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Almería: a city in andalusia, spain – sara corker, sara corker designs

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My Father is Spanish and comes from Almeria, all through our childhood we travelled backwards and forwards to Almeria and I wanted to share a little about it with you.

Almería was originally an Arab town and has the second largest Muslim Fortress in Andalusia, the Alhambra in Granada being the first.  Because of its Arab background many of the houses have a Moorish influence.  The name Almeria – means the Watchtower, it was an important port town so needed protection.

The economy of Almería is mostly based on agriculture, which is located mainly in the western part of the region. Numerous greenhouses produce tons of fruit and vegetables, more than 70% of their product being exported to the rest of Europe.  When you are flying into the airport all you can see is white, it is quite weird.   

In 2005 Almería hosted the Mediterranean Games.Almeria has a very arid landscape, which has been brilliant for the film industry numerous spaghetti westerns were filmed in Almería.  Cleopatra was filmed here with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Brigitte Bardot, Raiders of the Lost Ark and just last year Doctor Who to name but a few.

Almeria’s architecture is a mixture of very old preserved buildings, all buildings of interest have to have their facades kept, so you have very modern interiors in some cases and original facades, however, as the City has developed there has been a lot of very interesting new buildings growing up.  Almeria is a very friendly and fun place to visit especially in the summer months, there are so many Fiestas and parties going on to the early hours of the morning.  Almeria does have traditional values.  Almeria is famous for its Tapas, which I highly recommend.

One of Almeria’s most famous natural spots is the Cabo de Gata-Nijar Natural Park. This park is of volcanic origin, and is the largest and most ecologically significant marine-terrestrial space in the European Western Mediterranean Sea. One of the greatest attractions of the Cabo de Gata Natural Park is its beaches. It really is an interesting place to visit.

– Sara Corker, Sara Corker Designs