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Istán AREA: 99,50 km² ALTITUDE ABOVE SEA LEVEL: 200 metres AVERAGE ANNUAL RAINFALL: 930 l/m² AVERAGE ANNUAL TEMPERATURE: 16’1 ºC POPULATION CENSUS 1994: 1.321  
The lands of the municipality of Istán mark the transition between the Ronda highland and the western Costa del Sol. To the north of the municipality, the impressive mass of the Sierra Real (1.331 m.) presides the municipality as a backdrop to the town and the Concepción reservoir. To the southeast, aonther mountainous area, the Sierra Blanca, carries on from the previous sierra and prolongs the relief’s showiness to near the coast by the Zarina hills (1.141 m.) and the Lastonar hills (1.260 m.). Between both sierras, the valley of the Verde river, before forming the previously mentioned reservoir, gives way to places of great scenic and ecological interest in the Dehesa de Bornoque, where the dense mass of corks descend to the bottom of the valley, mingling with gall-oaks and Spanish firs. The valley of the Verde river, near the town offers an agricultural landscape of terraces in which fruits and vegetables are cultivated, forming a beautiful appearance on its northern border. The origins of this town goes back to the mid 14th century, when, after the taking of the Arboto castle by the Christians, its defenders fled and fortified in the actual site of Istán. At the end of the 16th century, when the Moorish rebellion broke out, its inhabitants were added to the revolt, later being defeated by Ponce de León’s troops. The expulsion of the Moors was a hard blow for this town, as at that time it was one of the richest places in the region thanks to the exploitation of silk and raisins. After the stifling of the Moorish revolt, the town was repopulated with some families coming from Murcia who spoke the "panocho" dialect so from thereon the habitants of the town were known as panochos.
The oldest and most important monument is the parish church, built in the 16th century by order of the archbishop of Seville, Diego de Deza. It was restored at the beginning of the following century and more recently in 1950. This church, under the protection of San Miguel, the town’s patron saint, consists of one rectangular nave with wooden armour, and outside it the front with an arch between pilasters which hold up a pediment open on the side to hold a barred gap. On the side there is an odd two-bodied angular steeple with bells at the top. Other singular buildings are the cave where the Casa de la Juventud is situated, the public washroom and the Arabic tower which is situated on the highest part of the town and was part of the ancient fort which dominated the teritory from a high point. Places of interest in the municipality are the mouth of the Verde river, with its waterfalls and dam; the Bornoque mountain (cork forrest), the Cañas brook (botanic) and the Concha chasm.
In some guides, the handicraft work most known is the manufacturing based on palm and esparto grass, the use of cork for making benches and bellows for livening up the fire.
The local gastronomy is rich and varied, with more than a dozen suggestive dishes, as well as an exquisite confectionery. All year round there is kid with garlic, soups, bread and oil soup; in the winter, there are dishes such as cabbage stew, horse-mackerel stew, corn soup, garlic soup, cod with clams and pumpkin stew, and in the summer there is tomato and prickly pear soup, 'ajoblanco', tomato and grape soup, etc. There are numerous and varied desserts, starting with rice pudding and oil cakes. Especially for the winter there are ‘borrachuelos’, wine rusks and fudge rusks. Lastly, they make a good bread in Istán and the typical ‘hornazos’ which is bread mass with an egg in the centre which in this town can be eaten all year round and not only for San Marcos day.
The festive calender begins with Easter and the recuperation of the religious representation of ‘El Paso’, the Easter story, where until not long ago the occasional neighbour actors wore masks. Now it is staged with dialogue. As well as the processions, on Easter Sunday they eat the ‘hornazos’ and after Easter, on the 25th of April, they celebrate San Marcos day. On the Sunday before the 29th of September, is the fair of San Miguel, with a pilgrimage after the morning mass in the parish church. The neighbours make their way, with dances and songs, to the chapel caved in the rock, at about 3 kilometres from the town, and after the fair day they move the image of the patron in a procession. The ‘tostón’ or ‘tostonazo’ as it is known, is another very traditional celebration, which takes place on the 1st of November, All Saints Day, and consists of going to the countryside to eat roasted or stewed chestnuts accompanied with ‘aguardiente’ liquor.
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History and Landscape
Places to visit
Shopping
Gastronomy
Festivities and traditiones