The Legend of the Peña de los Enamorados in Antequera
A timeless story of forbidden love in medieval Andalusia
During the Christian Reconquest, when Andalusia was a land of borders, battles, and cultural clashes,
one of the most beautiful and tragic legends of Málaga was born:
the story of the Peña de los Enamorados.
A tale shaped by forbidden love, courage, and an inevitable destiny.
An unexpected encounter in Moorish Antequera
A few years before the Christian conquest of Antequera, a soldier of King Ferdinand was captured
in a nearby village. He was imprisoned in the dungeons of the alcazaba, awaiting his fate.
One morning, the daughter of the Moorish king —a young woman of striking beauty named Tazgona—
descended into the cells. When her eyes met those of the Christian soldier Tello,
both were instantly bound by an intense and impossible love.
From that day on, the princess found every excuse to return to the dungeons. Whispering in the shadows,
the two young lovers began to dream of a life far from war and the walls that kept them apart.
The escape: love against two kingdoms
Tazgona and Tello knew their union would never be accepted by either world. Neither Christians nor Muslims
would approve of such a love. Still, one morning they decided to escape together, armed only with their devotion.
News of their flight quickly reached the Moorish king, who led a battalion to hunt them down.
To make matters worse, Christian troops were besieging Antequera that same day, blocking every escape route.
The lovers found themselves trapped between two armies, two cultures, and two destinies that refused to let them be together.
The Peña de los Enamorados: their final refuge
With no way out, Tazgona and Tello ran toward a towering rock formation rising above the plains,
visible from every road leading to Antequera. At the summit of that sharp peak, they made the most painful
and courageous decision of their lives.
Rather than be separated, they chose to leap into the void, hand in hand.
When the two kings —the Moorish and the Christian— reached the site, they found the lovers’ bodies united in death.
The sight was so overwhelming that both rulers, moved by grief, agreed to halt any further battle for the city.
An eternal symbol of love and freedom
Since then, the mountain has been known as the Peña de los Enamorados, and its silhouette —
often compared to the profile of a sleeping face— has become a symbol of impossible love and the union of cultures.
The legend remains alive in the memory of Antequera and all of Málaga, reminding us that even in times of war,
love can change the fate of a kingdom.