I International Meeting of Photography Centres. Andalusian Centre of Photografhy

Cultural activities

The origin of Almería city goes far back in history. The huge Alcazaba (the Citadel) overlooks the city and the port, with panoramic views from its parapet walk. At the foot of the Alcazaba lies the most typical quarter: La Chanca, with brightly painted, picturesque houses.

History

Currently, Almería has a population of 173,000 and a warm Mediterranean climate. The current province of Almería occupies an area that is “an impressive natural museum.” This is where the Copper Age cultures of Los Millares and El Argar developed. It was subsequently occupied by Phoenicians, Carthaginians and Romans. The city’s current settlement and its historic peak go back to the Al-Andalus period. Al-Mariya Bayyana, the origin of the current city, once occupied what is now the poor fishermen’s area of Pechina. The city became the main port of Al-Andalus and the naval base of the Caliphate of Cordoba in the time of Abd-al-Rahman III.

Local cuisine

Almeria’s cuisine is imaginative, varied and innovative. Sweet red bell peppers and the paprika made from them was a main ingredient in its cuisine and remains so today.

Pescadería and El Alquián quarters in Almería city and Cabo de Gata are some of the best places to eat fresh fish. If you would like to learn about the traditional homemade cooking, however, you will find all kinds of hot tapas in the inland villages and on the coast: migas (fried breadcrumbs), patatas a lo pobre or pauper’s potatoes (sliced and fried with onions) and, naturally, sausages and loin of pork. And, to end a good meal, you can try Almería’s pastries, a legacy of the Muslim period.

Nature

A wide range of nature areas lends personality to Almeria and makes the delight of visitors from all over the world who do not hesitate to go to the unspoiled beaches of Cabo de Gata-Níjar, hiking in the Sierra Nevada mountain range and watching imperial eagles on rocky vantage points.

Arts and crafts

Almería has a long tradition of arts and crafts, as the settlements and groups of artists show.

They go from traditional village pottery to prestigious work made of Macael marble, the same material that was used to build parts of the Alhambra in Granada. However, the Macael marble is unquestionably Almería's most valuable material. The marble is exported across Europe. Its name is linked to the villages in the so-called Marble Region and, curiously enough, it is taken from quarries close to public property, after paying a very low tax to extract it.

Textile trades, such as the Almeria jarapa rugs which are weaved in the town of Nijar and on looms hundreds of years old in Berja and Laujar de Andarax, and red coral from the Isle of Alborán are another vivid example of Almería’s arts and crafts.