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Football (soccer) is a national obsession, stirring up the deepest of passions. In season, you’ll encounter it in every bar, blaring out from the TV.

One of the region’s best wine shops. Featured, of course, are regional wines, including those from Montilla.

In mountainous areas, rabbit, hare, wild boar, quail, pigeon, pheasant, partridge and venison appear on menus.

Moorish gardens make prominent use of water – so important to people from a perpetually arid land. It was sprayed, channelled, made to gurgle and fall, to please the ear and eye. Jasmine, honeysuckle and roses are just a few of the flowers the Moors brought to the region.

Ajo (garlic) plays a large part in Andalucían cooking, while spices introduced by the Moors include cumin, cinnamon, coriander and saffron.

One of the most popular gay spots is Abadía (No. 521). Tensión (No. 524) is good too, although names are always shifting along this gay-orientated street. Another venue of interest is Minogues (in Montemar, near Benalmadena Marina), which hosts live drag shows.

This signature Andalucían dish is a cold soup made of fresh tomatoes, green peppers, cucumber, garlic, olive oil, wine vinegar or lemon, breadcrumbs and salt. There are dozens of local variations of this nourishing refresher, which may involve almonds, grapes, melon, red peppers, and boiled egg or chopped ham garnishes.

Here, Córdoba leather is worked and coloured into traditional patterns and images, most of them relating to the area’s Moorish history, although some are on religious themes and others pertain to local customs.

This gargantuan chunk of limestone rising up from the Mediterranean was one of the mythic Pillars of Hercules. Yet, despite being nicknamed “The Rock”, as a worldwide symbol of stability and security, this fortress is actually a serious political football these days. Taken by the English in 1704 as part of the War of the Spanish Succession, today it is still very much a part of the British ethos, and only grudgingly do the Spaniards who live around it even acknowledge its existence. The Spanish government meanwhile most definitely wants it back. Legend has it that Britain will retain sovereignty of the rock as long as its most famous residents, the wild Barbary apes, remain, but their increasing number does not prevent on-going diplomatic arguments. Still, if you’re homesick for Englishness, cross over the frontier at La Línea to enjoy some fish and chips or a pint of ale.