IZNAJAR This small town of some six thousand inhabitants was transformed some years ago by the creation of an ’embalse’, or reservoir, below the promontory on which Iznajar sits in the River Genil valley. Today, to all intents and purposes, Iznajar now has a waterfront, overlooking an inland sea some thirty kilometres long, and containing an estimated 900 million cubic metres of water destined for domestic consumption. Iznajar itself escaped the submersion and if anything, the lake below has given further resonance to its unofficial title as the Mirador (viewpoint) del Genil. Surrounding countryside and communications have been radically altered, not least by a bridge built across the reservoir near Iznajar in order to continue to carry traffic on the Archidona to Priego de Córdoba road. In effect, Iznajar now offers the perfect setting for anyone wanting to live in the interior but still retain a ‘sea’ view. Iznajar is situated near the southerly border of Córdoba province, and serves as a natural entrance to the Sierra Subeticas Natural Park. From the south, it is best reached from Junction 175 on the A-92 Sevilla-Granada motorway, and is only 20km from the turnoff. Town and embalse – named after it – are north of Archidona on the map. The town of Rute is to the north-west and, beyond that, Lucena. Priego de Córdoba lies to the north-east, Jáen beyond it.