really like otherwise it will be inundated with many and end up being spoiled for you. I am told Venice is a complete victim of its own success with cruise ships the size of blocks of apartments jostling for access to the iconic waterfront at St Mark’s Square. Shame I guess unless you go out of season – if there is one.
Well, keep this to yourself ..ok? Mrs W and I were in Malaga last weekend only forty five minutes from Marbella and we decided to explore the old heart of the city that we had first seen many years ago when there was an exhibition of several original Rodin statutes slightly incongruously ranked up Calle Larios.
Parking in the curiously named “Parking Arriola” in the heart of old Malaga, as you exit you are immediately presented with an iron-clad stained-glass ended market hall akin to La Boqueria but about ten hours closer! This is Mercado Central de Atarazanas a wonderful place to visit and savour the sights and sounds of central Malaga.
The current building dates from 1870 but the market has history and has been put to a variety of uses since the 14th century. It is not just a tourist site, although clearly a lot of tourist derive a huge amount of pleasure from its contents, it is an authentic piece of Malaga. We saw and asked several locals of their use of the market. They explained that they would, on average visit the market a couple of times a week to pick up on supplies for the week. These may also be supermarket shoppers but their commitment to quality was a real eye opener.
The freshest of fish, the most delicious, well butchered, aged and modestly price steaks. Kid, a local speciality that sits alongside local Goat’s cheese in a vertical sense, and eco-raised chickens. The widest possible range of local cheeses, hams and sausages that any bbq owning carnivore could possibly want. Olives steeped in brine, stuffed with sweet garlic, almonds and red pepper. Pickles of all shapes and sizes. Various types of local pesto and flavored cream cheeses.
It was not merely the quality and variety that was so engaging but the ladies and gents working the stall were true characters and could not have been more helpful. A recent addition on many of the fish and meat stalls has been the offer to use the vacuum to allow the freshness to be freezer stored for several months and enabling visitors to bulk buy to suit their tastes.
As with La Boqueria, some of the smart suppliers at the Mercado Central de Atarazanas have also cottoned onto the idea of making certain of the produce they sell at the market into ready to be consumed dishes hosted at the stand up bars with fried, cured and prepared fish dishes being particular favourites. It was around these counters that most of the foreign accents were heard with many US visitors leading the charge and throughly enjoying the experience.
The used to be a restaurant in central London called “Ménage a Trois” – I believe it was a favourite of Lady Diana – and its unique selling point was that it served started and desserts. The same effect could be achieved at the Mercado Central de Atarazanas as its was entirely feasible to enjoy a dish in each of more than ten stalls with accompanying glasses of sherry, wine or beer, masterly paired.
Olive oil, saffron, the widest variety of sweets and spices are all to be found here. I suspect a mid-week visit may be less crowded but it was certainly worth the tussle especially when a visitor with a ruck sack chooses a busy cross-intersection to check their phone.
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