Istán
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Istán is a town and municipality in the province of Málaga in Andalusia in southern Spain with an estimated population in 2005 of 1,422. It lies beneath the Sierra Blanca in the valley of the Rio Verde about 15 km to the northwest from Marbella and the Mediterranean coast. It is situated on the southern slope of the Sierra de las Nieves. It is also near the large reservoir created by the Presa de la Concepción dam, built in 1972 to provide drinking water to towns all along the Costa del Sol.
History
It was originally a Moorish settlement and as with its near neighbour Ojen, survived where others didn't largely because it was away from the coast. After the Reconquest, Moors were not allowed to live near the coast so as to be unable to communicate easily with their kinsmen in nearby North Africa.
Twin towns - Sister cities
Sources and references
Coordinates: 36°35′N 4°57′W / 36.583°N 4.950°W