ALMERÍA

1. The Alcazaba of Almería

On the highest hill in the city stands the imposing and majestic Monumental Complex of the Alcazaba of Almería , not only the largest fortress built by the Arabs in the Peninsula, but the construction that gave its name and marked the origin of the current Andalusian city. .  The forceful anatomy of the stones of this spectacular castle once served as a threatening lighthouse for ships that ventured along the Spanish coast of the Alboran Sea . Now, the Alcazaba is the main reference point for locals and foreigners to navigate the streets of their city.  

Above all, the Alcazaba is the hallmark of the residents of Almería capital and even of the entire province, because when Abd al-Rahman III ordered the construction of this magnificent defensive building back in the 10th century, he simply called it “the watchtower”, which in Arabic is written as Al-Mariyyat, a word from which the name of the luminous easternmost capital of Andalusia derives.On the port that formerly served to supply the nearby town of Pechina, the Caliph of Al-Andalus Abderramán III ordered the construction of this Muslim fort in the year 955 . The main difference between this Alcazaba and the fortresses that the Arabs built around this time throughout the Iberian Peninsula is that the one in Almería was not a fortified palace like the fortresses are, but rather a purely military building. 

On this eminently defensive basis, the city was built, which in a short time became the most important port in Spain, becoming the entrance to the Caliphate of Córdoba's trade with the East and North Africa. The important politician and military man Almanzor was in charge of expanding the original castle enclosure, but it was not until the fall of the Caliphate of Córdoba and the takeover of the Andalusian city by Jaarán when both the Alcazaba and its 'medina' reached their full potential. greater splendor. 

Jairan al-Amiri was a very peculiar character. This slave of Slavic origin – who worked in the administrative body of Almanzor – managed to become strong after the decomposition of the Caliphate, becoming king of the taifas of Almería and Murcia between 1013 and 1028. A consequence of the political and military instability that the Muslim Spain, Jairan forced the defensive perimeter of the Alcazaba and the rest of the city to be expanded with an imposing walled construction of which today remains the section known as the wall of Cerro de San Cristóbal .

2.Almanzora Valley

The Almanzora River crosses a valley full of life. If you go up it, you will cross fields dotted with beautiful almond trees in bloom, orange trees and orchards. Also small towns whose inhabitants have been taking advantage of the natural resources of the area for centuries. Wine production, mining, meat industry and agriculture are some of their ways of life.

In a few dozen kilometers you can go from the pure Mediterranean to the only desert in Europe; suddenly, ascend snowy peaks at 2,100 meters above sea level and end up in a valley full of towns, vegetation and life. Something like this would be the drawing that comes out of a route that goes from the coast inland, until reaching the hidden Almanzora Valley .

Getting to the valley is to discover the diversity and contrasts that the interior of Almería offers. The Almanzora Valley is a region made up of 27 municipalities located at the same distance from Almería, Granada and Murcia. An enclave that breathes in the same direction, which gives it its own character and different from other parts of the province.

3.Mojácar Village

Mojácar impresses you at a distance, the majestic assortment of white houses, winding around and clinging onto the foothills of the Sierra de Cabrera is imposing to the traveller. Once inside the labyrinth, you discover a more intimate beauty between the narrow streets, adorned with intensely coloured flowers that stand out against the white walled houses and the intense blue sky. Every corner you turn captivates, reminds you of its Arab history and teaches you about the everyday lives of the townspeople. It is not without good reason that the Old Town is internationally recognized as “One of the most beautiful villages in Spain”.
And, from the viewing points, you can enjoy the most beautiful horizons, both towards the sea and inland

The houses in Mojácar appear tocling to the mountainside creating a great visual impact: the white of the houses, the brown of earth and the blue of the sea and the sky. The roofs are flat or terrace, giving the impression of cubic houses, impenetrable, where from outside tourists cannot see its labyrinthine and steep streets. In the past, people used adobe and stone, forming vaulted ceilings but today, white is the main colour of Mojácar´s architecture.Mojácar village consists of grouped houses, graduated and adapted to the topography and traditional architecture of the land. The dominance of the mountains on the hollow cubes, forming more or less white monochrome geometric shapes, are some of the aesthetic conditions of the village houses.The core of recent growth at Mojácar Playa offers some recent buildings, varying from detached single-family houses to groups of properties.

4.Museum of Almería

We must go back to the first half of the 19th century to date the first attempt to create a provincial museum in Almería, when the different Boards and Commissions, established as a consequence of the successive phases of the disentailment policy,2 managed to put together a catalog in 1837. with 196 paintings and in 1846 another catalog with Roman and Arab coins, tombstones with inscriptions, Arab jewelry and various utensils, collected throughout the province and mostly from confiscated convents.

Around 1880, the Belgian engineer Louis Siret discovered what are still considered the main prehistoric sites in the region, including Los Millares and El Argar, and as a result of these works he published the work "Les premieres ages du metal au Sudeste de la Peninsule". Iberique» (Brussels, 1887), for which he received good reviews and awards. In those years, a large part of the pieces that he had collected from the excavations (he had excavated more than a thousand graves) were sold by himself, since he needed liquidity to be able to get married, which explains the dispersion of the collection and the fact that Today there are parts of it in Brussels, Berlin, London, Oxford, Cambridge, New York, Madrid or Barcelona. Louis Siret continued excavating and in 1924 he donated the entire collection of his collection to the National Archaeological Museum, but it was agreed between the parties involved that the duplicate pieces would go to the Provincial Council of Almería.

5. Historic center of Almería

From the Plaza de la Catedral to the Alcazaba, passing through the emblematic Calle de las Tiendas, Plaza de la Catedral, Plaza San Pedro or Puerta Purchena. The Old Town of the city offers tourists the main historical and cultural heritage of the capital. In this enclave the history of Almería is drawn, that of the Arab domination in Al-Andalus, represented in the corners of the La Almedina neighborhood , and that of the subsequent conquest of the city by the Catholic Monarchs in the year 1492, reflected in Christian monuments such as the Cathedral-Fortress of the Incarnation or the episcopal palace. The history of the city is encapsulated in the streets of its oldest and most representative neighborhood.

6. Tabernas Desert

The Tabernas desert is one of the great landscape surprises that a visit to Almería offers. Province that, curiously, is one of the richest, from an agricultural point of view, in all of Europe. Considered the only actual desert area on that continent, exploring the Tabernas desert awakens conflicting sensations. On the one hand, the amazement at the succession of slopes, gullies, torrents and plains of this natural space.

On the other hand, the anxiety of being in complete aridity. A place where only animal and plant species survive that have known how to adapt to minimum humidity conditions (less than 250 mm3 of precipitation falls per year).And the reason why there is such an arid area at this latitude must be found in the fact that it is surrounded by three mountain ranges: Filabres , Alhamilla and , somewhat further away, by the Alpujarra of Almeria and the Sierra Nevada .The effect of these mountains on the Tabernas Desert is to act as a natural barrier against the humid winds that arrive from the Mediterranean Sea .

But the uniqueness of the landscapes that characterize the Tabernas desert also has a lot to do with its most remote past . Thus, although it is difficult to imagine, millions of years ago this area was completely covered by sea waters .For this reason, the Tabernas desert can be considered an immense open-air geology museum . Formations such as turbidites, earthquakes and authentic fossil beaches are combined with the torrents caused by strong storms over the centuries. Logically, discoveries of fossil remains of animals and plants are the order of the day.

The aridity of the Tabernas desert has determined the existence of numerous endemic species in the area. But, despite appearances, this natural area is considered to be of special protection due to the presence of numerous birds .

7. Cabo de Gata Natural Park

The most emblematic natural place to see in Almería is Cabo de Gata. One of the few examples of a volcanic geopark in the Mediterranean attracts tourists, scientists... And filmmakers alike. Many scenes from the legendary Almeria spaghetti westerns were filmed here and also scenes from such legendary films as Lawrence of Arabia , Indiana Jones and Exodus .

Its landscapes seem from another planet. Its beaches , dreamlike. Slopes of small hills populated only by bushes, which on the other side fall into the sea, forming impossible and practically inaccessible cliffs and coves. A beautiful place that we must all take care of. Its ecosystem is really fragile and, due to the increase in tourism, it is degrading at a considerable speed.

8.Roquetas de Mar Aquarium

The Aquarium Costa de Almería is designed following the “Water Cycle”, a process that will allow you to know all the stages through which the water on our planet passes. In this way, its journey will begin with the condensation of water in the clouds, passing through rain, until reaching the rivers, seas and oceans.The Roquetas de Mar Aquarium is the largest aquarium in Andalusia, with 2 million liters of water and more than a thousand marine specimens.The aquarium is divided into zones, in what they call the Water Cycle, an educational tour of the different habitats of marine animals.

• The first area is the source of water, the rivers. In this area are freshwater fish, in a representation of what the Amazon River would be, where species such as piranhas and other fish from Brazil, Peru and Colombia stand out.

• The second zone is the tropical sea. In this recreation of a coral reef we can observe the fish with the most colorful colors in the Aquarium, such as clown fish.

• The third area is the oceans. This room has the largest tank in the aquarium, with 1,000,000 liters of water, and also the largest fish, such as sharks, which can be observed from all angles through a semi-tunnel gallery that submerge in the fish tank.

• The last room is dedicated to the Mediterranean Sea and its species. We will be able to observe the seabed of Posidonia meadows with all the animal diversity they contain and the rocky bottoms. The species found here are typical of our sea: horse mackerel, sea bream, sea bream, moray eels and groupers, to name a few.

And, if you want and have a diving certificate, immerse yourself in a water tank where you can dive alongside sharks and other marine species.

9.ENGLISH CABLE

The El Alquife de Almería mineral loading dock, popularly known as Cable Inglés and located on Las Almadrabillas beach, was built between 1902 and 1904 by the company The Alquife Mines and Railway Company Limited, according to the project drawn up by the Scottish engineer John Ernest Harrison, with the aim of abandoning rudimentary loading systems for mineral from the iron mines of Alquife (Granada) and alleviating extra costs in its maritime export through the port of Almería. The infrastructure incorporated as a great novelty large tanks or side hoppers, with which it gained a double use as a warehouse-container and unloading dock.

10.Alpujarra Almeria

Although La Alpujarra is usually associated with Granada, the truth is that Almería has several towns and landscapes that have nothing to envy of its neighbor and that place it among the essential places to see in Almería .
Located between the Sierra de Gádor and Sierra Nevada, in the green Andarax valley, this region is made up of beautiful white towns with an Arab past such as Alhama de Almería, Laujar de Andarax or Fondón where, in addition to getting lost in their steep and winding alleys, , we advise you to take a hiking route to fully enjoy all of its natural environment made up of mountains, green meadows and ancient olive trees, to finish with a good typical meal of the area in which elements of Spanish and Moorish cuisine are mixed.