Almería has been visited by many people throughout its history, perhaps because of its beautiful landscape or perhaps because of its geographical location. The important archaeological remains found in the province have helped researchers discover and analyse the existence of old cultures. On the coast of Almería, you can enjoy varied folklore and plenty of fiestas, inherited from ancestors, as well as popular handicrafts designed with painstaking care (pottery, ceramics, esparto, rugs and marble). Gastronomic specialities such as paprika, gurullos (stews), porridge and seafood soup are also a legacy from the region's rich past.

Some of the main beaches you can find in Almería are: Aguadulce, a very big beach of fine white sand, good for all team sports, like football and surrounded by a promenade lined with palm trees, Cerrillos en Roquetas de Mar, a very peaceful beach lying in the protected area of Salinas de Cerrillos (Cerrillos Salt Marshes) with a nudist section, Puerto del Rey, an enormous beach that is next to the peaceful Housing Estate of Puerto Rey, and Carboneras, where there is a scuba-diving club.

Almería's Cabo de Gata-Nijar nestles in the south-eastern tip of Spain where the Mediterranean turns to the East. This is a land open to the sea whose coasts, protected by venerable watchtowers and castles, trodden by many differen peoples and sacked by the pirates who sailed the Meditteranean, look across to Africa. Sheltered coves, dunes, beaches, unspoilt beaches, impressive cliffs, sierras, charming villages and sea-beds of incalulable value, suchar are elements that make up the Cabo de Gata-Nijar Park. Declared a Biosphere Reserve, the Park's 38,000 hectares of land and 12,000 hectares of sea are one of south-eastern Spain's most valuable protected spaces.

The inland area provides an ideal setting for the development of rural tourism. Sierras such as those of Lucar, Oria, El Madroño and the Sierra de las Estancias, surround the Almanzora valley which takes its name from the river crossing the area and crates some of the most beautiful and charming scenery in the whole of the province. The Almanzora area is perfect for those who love quiet environments and peacefulness of nature.

Bordering on the north with the region of Murcia, Almería's easternmost district stretches from the coast to the steep hinterland, from sierras such as Bédar, Cabrera and Almagrera to fertile valleys rich in crops, like those of neighbouring Murcia. This is a land enjoying brilliant, year-round sunshine, where you con still enjoy a day at the beach, even when the European coastline is cloaked in the cold of Winter. It is a paradise bathed by rivers flowing into the sea while the light playing on the sands of the beaches seems to come straight from the inspired brush of Sorolla the artist.

The area known as Poniente Almeriense or Western Almería is located where the mountains of The Alpujarras open up to the Mediterranean Sea. This ancient land is a cross between east and west and a balcony on the sea. This area in the south west of the province of Almería combines the maritime nature of its coastline with a rural interior, around the mountain range of the Sierra de Gádor. Places such as the town of Aguadulce, in Roquetas de Mar, the coastal villages around Adra, the dam of Benínar and the village of Enix show us that Western Almería remains a place where Europe and Africa are within reach of each other.

Front to the coast is located Mojacar Marina Golf Club, opened from 2.000 with 18 holes. If you drive from Mojácar, follow the road in the direction of La Garrucha the course is around 3 Km. away, beside the sea. Almería/Murcia Motorway, Mojácar-Garrucha exit.

Almería, dominated by its impressive Moorish Alcazaba, occupies a corner of Eastern Europe where brillant sunshine bathes its inland fields, beaches and coves. The Citadel of Almería city consists of three enclosures. The first of them included houses and baths, the second area contained the palace rooms (the califal Los Aljifes, a Mudejar hermitage and a typical Muslim house) and in the third enclosure remains a castle ordered to be built by the Catholic Monarchs after the city was taken in 1489. The main elements in this enclosed area are the Keep, the Noria del Viento tower and the Pólvora tower. The Andalusian government declared it a Monumental Site in 1989. The visitor can also find the Cathedral that is perceived as a temple-fortress, with a predominantly Gothic style and built to defence.

Almería's cuisine is varied and natural, with quality products from both sea and land. A certain traditional isolation has resulted in a charismatic cuisine that preserves the most ancient influences, letting history seep into the present. This city of is one of the best places in Andalusia for tapas. A myriad of bars offer you a variety of tapas to go along with your beer, or with the full-bodied wines produced in this region. In the neighbourhoods of Pescadería and El Alquián, both in Almería and in Cape Gata, fish tapas are very popular, while in the city centre it is more common to find hot tapas like different types of casseroles, patatas pobres or pauper's potatoes (sliced and fried with onions), fried breadcrumbs, etc. In the province of Almería there is a varied spoon cuisine, which may seem more typical of Spanish inland areas than of a coastal city. Soups and stews are typical, like the Almería-style soup (seafood soup), Almería-style garlic soup, fritada from Suflí (which is a kind of tomato sauce), Moorish soup, black soup and pimentón or red soup (a kind of fish casserole). Other great dishes are the fennel and wheat stew called olla de trigo and the renowned gurullos, a country dish that consists of small flour balls, fried in lard and flavoured with garlic, spicy sausage, bacon, game meat, etc.

This excellent food is best if it is had with a glass of good wine from this region, such as those from the wine-producing town of Láujar de Andarax, a rosé wine of high alcoholic content, or the ëzurraqueí, with low per cent alcohol, which is obtained from white grapes from Alpujarra that are not commercialised. Also excellent is the Ohanes, which is made from white grapes as well.

Tourist Office of Almería city: Parque Nicolás Salmerón, esq. Martínez Campos-04002. Tel.: +34 950274355, Fax: +34 950274360

Web site of the Townhall of Almería: www.aytoalmeria.es Official web site of the Province: www.dipalme.org

Source: Web server of Instituto de Turismo de España, TURESPAÑA "www. spain.info".