The Plaza de Damasco, which is just in front of Caja Rural, Av. Andalucia, has had a facelift… only a year after its last one. Now, gone are the tombs-cum-marble Korans, for instance, as nobody actually seemed to like them, much less know for certain what the hell they were supposed to be. The Syrians, who have produced all the Majuelo sculptures, were the sculptors, so if it weren’t enough that they are getting shot at in Damascus, their Almunecar artwork has been put before a firing squad as well, bless them. Actually the two box-like sculptures have probably been relocated to the Majuelo.

The Town Hall received numerous complaints that the marble slabs were being used by local children as slides and were thus ‘dangerous.’ Apart from that, the councillor in charge admitted – in more diplomatic terms – that that diners at the nearby restaurant could now have a rest from brats doing comet impressions and embedding themselves in unsuspecting terrace diners.

The marble boxes, or tombs, or tomes, weigh five metric tonnes each. Add to that the added weight of encrusted children and you can imagine the fun it was getting the blighters out of there

OK, I’ll put you out of your collective misery and tell you what they are really supposed to be: the sculptor, Aktham Abdul Hamid, says that the two works symbolize the history of Al Andalus and Syria, as on the ‘books,’ written from right to left, are the three words, Damascus, Al Andalus and Almunecar.

The domed centre structure, containing marble bulls, has had its dome painted blue, and is otherwise untouched.

(News: Almunecar, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)