FUENGIROLA, Spain

Fuengirola in ancient times known as Suel and then Suhayl, is a city on the Costa del Sol in the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. It is located on the central coast of the province and integrated into the region of the Costa del Sol.

The foothills of the mountain range behind the town to the south are the site of Sohail Castle, which contains remains of an early Phoenician settlement, later occupied by the Romans, which became a town known in antiquity as Suel. Suel was identified by the Roman historian Pomponius Mela as one of the towns of the coast, and was cited by Pliny in the 1st century AD as a fortified town or oppidum. A later historian, Ptolemy, identified it during the 2nd century as being located in the region of the bastulo-penos or Phoenicians.

In the 1960s Fuengirola started to become a leading tourist centre, eventually having the expected facilities for eating, sleeping, and entertainment. The town has broad beaches along a promenade extending east and west from the town, that includes smaller adjacent villages.