Almeria

dominated by the silhouette of its Moorish citadel

Almeria in Andalucia, is one of the Spanish cities that has preserved its moorish heritage.

The province of Almeria is situated in the south east of the Spanish peninsula and borders with the provinces of Granada and Murcia. In all, this province covers 8774 square kilometres with a population of 425,000 inhabitants, of which 145,000 live in the capital city, also named Almeria. Inland, Almeria has an almost lunar landscape of desert, sandstone and dried up river beds and has long been a popular choice for filming American style spaghetti westerns, (The all time Peter O'Toole classic, Lawrence of Arabia was also shot here). You can visit mini Hollywood or Yucca City, just outside Tabernas which was the set of A Fistful of Dollars and various other films and is open daily to visitors.

Almeria, has a very distinguished past, though not much of its former glory survives today. Its Alcazabar was the largest fortress ever built by the Moors in Spain, which gives some idea of what an important place it was. Under the Caliphate of Córdoba, it was a major trading port, but sieges and economic decline gradually took their toll. Today Almeria is a dusty little city, extremely poor in places. Its main landmarks, though, are worth a visit, and it has some atmospheric, inexpensive tapas bars and nightlife.

Gastronomic specialities include Gurullos (stew with pasta), Trigo (stew with grains of wheat, pork, beans and herbs), Gachas (hot and spicy clam stew) and Escabeche e Sardines (fresh sardines in hot sauce). As well as cultivating tourism over the past decade, Almeria has also cultivated innumerable plastic covered greenhouses and now produces the bulk of the province's fruit and vegetables, much of it for export.