by Nick Nutter

Created on: June 10, 2008   Last Updated: June 17, 2008

Almeria, The City and The Alcazaba
If you were asked for a list of tourist attractions in Andalucia it is not likely that Almeria would appear on that list. You may mention the Cabo de Gata, just a few kilometres east, or Tabernas just a few kilometres north, but Almera?
In the days of the Cordoba Caliphate, Almeria was called Al Mariyat, (Mirror of the Sea) and was one of the major ports in Andalucia with a thriving export trade in silk, cotton and brocade. Merchants visited Almeria from France, Italy, Egypt and Syria. Today the still important port exports fruit and vegetables that are grown in the acres of plastic greenhouses that surround the city on three sides. To protect this important asset, in 955, the Moors built the largest fortress or Alcazaba in Spain. Today the Alcazaba dominates the old town that clings to the rock below the fortress and the urban sprawl that has grown around since.

The authorities are trying to put Almeria on the tourist map but tourism is a new idea here so, at the moment, 2008, you can explore this city without dodging the crowds of coach trippers you find at Granada for instance. On the debit side there are not many decent hotels and even fewer good restaurants but all that will change for Almeria has the potential to become a major attraction. Apart from the Alcazabar the main feature is the museum. This has been purpose built over the last five years in order to house the exhibits from the world famous Copper Age site of Los Millares, and they have made a magnificent job of it. For those interested in history this museum is an outstanding example of what can be achieved.

This month concentrates on the Alcazabar. In its heyday the fortress could house 20,000 troops and one of the main problems overcome by the Moors was supplying them with enough water in this city that sits on the edge of Europe's only desert. They built aqueducts from the hills to the north of the city using technology borrowed from the Romans and, by a complicated system of underground water cisterns (aljibes), and a water wheel, piped water through the fortress to provide water for drinking and the bath houses. The aljibe can still be seen today in the first section of the Alcazabar that is now a beautifully laid out garden but was once a major residential area. As you pass through the fortified wall at the north end of this section you will see the wall built in the 11th Century, crossing the ravine to the east that massively extended the town.

The second

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>