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Almería
Flag Seal
Almería
Coordinates: 36°50′N 2°27′W / 36.833°N 2.45°W / 36.833; -2.45Coordinates: 36°50′N 2°27′W / 36.833°N 2.45°W / 36.833; -2.45
Country	Spain
Region	Andalusia
Province	Almería
Comarca	Comarca Metropolitana de Almería
Government
• Body	Ayuntamiento de Almería
• Mayor	Luis Rogelio Rodríguez-Comendador Pérez (PP)
Area
• Total	295 km2 (114 sq mi)
Elevation	23 m (75 ft)
Population (2010)
• Total	190,013
• Density	640/km2 (1,700/sq mi)
Demonym	almerienses, urcitanos
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)

Almería (Spanish pronunciation: [almeˈɾi.a]) is a city in Andalusia, Spain, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is the capital of the province of the same name.

Toponym[link]

Tradition says that the name Almería stems from the Arabic المرية Al-Mariyya: "The Mirror", comparing it to "The Mirror of the Sea". Nowadays, the most accepted interpretation is that it derives from the Arabic term مرأى Al-Mara'ā, which means "The Watchtower".

History[link]

The city was founded by Calipha Abd-ar-Rahman III of Cordova in 955 AD. It was to be a principal harbour in his extensive domain to strengthen his Mediterranean defences.

Alcazaba of Almería.

Its Moorish castle, the Alcazaba of Almería, is the second largest among the Muslim fortresses of Andalusia, after the Alhambra.

The ancient walls of Jayrán.

In this period, the port city of Almería reached its historical peak. After the fragmentation of the Caliphate of Córdoba, Almería continued to be ruled by powerful local Muslim Taifa emirs like Jairan, the first independent Emir of Almería and Cartagena, and Almotacin, the poet emir. Both Jairan and Almotacin were fearless warriors, but also sophisticated patrons of the arts. A silk industry, based upon plantings of mulberry trees in the hot, dry landscape of the province, supported Almería in the 11th century and made its strategic harbour an even more valuable asset.

The statue of San Cristóbal.

Contested by the emirs of Granada and Valencia, Almería experienced many sieges, including one especially fierce siege when Christians, called to the Second Crusade by Pope Eugene III, were also encouraged to attack the Muslim 'infidels' on a more familiar coast. On that occasion Alfonso VII, at the head of mixed forces of Catalans, Genoese, Pisans and Franks, led a crusade against the rich city, and Almería was occupied in October 1147.

Within a decade, however, Almería had passed to the control of the puritanical Muslim Almoravid emirs, and not until the late 15th century did it fall permanently into Christian hands. The city surrendered to the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, on December 26, 1489.

The former train station.

The 16th century was for Almería a century of natural and human catastrophes; for there were at least four earthquakes, of which the one in 1522 was especially violent, devastating the city. The people who had remained Muslim were expelled from Almería after the War of Las Alpujarras in 1568 and scattered across Spain. Landings and attacks by Berber pirates were also frequent in the 16th century, and continued until the early 18th century. At that time, huge iron mines were discovered and French and British companies set up business in the area, bringing renewed prosperity and returning Almería to a position of relative importance within Spain.

During the Spanish Civil War the city was shelled by the German navy, and the front page headlines of the Diario de Almería, dated June 3, 1937, referred to the press in London and Paris carrying the news of the "criminal bombardment of Almería by German planes".^[1] Almería and Málaga were the last Andalusian cities to surrender to Francisco Franco's nationalist forces.

In the second half of the 20th century, Almería witnessed spectacular economic growth due to tourism and intensive agriculture, with crops grown year-round in massive invernaderos – plastic-covered "greenhouses" – for intensive vegetable production.

After Franco's death and popular approval of the new Spanish Constitution, the people of southern Spain were called on to approve an autonomous status for the region in a referendum. Although there were 118,186 votes for and 11,092 votes against it in the province of Almería,^[2] an absolute majority was needed, and the results in Almería were just 42%. The Government impugned that result, and Almería is now part of the newly autonomous region of Andalusia as we know it today.^[3]

Cable Inglés, at night.

Main sights[link]

• The Alcazaba, a medieval fortress that was begun in the 13th century but destroyed by an earthquake in 1522. It includes a triple line of walls, a majestic keep and large gardens. It commands a city quarter with buildings dressed in white colours, of Muslim-age aspect.
• The Cathedral has a fortress-like appearance due to its towers, merlons and protected paths, created to defend it from Mediterranean pirates. Originally designated as a mosque, it was later converted into a Christian church, before being destroyed in the 1522 earthquake. In the 16th century it was rebuilt in the Renaissance style, whilst keeping some of its defensive features.
• Renaissance church of Santiago, built in 1533, with tower and portal decorated with reliefs.
• Chanca, a group of houses carved into rocks.
• Castle of San Cristobal, now in ruins. It is connected to the Alcazaba by a line of walls.
• Museum of Almería. Includes findings from Prehistoric, Iberic, Roman, Greek ages and Muslim objects, mostly from the Alcazaba.
• Paseo de Coches, a modern seaside promenade with gardens and palms.

Demographics[link]

People and culture[link]

Casa de las Mariposas.

Famous natives of Almería include Nicolás Salmerón y Alonso, who in 1873 was the third president of the First Spanish Republic, and several musicians, like the popular folk singer Manolo Escobar, renowned Flamenco guitar player José Tomás "Tomatito" and Grammy Award winner David Bisbal, record-breaking album seller in America and Spain. The motorcyclist Antonio Maeso came from here.

Although administratively annexed to the Autonomous Community of Andalucia, in Southern Spain, some people of the province have shown a clear desire for regional autonomy in different referendums. The insular effect produced by its geographical situation has made several customs, accents and history different from the rest of the Autonomous Region of Andalucia. Almería hosted the Mediterranean Games in 2005. The city has 2 football teams: UD Almería plays in the Segunda División following relegation from La Liga in 2011 and CP Almería plays in a regional fivision. The Irish folk-rock group The Pogues paid tribute to Almeria in "Fiesta," a rollicking Spike Jones-flavored song on the band's third album, If I Should Fall From Grace with God.

Economy[link]

Ayuntamiento of Almería.

The economy of Almería is mostly based on agriculture, which is located mainly in the western part of the region. Numerous greenhouses produce tonnes of fruit and vegetables, more than 70% of their product being exported to the rest of Europe.

The province of Almería is home to the largest naturist beach in Europe (also surrounded by naturist accommodations), El Playazo in Vera, despite current attempts to reduce the naturist extent of it.

Rambla of Almería.

Transportation[link]

By land, Almería can be reached by the A-7 Mediterranean Highway, which connects the Mediterranean area with the Spanish A-92 that unites it with the rest of Andalusia.

See also main-article Port of Almeria

By sea, the port of Almería has connections to Melilla, Algeria and Morocco, and also tourist cruises in the Mediterranean. It also has a marina with moorings for pleasure boats. Currently the port of Almería is being expanded with new docks and transformed into a container port to take large-scale international shipping and thereby increase its freight traffic. It normally connects with the following destinations:

• Trasmediterranea: Ghazaouet (Algeria), Oran (Algeria), Nador (Morocco). and Melilla.
• Comarit: Nador.
• Comanav: Nador.

By air, Almería is served by Almería Airport which is the fourth largest in Andalusia and has domestic and international flights, mainly to Amsterdam, Madrid, Barcelona, Melilla, London, Manchester, Birmingham, Brussels, Dublin and Swiss, German and other EU cities.

Harbour of Almería.

Geography[link]

Due to its arid landscape, numerous spaghetti westerns were filmed in Almería. According to Christopher Frayling, the author of Once Upon A Time in Italy: The Films of Sergio Leone, some of the sets are still there.^[4] These sets are located in the desert of Tabernas. The town and region were also used by David Lean in Lawrence of Arabia (1962), John Milius in The Wind and the Lion (1975), and others. One of Almería's most famous natural spots is the [1] Cabo de Gata-Níjar 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. With one of the most beautiful and ecologically rich coasts of the western Mediterranean and an area of 380 square kilometres it is one of Spain’s natural jewels. The Cabo de Gata Natural Park runs through the municipal areas of Níjar, Almería and Carboneras. Its villages, previously dedicated to fishing, have become tourism spots for those interested in nature. One of the greatest attractions of the Cabo de Gata Natural Park is its beaches.

Panorama of the city taken from La Alcazaba

Climate[link]

Almería has a Subtropical arid climate (Köppen climate classification BWh) as annual precipitation is below 200mm; it is the only major European city with this type of climate. The average annual temperature is above 19 °C (66 °F).

Almería has hot summers and warm winters; it has one of the sunniest, warmest and driest climates in Europe. It experiences the warmest winters of any European city with a population over 100,000, and hot and dry summers with no precipitation between June and September.

Almería enjoys about 3000 hours of sunshine annually with over 320 sunny days a year on average (6 hours of sunshine in January and 12 in July). The city has an average annual temperature of about 19 °C (66 °F) and on average only 26 days with precipitation annually.

During the winter, daily maximum temperatures tend to stay around 18 °C (64 °F). At night, the temperature rarely drops below 8 °C (46 °F). Precipitation even during the wettest months is rare, this falls in short showers or thunderstorms.

During the warmest months - July and August, the sky is clear and sunny and no rainfall occurs. The typical daily temperatures are around 33 °C (91 °F) during the heat of the day. However, this is often influenced by the Levante wind, a hot dry easterly wind that blows from the interior desert that makes temperatures soar to 38 °C (100 °F) or higher. These can also carry dust or sand. The minimum temperatures stay around 24 °C (75 °F) during July and August. Heatwaves in Almería are quite common; Almería reached up to 43 °C (109 °F) in August 2011.^[5]

Films[link]

Sister cities[link]

• Cochabamba, Bolivia
• Melilla, Spain
• Navojoa, Mexico

Crystal Cave[link]

In 2000, a team of geologists found a cave filled with giant gypsum crystals in an abandoned silver mine near Almería. The cavity, which measures 1.8x1.7 metres, would be the largest [2] geode ever found. The entrance of the cave has been blocked by five tons of rocks, and is under police protection (to prevent looters from entering). According to geological models, the cave was formed during the Messinian salinity crisis 6 million years ago, when the Mediterranean sea evaporated and left thick layers of salt sediments (evaporites). The cave is currently not accessible to tourists.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Almería

See also[link]

• Solar Almeria Platform

References[link]

External links[link]

• TourSpain Almeria
• (English) Smart Insider Travel Guide to Almeria
• (Spanish) Ayuntamiento de Almería
• (Spanish) Almería, Historia y Turismo
• images and information about the Almería area
• Cabo de Gata Natural Park. Almería. Spain
• Maps of Almería
• (Spanish) UD Almería (Football Team)
• "Almería's History"
• Almeriaclips - Videos musicales rodados en Almería - Music videos shot in Almería
• (Spanish) Almería - Diputación Provincial de Almería
• (Spanish) Cabo de Gata - Níjar Natural Park
• Businesses of Almeria

v t e Municipalities of the province of Almería Abla Abrucena Adra Alboloduy Albox Albanchez Alcolea Alcudia de Monteagud Alcóntar Alhabia Alhama de Almería Alicún Almería Almócita Alsodux Antas Arboleas Armuña de Almanzora Bacares Bayarque Bayárcal Beires Benahadux Benitagla Benizalón Bentarique Berja Bédar Canjáyar Cantoria Carboneras Castro de Filabres Chercos Chirivel Cuevas del Almanzora Cóbdar Dalías El Ejido Enix Felix Fines Fiñana Fondón Garrucha Gádor Gérgal Huécija Huércal de Almería Huércal-Overa Íllar Instinción La Mojonera Laroya Las Tres Villas Los Gallardos Lubrín Lucainena de las Torres Laujar de Andarax Líjar Lúcar Macael María Mojácar Nacimiento Níjar Ohanes Olula de Castro Olula del Río Oria Padules Partaloa Paterna del Río Pechina Pulpí Purchena Rioja Roquetas de Mar Rágol Santa Cruz de Marchena Santa Fe de Mondújar Senés Serón Sierro Somontín Sorbas Suflí Tabernas Taberno Tahal Terque Turre Turrillas Tíjola Uleila del Campo Urrácal Velefique Vera Viator Vélez-Blanco Vélez-Rubio Vícar Zurgena

v t e Cities and port cities in Andalusia Capitals of provinces Almería Cádiz Córdoba Granada Huelva Jaén Málaga Seville Port cities Algeciras Almuñécar Benalmádena Chipiona El Puerto de Santa María Fuengirola Marbella Moguer Motril Nerja San Fernando Sanlúcar de Barrameda Torremolinos Other cities Antequera Aracena Baeza Cazorla Dos Hermanas Grazalema Guadix Jerez de la Frontera Linares Ronda Rota Santiponce Úbeda

v t e Capitals of provinces of Spain A Coruña Albacete Alicante Almería Ávila Badajoz Barcelona Bilbao Burgos Cáceres Cádiz Castellón de la Plana Ciudad Real Córdoba Cuenca Donostia-San Sebastián Girona Granada Guadalajara Huelva Huesca Jaén Logroño Las Palmas León Lleida Lugo Madrid Málaga Murcia Ourense Oviedo Palencia Palma Pamplona Pontevedra Salamanca Santander Santa Cruz Segovia Seville Soria Tarragona Teruel Toledo Valencia Valladolid Vitoria-Gasteiz Zamora Zaragoza