What to Do in Spain for Vacation?

What to do in Spain?......See more in this Spain travel video

Experience more on a custom tour in Spain... the Mediterranean passion, Spanish culture, wines, tapas & history, tapas cuisine, beauty, fiestas, romantic hotels, meet Spaniards, medieval villages, flamenco, wines, style, islands, horses,castles, beaches, hunting, gardens, olive oil, & yoga.....our join our Spain small group Andalucia tour

Spain's Geography 101: Mountains, Valleys, Rivers, Platues...Dominated by high plateaus and mountain ranges such as the Pyrenees or the Sierra Nevada. Mainland Spain has major rivers running from these heights such as the Tajo, the Ebro, the Duero, the Guadiana and the Guadalquivir. Alluvial plains are found along the coast, the largest of which is that of the Guadalquivir in Andalusia, in the east there are alluvial plains with medium rivers like Segura, Júcar and Turia. Spain is bound to the east by Mediterranean Sea (containing the Balearic Islands), to the north by the Bay of Biscay and to its west by the Atlantic Ocean, where the Canary Islands off the African coast are found. 

Spain travel video guide - http://youtu.be/GwIPsBxp8j4



Spain's Sociology 101: Familia, Amigos, Tapas, Fiestas...The intense Mediterranean-ness of Spain anifests itself in a hundred subtle ways: in uncommon kindness and hospitality, in multi-cultural culinary traditions based on ingredients from Spain's own market gardens and orchards, in vibrant street life by day and by night, in a rich program of contemporary cultural activities, in the ever-present willingness to share a break from the stultifying routine of modern life-"una copa," "un cafelito," "un paseo," "una noche de marcha…" The Spanards need no excuse to get together and enjoy life. One of their favorite pastimes of friends and families is simply to "echar un rato juntos…" "spend some time together…" Therein, along with the olive oil & tapas cuisine, the music, dance, fiestas and the siesta, lies the part of essence of 21st century Mediterranean civilization.
Southern Spain is exotic Andalucia:


Enjoy a custom tour in Spain....Andalusia (Andalucía in Spanish) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities that constitute Spain. Its capital is Seville. Andalucia is bounded on the north by Extremadura and Castile-La Mancha, on the east by Murcia, on the south by the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean and Gibraltar, and on the west by Portugal. Tartessos, the capital of a once great power, was located in Andalusia.our join our Spain small group Andalucia tour


If you’ve ever seen El Cid, you know that the Moors conquered Iberia then the Catholics took over. Of course, that took almost 800 years—and in the process created Europe’s most fascinating and frankly gorgeous fusion of cultures and traditions.


More can be found in the entry Hispania Baetica, the name of the Roman province that corresponds to the region. The Islamic history can be found in the entry al-Andalus; "Andalusia" derives from this name the Moors gave to this land. The Spanish spoken in the Americas is largely descended from the Andalusian dialect of Castilian Spanish due to the role played by Seville as the gateway to Spain's American territories in the 16th and 17th centuries.
A lot of Moorish architecture is found in Andalusia, because it was the last stronghold of the Moors before the reconquista by the Catholic Monarchs completed in 1492. The most famous are the Alhambra in Granada, the Mezquita in Córdoba and the Torre del Oro and Giralda towers in Sevilla. Archaeological remains include Medina Azahara, near Córdoba.

The patios of Seville and the Alhambra Palace of Granada demonstrate a unique beauty that stimulates more than just the eye.The flowers, aromas and the way water in all its gurgling, splashing variety is used to cool the air that whispers through beautiful stone fretwork is unimaginable. The vastness of la vega—the province’s plain—is truly cinematic, scattered with whitewashed villages, punctuated by ruined alcazares (fortresses), and carpeted in vineyards, swatches of gnarled olive trees and stately groves of poplar. And the walks in the Pueblos Blancos --white-washed medieval villages—are gentle revelations every step of the way.

The rich nature in Andalusia offers the traveler snow and sea, mountains and plains, cities and towns enveloped in a historical ambience that, at times is as magical as the legends.Our resident guides are exceptionally well-connected so you get introductions to ceramicists, the families that own the olive groves, even into the kitchen or a private art studio in Sevilla. Can you tell? Andalucia is one of our favorite places on earth.
Seville is 2000 years of Roman, Arabian, Baroque and much more!Seville, the former royal port became the richest city in Europe after Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492. Its now rich in tapas cuisine, art, olive oil, architecture, bulls, Flamenco dancers and hospitality. Seville’s beauty inspired Mozart, Rossini and Bizet to compose operas such as “El Barbero de Sevilla” , "Don Juan" and "Carmen". Famous for its old monuments and intense nightlife, Seville will inspire you on many levels. Those who appreciate architecture should stop to see the 15th century Cathedral of Seville, the largest gothic Cathedral in the world. Another heavenly inspiration is the Giralda Tower, consisting of 5 naves and 25 chapels offering great views. While you’re there, take time to soak up the scenery of the small plazas and winding narrow streets where you’re sure to find tapas and a flamenco festival.
Hot Spots to Visit in Seville: Giralda Tower: The most striking monument in Seville without a doubt, this dominating tower that can be seen from all parts of the horizon with its ringing toll bells. Its construction over Roman stonework dates back to 1184, whose gold had cost 4,000 dinars in 1198 during the Spanish Moorish period. Be sure to climb the 300 feet to the top of Europe's tallest medieval towers for a excellent panoramic view of 2000 year old Sevilla!

The Alcázar Castle (Seville): The oldest royal residence in Europe still in use was built by Peter the Cruel (1350-69) in 1364, 78 years after the Moors left Seville. Ferdinand and Isabella once lived here. It is a example of the Mudéjar, or Moorish style and it was done by workers from the Alhambra in Granada.

Cathedral de Sevilla: The Christians are not the only occupants of Seville who considered this site holy; an enormous mosque stood here before the Reconquista. To quote the Christians who built the cathedral, they planned one "so immense that everyone, on beholding it, will take us for madmen." They succeeded. After St. Peter's in Rome and St. Paul's in London, the cathedral of this Andalusian capital is the largest in Europe.

Casa de Pilatos, the prototype of the Andalusian palace. The construction began at the end of the 15th century and was finished by Don Fadrique de Ribera, first Marquee of Tarifa, upon returning from his trip to Jerusalem in 1519. The name of Pontius Pilot comes from a popular belief that Don Fadrique reproduced the palace from the Roman's house in Jerusalem
Museo Provincial de Bellas Artes de Sevilla (Seville): The Prado doesn't own all the great Spanish art in the country. Located in the early 17th-century convent of La Merced, this Andalusian museum is famous for its works by such Spanish masters as Valdés Leal, Zurbarán, and Murillo. Spain's golden age is best exemplified by Murillo's monumental Immaculate Conception and Zurbaran's Apotheosis of St. Thomas Aquinas.
Granada: Last Moorish capital is a romantic and historic treasure trove and a paradise for a photographer on vacation!

Monuments, Culture, Climate & Ambiance: 2007 Small Group Tour
Gracious Mediterranean Lifestyle Granada tends to take first-time visitors by surprise. Most of them anticipate experiencing the city's stellar collection of historic architectural monuments from both the Arab and Christian traditions, starting with the Alhambra, Spain's most visited monumental complex. Many of them are acquainted with Granada's cultural heritage from pre-history down through San Juan de la Cruz, Santa Teresa and Federico García Lorca to our own times. All of them count on abundant sunshine for their visit. But not many tourists visiting Granada for the first-time are expecting the full immersion in the gracious Mediterranean lifestyle which they find here.
The city which is today Granada was founded by the Romans under the name of "Illibris." It was the Moors, who invaded in the eighth century A.D. and stayed on for seven centuries, who deemed the city "Granada." Ferdinand and Isabella, Spain's revered "Catholic Monarchs," conquered the Kingdom of Granada in 1492, culminating the Reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula for Christiandom.
It was during the siege of the city that Isabella of Castille conceded to Christopher Columbus the resources necessary to launch his expedición to the West Indies. This long and colorful history has left numerous imprints on Granada in the form of palaces, churches and other noble buildings which proclaim the rich cultural heritage of the city. The monumental duo comprised by the Alhambra and the Generalife, fortress, medina and palace of the Nazarí monarchs, is world renowned both for its evocative architecture and for its privileged vantage point overlooking the city of Granada. Within the same complex lies the Renaissance Palace built there in the 16th century by the emperor Charles the Fifth, grandson of the conquering Catholic Monarchs.

A Backdrop So Beautiful It's Almost Kitsch On the opposite side of the valley of the River Darro lies the Albaicín quarter, a fascinating collection of narrow white-walled streets which half hide the traditional town houses with gracious gardens which the Granadinos call "cármenes." Here in the Albaicín is located the Mirador de San Nicolás, the famous plaza where visitors are feted with one of the most renowned views in the world, that of the Alhambra and Generalife, with the snowy Sierra Nevada providing a backdrop so beautiful it's almost kitsch.
Adjacent to the Albaicín, just a bit farther up the River Darro but still with a commanding view of the Alhambra, is Sacromonte, with its hallowed abbey and traditional Gypsy-cave residences (most of which are now occupied by astute foreign residents). It is here that Granada's "zambra" flamenco shows have traditionally been staged in elaborate cave settings, and it is here that the Granada town hall has recently installed the Centro Flamenco de Estudios Escénicos. The new flamenco studies center is under the direction of flamenco dancer, Mario Maya, who initiated his distinguished career here in the zambras of Sacromonte at the age of nine.
Granada's Illustrious Resting Places Granada also offers visitors a Renaissance cathedral considered the first of its kind in Spain. Adjacent to the cathedral is the Royal Chapel (Capilla Real), commissioned by Ferdinand and Isabella as their last resting place. (Their first resting place was a tiny chapel on the Alhambra hill which is today subsumed by a hotel, the Parador de Turismo de Granada.) The city is also blessed with a score of historic churches built by the Christians after the Reconquest in a unique style which incorporated Moorish architectural themes and came to be known as "mudéjar."
Another obligatory stop on anyone's discerning Granada itinerary is the Casa-Museo Federico García Lorca in the Huerta de San Vicente, located in the municipal park dedicated to Granada's best-known and best-loved poet. The intimate little museum occupies the house and gardens where Lorca spent his summers as a child.
Besides this opulent monumental legacy, Granada offers a wide gamut of contemporary cultural attractions, starting with the city's annual International Festival of Music and Dance, with concerts and recitals staged in the Alhambra, the Palace of Charles the Fifth and the gardens of the Generalife. Other annual festival events in Granada are devoted to jazz, theater, and the tango. Add to this the stable offerings of Granada's museums, art galleries, public exhibition halls, theaters and auditoria and you have one of Europe's most evocative and best endowed destinations for cultural tourism. Barcelona is sophisticated, elegant, culturally rich and energetic!: 2007 Small Group TourThe historic capital of the Catalan kingdom that once controlled much of Mediterranean, is full of architecture that is unique & inspiring. It has world class museums include the Picasso Museum & the Fundacio Joan Miro. There is a fascinating old quarter, the Barri Gotic and a night scene that rivals any in the country. There are hundreds of cafes, bars, shops and sights. The greatest concentration of bars and restaurants is within walking distance of La Rambla. There is a Gothic cathedral where each Sunday at noon crowds gather for the performance of the sardana, a traditional Catalan dance. Also the architecture of Anton Guadí and others of modernista style is incredible!
Hot Spots to Visit in Barcelona Gaudi's homes + Parque Güell: There are various one-of-a-kind home designed inside and out by this Catalan genius in Barcelona. The park was started by Gaudí as a real-estate venture for a friend, the wealthy, well-known Catalan industrialist Count Eusebi Güell. However, the project was never completed. Only two houses were constructed. In 1926 the city took over the property and turned it into a public park. Throughout the homes and park you will see the surreal architecture for which Gaudí is famous.
Gothic Quarter: Known as the Barri Gótic, this is the old town district which is host to a wealth of Gothic monuments. This area was formerly an ancient fortified Roman village. It is the site of both historic monuments and modern institutions. Here you can see the Plaça Nova with its twin semicircular towers of the well-preserved Roman walls, the aqueduct which transported water from the Collserola hills, the Cathedral which dates back to the 14th and 15th centuries.
Picasso Museum: Picasso enthusiasts will not want to miss this. Two old palaces were converted into a museum to house a collection of works by Pablo Picasso. He donated 2,500 of his paintings, engravings and drawings to the museum in 1970. La Sagrada Familia: This amazing church, the Church of the Holy Family, is Gaudís masterpiece and one of the most recognizable landmarks of Barcelona. Unfortunately Gaudí died before it could be completed. Today work continues on the structure, but without any true idea of what Gaudí intended. Some speculate that the church will be completed by the middle of the 21st century.
Las Ramblas: This fantastic boulevard runs between Plaça de Catalunya and the port. Here you will find people of all ages and social classes enjoying the small stands that sell flowers, vegetables, books and newspapers as well as the street-theatres, cafes and terraces. Marvel at the street performers such as jugglers, singers, dancers, sidewalk artists and living statues. Madrid is much more than Europe's highest capital city!This cosmopolitan city is the capital of Spain as well as the home of the Spanish Royal Family. Characterized by intense cultural & artistic activity & a very lively nightlife, there’s little time for a siesta. Madrid really does stay open 24 hours a day – restaurants do not even open until eight or nine o'clock and many nightclubs are open until the early morning hours. A pleasant refuge from the hustle and bustle of the city is the Retiro Park, filled with statues and fountains and the occasional exhibitions held in Crystal Palace. Another place to escape is the Prado Museum, one of the world's finest art museums with works by El Greco, Goya and Velázquez. Of course, your trip would not be complete without a visit to the Royal Palace, an enormous 18th century palace whose 2800 rooms include tapestries, a royal clock collection and five Stradivarius violins.
Hot Spots to Visit in Madrid!
Prado Art Museum: First opened to the public in 1819, the Prado Art Museum remains one of Europe's key art galleries. It houses all the finest works collected by Spanish royalty. There are over 3,000 paintings including the world's finest collections of Velázquez, Bosch and Goya.
Plaza Mayor: The most important historical square in Old Madrid. Dating back to the 17th century, it was originally planned by Phillip II as the public meeting place for the new capital. Kings were crowned here, and demonstrations and festivals took place here. It is still widely used. In the summer months, it is an music stage and outdoor theatre; in the fall it hosts a book fair; and around Christmas, it takes on festive look with holiday decorations.
Retiro Park: This is the most popular of Madrid's parks and it covers 330 acres. It is situated behind the Prado Art Museum and offers a nice combination of wide open spaces and formal gardens. You can just sit on one of the many park benches or if you prefer, you can take a jog, row a boat, have a picnic or even have your fortune told.
Royal Palace: Once the principal royal residence until Alfonso XIII went into exile in 1931, the Royal Palace is used by the present royal family only on state occasions. It has more rooms and more pompous portraits of the monarchs than any other palace in Europe and its library has one of the biggest collections of maps, books, manuscripts and musical scores in the world.
The Autumn Festival: The Festival de Otoño has a lineup that attracts the cream of the European and Latin American musical communities. The usual roster of chamber music, symphonic pieces, and orchestral works is supplemented by a program of zarzuela (musical comedy), as well as Arabic and Sephardic pieces that were composed during the Middle Ages.
Very Spanish Cultural Experiences!: 2007 Cultural Tour
Passionate Flamenco: song, guitar & dance: It's best heard in some old tavern, in a neighborhood like the Barrio de Triana in Seville. From the lowliest taberna to the poshest nightclub, you can hear the staccato heel clicking, foot stomping, castanet rattling, hand clapping, and sultry guitar & tambourine sound. Some say its origins lie deep in Asia, but the Spanish gypsy has given the art form, which dramatizes inner conflict & pain, an original style. Performed Flamenco is a song, music and dance style which is strongly influenced by the Gitanos, but which has its deeper roots in Moorish and Jewish musical traditions.
Flamenco culture originated in Andalusia (Spain), but has since become one of the icons of Spanish music and even Spanish culture in general.
Etymologically, the word Flamenco in Spanish language originally meant Flemish. probably because minorities targeted by the Spanish Inquisition fled to more tolerant Flanders to avoid persecution. These songs were referred to as flamenco songs by their kin who remained in Spain, and later the term was applied to anything scandalous, loud, libertarian and bordering on bad taste. [1] Originally, flamenco consisted of unaccompanied singing (cante). Later the songs were accompanied by flamenco guitar (toque), rhythmic hand clapping (palmas), rhythmic feet stamping and dance (baile). The toque and baile are also often found without the cante, although the song remains at the heart of the flamenco tradition. More recently other instruments like the cajón (a wooden box used as a percussion instrument) and castanets (castañuelas) have been introduced. "Nuevo Flamenco", or New Flamenco, is a recent variant of Flamenco which has been influenced by modern musical genres, like rumba, salsa, pop, rock and jazz.
Spanish Flamenco Music & Dance history Many of the details of the development of flamenco are lost in Spanish history. There are several reasons for this lack of historical evidence: The turbulent times of the people involved in flamenco culture. The Moors, the Gitanos and the Jews were all persecuted and expelled by the Spanish Inquisition at various points in time as part of the Reconquista. The Gitanos mainly had an oral culture. Their folk songs were passed on to new generations by repeated performances in their social community.
Flamenco was for a long time not really considered an art form worth writing about according to Spaniards. Flamenco music has also slipped in and out of fashion several times during its existence.
Granada, the last Muslim stronghold, fell in 1492 when the armies of the catholic king Ferdinand II of Aragon and queen Isabella of Castile reconquered this city after about 800 years of mainly Moorish rule. The Treaty of Granada was created to have a formal base for upholding religious tolerance, and this paved the way for the Moors to surrender peacefully. For a few years there was a tense calm in and around Granada, however the inquisition did not like the religious tolerance towards Muslims and Jews. Therefore the inquisition used religious arguments to convince Ferdinand and Isabella to break the treaty and force the Moors and Jews to become Christians or leave Spain for good. In 1499, about 50,000 Moors were coerced into taking part in a mass baptism. During the uprising that followed, people who refused the choices of baptism or deportation to Africa, were systematically eliminated. What followed was a mass exodus of Moors, Jews and Gitanos from Granada city and the villages to the mountain regions (and their hills) and the rural country.
It was in this socially and economically difficult situation that the musical cultures of the Moors, Jews and Gitanos started to form the basics of flamenco music: a Moorish singing style expressing their hard life in Andalusia, the different compas (rhythm styles), rhythmic hand clapping and basic dance movements, see Andalusian cadence. Many of the songs in flamenco still reflect the spirit of desperation, struggle, hope, pride, and late-night partying of the people during this time. Much later other local traditional Spanish musical traditions would also influence, and be influenced by, the traditional flamenco styles.
The first time flamenco is mentioned in literature is in 1774 in the book Cartas Marruecas by José Cadalso. The origin of the name flamenco however, is a much-debated topic. Some people believe it is a word of Spanish origin and originally meant Flemish (Flamende). However, there are several other theories. One theory suggest an Arabic origin taken from the words felag mengu (meaning: 'peasant in flight' or 'fugitive peasant').
During the so-called golden age of flamenco, between 1869-1910, flamenco music developed rapidly in music cafés called cafés cantantes. Flamenco dancers also became one of the major attractions for the public of those cafés. Similarly, guitar players supporting the dancers increasingly gained a reputation, and so flamenco guitar as an art form by itself was born. Julián Arcas was one of the first composers to write flamenco music especially for the guitar.
The flamenco guitar (and the very similar classical guitar) is a descendent from the lute. The first guitars are thought to have originated in Spain in the 15th century. The traditional flamenco guitar is made of Spanish cypress and spruce, and is lighter in weight and a bit smaller than a classical guitar, to give the output a 'sharper' sound.
In 1922, one of Spain's greatest writers, Federico García Lorca and renowned composer Manuel de Falla organised the Fiesta del Cante Jondo, a folk music festival dedicated to cante jondo ("deep song"). They did this to stimulate interest in this, by that time unfashionable, flamenco music style. Two of Lorca's most important poetic works, Poema del Cante Jondo and Romancero Gitano, show Lorca's fascination with flamenco styles.
Flamenco Stylistic origins:Spanish, Gitano, Arab, Jewish folk music
Cultural origins:Granada, Cádiz, Jérez de la Frontera, Cordoba and Sevilla Typical instruments:Guitar, hand clapping, cajón
Mainstream popularity:Sporadic except among Gitanos, mostly popular in Spain and France Derivative forms: Subgenres Alegrías - Bulerias - Tangos - Fandangos - Farruca - Guajiras - Peteneras - Sevillana - Siguiriyas - Soleares - Tientos - Zambra - and many others, see the palos list below. Fusion genres New Flamenco Regional scenes
Other topics - Cante Chico - Cante Jondo - Cante Intermedio - Falseta
Flamenco music styles are called palos in Spanish. There are over 50 different styles of flamenco. A palo can be defined as the basic rhythmic pattern of a flamenco style, but also covers the whole musical and cultural context of a particular flamenco style.
The rhythmic patterns of the palo's are also often called compás. A compás is characterised by a recurring pattern of beats and accents. These recurring patterns make up a number of differentrhythmic and musical forms known as toques.
To really understand the different palos it is also important to understand their musical and cultural context: The mood intention of the palo (dancing - Fandango, consolation - Solea, fun - Buleria, etc.). The set of typical melodic phrases, called falseta's, which are often used in performances of a certain palo. The relation to similar palos. Cultural traditions associated with a palo (mens dance - Farruca). Palos by a great artist, flamenco can tear your heart out with its soulful singing. The most fundamental palos are: Toná, Soleá, Fandango and Seguiriya. These four palos all belong in the cante jondo category and form therhythmic basis for nearly all the other palos.
Flamenco cante consists of a number of traditional (and not-so-traditional) forms, with characteristic rhythmic and harmonic structures. The rhythm (compas) is perhaps the most fundamental distinguishing feature of the different flamenco forms. The cante jondo, called the mother of flamenco, consists of 12 beats, with accents on the 3rd, 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th beats. Songs are composed of several falseta's with rhythms defined by the song form.
Some of the forms are sung unaccompanied, while others usually have a guitar and sometimes other accompaniment. Some forms are danced while others traditionally are not. Amongst both thesongs and the dances, some are traditionally the preserve of men and others of women, while still others would be performed by either sex. Many of these traditional distinctions are now breaking down; for example the Farruca is traditionally a man's dance, but is now commonly performed by women too.
The classification of flamenco forms is not entirely uncontentious, but a common and convenient first classification is into three groups. The deepest, most serious forms are known as cante jondo (or cante grande), while relatively light, frivolous forms are called cante chico. Forms which do not fit into either category but lie somewhere between them are classified as cante intermedio. Many flamenco artists, including some considered to be amongst the greatest, have specialised in a single flamenco form.
Cantes of Flamenco - Cante Jondo Cante Intermedio Cante Chico Siguiriyas Bulerias Alegrías - Soleares Tangos Fandangos
Tientos Farruca - Peteneras Guajiras - Sevillana - Verdiales
Cuisine - Feasting on Tapas in the Tascas: Tapas, those bite-size portions washed down with wine, beer, or sherry, are reason enough to go to Spain! Tapas bars, called tascas, are a quintessential Spanish experience. Originally tapas were cured ham or chorizo (spicy sausage). Today they are likely to include everything--gambas (deep-fried shrimp), anchovies marinated in vinegar, stuffed peppers, a cool, spicy gazpacho, or hake salad. These dazzling spreads will hold you over until the fashionable 10pm dining hour."
Spanish cuisine is made of very different kinds of dishes due to the differences in geography, culture and climate. It is heavily influenced by the variety of seafood available from the waters that surround the country, Spain being the second (after Japan) consumer of fish. As Spain has had a history with many different cultural influences, the richness and variety of its cuisine is overwhelming, but all these ingredients have made up a unique cuisine with thousands of recipes and flavours. The international influences are perhaps most obvious in Barcelona. Next door to a shop selling ready-made falafels might be an Asian food restaurant, which is next to a traditional tapas bar, and on and on in amazing variety.
Much influence on Spanish cuisine has come from the Jewish and Moorish traditions. The Moors were a strong influence in Spain for many centuries and some of their food is still eaten in Spain today. However, pork is popular and for centuries eating pork was also a statement of ethnical limpieza de sangre. Several products of the Americas were introduced in Europe through Spain, and a modern Spanish cook couldn't do without potatoes, tomatoes, peppers or beans. These are some of the primary influences that have differentiated Spanish cuisine from Mediterranean cuisine, of which Spanish cuisine shares many techniques and food items.
Daily meals eaten by the Spanish in many areas of the country are still very often made traditionally by hand, from fresh ingredients bought daily from the local market. This is more common in the rural areas and less common in the large urban areas like Madrid, where supermarkets are beginning to displace the open air markets. However, even in Madrid food can be bought from the local shops, bread from the panadería, meat from the carnicería, etc.
Traditional Spanish cooking also often revolves around outdoor cooking over a fire, perhaps in a special clay or brick oven.
One popular custom when going out is to take tapas with your drink (sherry, wine, beer...). In some places, like Granada, tapas are given for free with your drink and have become very famous for that reason. It should be noted that almost every tapas bar serves something comestible when a drink is ordered, without charge.
Another traditional favorite is the churro with a mug of thick hot chocolate to dip the churro in. Churrerías, or stores that serve churros, are quite common. Specifically the Chocolatería de San Ginés in Madrid is very famous as a place to stop and have some chocolate with churros, often late into the night (even dawn) after being out on the town. Often traditional Spanish singers will be seen to entertain the guests.
A few Typical Spanish foods also include Paella (saffron rice) Fabada Asturiana (bean stew) Mariscos (shellfish) Gazpacho Soup Lechazo asado (roasted milk-fed lamb) Chuletillas (grilled chops of milk-fed lamb) Tortilla de patatas (egg omelette, with potatoes) Chorizo (spicy sausage) Jamón serrano (cured ham) Cocido (a chickpea and meat stew of sorts) Arroz a la Cubana Turrón, a dessert with almonds and honey, typical of Christmas Tortas de Aceite from Seville, a sweet Olive Oil pastry Cooking
Wines of Spain Spain has MANY regional difference in culture and cuisine one being the region of Catalonia:
Cuisine of Catalonia Catalan cuisine is based on the ingredients of the Mediterranean area: fresh vegetables (especially tomato, garlic, aubergine, red pepper, and artichoke), wheat products (bread, pasta), olive oils, wines, legumes (beans, chick peas), mushrooms, all sorts of pork preparations (sausages, ham), all sorts of cheese, poultry, lamb, and many types of fish like sardine, anchovy, tuna, and cod. Some of the characteristic tendencies of traditional Catalan cuisine have been fondness for pasta (only second to the Italian cuisine) and for cod (salted, dried, fresh, etc.), preparations that mix sweet and salty, stews with sauces based on botifarra (raw pork sausage) and the characteristic picada (grinded almonds, hazelnuts, pine nuts, etc. sometimes with garlic, herbs, biscuits). Some concoctions that have been exported or adapted beyond their original places are: Calçots (grilled green onions) Cod Catalan style, cod with raisins and pine nuts Escalivada (various grilled vegetables) Escudella (a soup) Esqueixada, salted cod salad with tomato and onion Fuet (a characteristic type of dried sausage) Mongetes amb botifarra (beans and pork sausage) Pa amb tomaquet (bread and tomato) Tonyina en escabetx, tuna marinated in a characteristic sauce with vinegar and herbs, named Salsa catalana even on canned tuna packed in Galicia Allioli, a thick sauce made of garlic and olive oil, used with grilled meats or vegetables, and some dishes like Valencian Fideua Sweets and desserts: Crema catalana (not so crème brûlée) Mel i mató, a plain dessert of mató cheese with honey. Mona de Pasqua Coca de llardons Coca de Sant Joan Panellets Tortell, a typical O-shaped pastry stuffed with marzipan, that on some special occasions is topped with glazed fruit. Torró or nougat is a traditional Christmas confectionery from Alicante to Perpignan. Nowadays many variants and flavours exist, but the traditional ones are these kinds based on almonds and honey: Agramunt nougat Marzipan Alacant nougat Xixona nougat
Bullfights: With origins as old as pagan Spain and even the Roman gladiators, the art of bullfighting is the expression of Iberian temperament and passions. Detractors object to the sport as cruel, bloody, violent, hot, and savage. Fans, however, view bullfighting as a microcosm of death, catharsis, and rebirth. These philosophical underpinnings may not be immediately apparent, but if you strive to understand the bullfight, it can be one of the most evocative and memorable events in Spain. Head for the plaza de toros (bullring) in any major city, but particularly in Madrid, Seville, or Granada. Tickets are either sol (sunny side) or sombra (in the shade); you'll pay more to get out of the sun. Observe how the feverish crowds appreciate the ballet of the banderilleros, the thundering fury of the bull, the arrogance of the matador--all leading to "death in the afternoon."
The running of the bulls in Pamplona: In 1926, Ernest Hemingway brought the frenetic charge of Pamplona's Festival of San Fermin to life in The Sun Also Rises. Today, that same energy still exists for the thousands who descend upon the city each July. At the center of the celebration is the famous encierro -- the running of the bulls. It is held at eight o'clock each morning from the 7th to the 14th of July inclusive. It consists largely of young men (although it admits all types) who run in front of the bulls to lead them from their pen up and into the bull-ring. It usually lasts from two to three minutes - although if there are complications due to loose bulls it can last much longer. The length of the run is some 800 metres (about half a mile) and you don’t have to sign up anywhere to take part; you just enter into the run and choose the street where you will run and try to do as best as you can.
In agriculture, olive oil is an oil extracted from the fruit of the European olive tree (Olea europaea L.), which originated in the Mediterranean area. It is used in cooking, cosmetics, and soaps. It is also used by Eastern Orthodox Christians as a fuel for their traditional oil lamps. Olive oil is regarded as a healthful dietary oil because of its high content of monounsaturated fat.
Olive oil The extraction of Olive oil is traditionally, olive oil was produced by beating the trees with sticks to knock the olives off and crushing them in stone or wooden mortars or beam presses. Nowadays, olives are ground to tiny bits, obtaining a paste that is mixed with water and processed by a centrifuge, which extracts the oil from the paste, leaving behind pomace.
Health claims In the United States, producers of olive oil may place the following health claim on product labels: Limited and not conclusive scientific evidence suggests that eating about two tablespoons (23 grams) of olive oil daily may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease due to the monounsaturated fat in olive oil. To achieve this possible benefit, olive oil is to replace a similar amount of saturated fat and not increase the total number of calories you eat in a day.
This decision was announced November 1, 2004 by the Food and Drug Administration after application was made to the FDA by producers. Similar labels are permitted for walnuts and omega-3 fatty acids which also contain monounsaturated oil.
Olive oil in history One of the earliest documented historical uses of olive oil is in religious ceremonies of the ancient Minoans. Olive oil was a central product of the Minoan civilization, where it is thought to have represented wealth. The Minoans put the pulp into settling tanks and, when the oil had risen to the top, drained the water from the bottom. It was also very common in the cuisine of Ancient Greece and classical Rome.
Olive Oil was also used by the ancient hebrews, they poured daily into the seven cups of the golden candelabrum in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Olive oil was also used for anointing the kings of Israel.
Historically, olive oil has been used for medicines, as a fuel in oil lamps, and to make soap.
Global olive oil market
The main producing countries in 2003 were: Country Production ConsumptionAnnual Consumption/pp (liters)Spain 44% 23% 15.0 Italy 20% 28% 13.5Greece 13% 11% 26.1 Turkey 7% 2% Syria 7% 4% North Africa 4% 4% United States ni 8% 0.6 France nil 4%Othe 5% 16%
Grades and classification The International Olive Oil Council (IOOC) sets standards of quality used by the major olive oil producing countries. It officially governs 95 percent of global production, and holds great influence over the rest. IOOC terminology is precise, but it can lead to confusion between the words that describe production and the words used on retail labels.
Classifying production Olive oil is classified by how it was produced, by its chemistry, and by its flavor. All production begins by transforming the olive fruit into olive paste. This paste is then macerated in order to allow the microscopic olive droplets to concentrate, then the oil is extracted by means of pressure (traditional method) or centrifugation (modern method). After extraction the remnant solid substance, called pomace, still contains a small quantity of oil. The several oils extracted from the olive fruit can be classified as: Virgin means the oil was produced by the use of physical means and no chemical treatment. The term virgin oil referring to production is different than Virgin Oil on a retail label. Refined means that the oil has been chemically treated to neutralize strong tastes (characterized as defects) and neutralize the acid content (free fatty acids). Refined oil is commonly regarded as lower quality than virgin oil; the retail labels extra-virgin olive oil and virgin olive oil cannot contain any refined oil. Olive-pomace oil means oil extracted from the pomace using chemical solvents — mostly hexane — and by heat. Quantitative analytical methods determine the oil's acidity, defined as the percent, measured by weight, of free oleic acid in it. This is a measure of the oil's chemical degradation — as the oil degrades, more fatty acids get free from the glycerides, increasing the level of free acidity. Another measure of the oil's chemical degradation is the peroxide level, which measures the degree to which the oil is oxidized (rancid). In order to classify olive oil by taste, it is subjectively judged by a panel of professional tasters in a blind taste test. This is also called its organoleptic quality.
Grades on retail labels The IOOC standards are complicated. The labels in stores, however, clearly show an oil's grade: Extra-virgin olive oil comes from the first pressing of the olives, contains no more than 0.8% acidity, and is judged to have a superior taste. There can be no refined oil in extra-virgin olive oil. Extra-virgin oil typically has a noticeable green color. Virgin olive oil with an acidity less than 2%, and judged to have a good taste. There can be no refined oil in virgin olive oil. Olive oil is a blend of virgin oil and refined virgin oil, containing at most 1% acidity. It commonly lacks a strong flavor. Olive-pomace oil is a blend of refined olive-pomace oil and possibly some virgin oil. It is fit for consumption, but it may not be called olive oil. Olive-pomace oil is rarely found in a grocery store; it is often used for certain kinds of cooking in restaurants. Lampante oil is olive oil not used for consumption; lampante comes from olive oil's ancient use as fuel in oil-burning lamps. Lampante oil is mostly used in the industrial market. ]Label wording Olive oil vendors choose the wording on their labels very carefully. "Imported from Italy" produces an impression that the olives were grown in Italy, although in fact it only means that the oil was bottled there. A corner of the same label may note that the oil was packed in Italy with olives grown in Spain, Italy, Greece, and Tunisia. Since Spain produces nearly half of the world's olive harvest, it is likely the oil "imported from Italy" comes from olives grown in Spain. "100% Pure Olive Oil" sounds like a high-end product, but in fact is often the lowest quality available in a retail store: better grades would have "virgin" on the label. Having said that, 100% pure olive oil might be perfect for baking and frying, since high heat can destroy the rich flavor of extra-virgin oil. "Made from refined olive oils" suggests that the essence was captured, but in fact means that the taste and acidity were chemically produced. "Lite olive oil" suggests a low fat content, whereas in fact it refers to a lighter color. All olive oil—which is, after all, fat—has 120 calories per tablespoon (33 kJ/ml). "From hand-picked olives" gives the impression that extraordinary care went into the oil's production, whereas it is not clear that a manual harvest produces better oil than the common tree-shaking method. The market
Olive tree in Portugal The International Olive Oil Council is an inter-governmental organization based in Madrid, Spain that promotes olive oil around the world by tracking production, defining quality standards, and monitoring authenticity. More than 99% of the world's olives grow in nations that are members of the Council. Current member countries are Algeria, Croatia, Egypt, the EU, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Monaco, Morocco, Serbia & Montenegro, Syria, and Tunisia.The United States is not a member of the IOOC, and the United States Department of Agriculture does not legally recognize its classifications (such as extra-virgin olive oil). The USDA uses a different system, which it defined in 1948 before the IOOC existed. The California Olive Oil Council, a private US trade group, is petitioning the Department to adopt terminology and practices that shadow the IOOC's rules.Among global producers, Spain leads with more than 40% of world production, followed by Italy and Greece. Much of the Spanish crop is exported to Italy, where it is both consumed and repackaged for sale abroad as Italian olive oil. Although boutique groceries sell high-quality Spanish olive oil at a premium, Italian olive oil has the popular reputation for quality.
Olive oil in contemporary religious use
Used as a medicinal agent in ancient times, and as a cleanser for athletes (athletes in the ancient world were slathered in olive oil, then scraped to remove dirt), it also has religious symbolism related to healing and strength and to "consecration" -- God's setting a person or place apart for special work. The Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches use olive oil for the Oil of Catechumens (used to bless and strengthen those preparing for Baptism), Oil of the Sick (used to confer the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick), and olive oil mixed with a perfuming agent like balsam is consecrated by bishops as Sacred Chrism, which is used in conferring the sacraments of Confirmation (as a symbol of the strengthening of the Holy Spirit) and Holy Orders (by which deacons, priests and bishops are made), in the consecration of altars and churches and, traditionally, in the "consecration" of monarchs at their coronation. To this day, Eastern Orthodox Christians use oil lamps in their churches and home prayer corners. To make a vigil lamp, a votive glass with a half-inch of water on the bottom, is filled the rest of the way with olive oil. The votive glass is placed in a metal holder; different kinds of metal holders may hang from a bracket on the wall, or one that sits on a table. A cork float with a wick is placed in the glass and floats on top of the oil. The wick is then lit. When it comes time to douse the flame, the float can be (carefully!) pressed downward into the oil, and the oil douses the flame.
Until Breakfast After the 10:00 p.m. dinner hour the streets of Granada blossom with bars, pubs and discotheques where young visitors can party till the wee hours of the morning, something the locals have elevated to a high science. The classic night out on the town in Granada ends up with a 6-7:00 a.m. breakfast of "churros con chocolate," the local version of donuts and hot chocolate. For those who prefer something more traditional than the disco club, Granada also offers bars and restaurants with the Andalusian flamenco flavor which the granadinos call "duende." The most popular venue for these flamenco evenings is the Sacromonte cave district, once the traditional Gypsy quarter, but now more favored by bohemian foreign residents attracted to the sunny hillside with its curious cave dwellings and astonishing view of the Alhambra on the opposite side of the valley of the River Darro.
Spanish Office Hours are Different Official office hours in Spain are from 8:30 or 9:00 to 14:00 or 14:30. That is the best time to contact any Spanish companies or institutions. In the afternoon, most public services are closed, except emergency services. Private companies are normally open from 17:00 to 20:30 or 21:00 in the afternoon. During the summer, many companies work a "jornada intensiva" from 8:00 am till 3:00 p.m. and take the afternoon off.
Access to Granada Granada has excellent accesses via train, plane and automobile. The airport is just 15 kilometers from Granada, close to the historic town of Santa Fe. Cars can be rented at the airport, and there is also a frequent bus service to the city. The train station is in the city center, making it particularly convenient. The A-92 freeway takes motorists to Seville in two-and-a-half hours, to Málaga in an hour and a half, making Granada an excellent base for touring in Andalusia. The city's new four-lane "circunvalación" ring road greatly facilitates motor traffic in and around Granada, elegantly resolving access to both the Alhambra and the Sierra Nevada ski station. (See Access Map . More information in Granadatur.com .) The new bus station on the city's northern edge provides bus service with the four corners of the Spanish geography.
Distance in KM to other major Spanish cities from Granada
Albacete 363
Cuenca 479
Pontevedra 1057
Almería 166
Girona 968
San Sebastian 903
Ávila 534
Huelva 350
Santander 827
Badajoz 438
Jáen 99
Segovia 521
Barcelona 868
León 761
Sevilla 256
Bilbao 829
Lugo 770
Soria 665
Burgos 671
Madrid 434
Tarragona 770
Cádiz 335
Málaga 129
Toledo 397
Cáceres 485
Murcia 278
Valencia 519
Ciudad Real 278
Oviedo 885
Valladolid 627
Córdoba 166
Palencia 674
Vitoria 785
La Coruña 1034
Pamplona 841
Zaragoza 759
The Environs of Granada Granada is situated at the foot of Sierra Nevada, the highest mountain range of the Iberian Peninsula. Besides providing a dramatic backdrop for the city, Sierra Nevada is home to Europe's southernmost ski station, of of Europe's best, and the scene of important international ski championships in recent years. The ski area is less than an hour's drive from the city, via one of Europe's finest ski access roads.
The Mediterranean beach is also within easy striking distance of Granada, less than an hour by car, with resort and residential towns like Motril, Almuñecar, Salobreña and many more. The traditional summering spot for local families, the Granada coast, with it's sub-tropical climate, and agriculture dedicated to exotic fruits, is increasingly attracting foreign visitors and residents.
A prime choice for rural tourism in the province of Granada is the Sierra Alpujarra, actually Sierra Nevada's southern slopes which drop all the way to the Mediterranean. Tucked into the region's canyons and valleys are more than 50 villages. Its bucolic air, its forests of oaks and chestnut trees and its welcoming villagers, not to mention their renowned rosé wines, mountain hams and local handicrafts, make this region a powerful attraction for visitors both from the rest of Spain and abroad.
The Climate Thanks to the numerous geographical accidents in its makeup, the province of Granada offers enormous climactic contrasts in a relatively small area. Within its essentially Continental climate matrix, and despite a median year-round temperature of 14,8ºC, the month of January sees a median temperature of 6º but with maximum values in the 20's, while August enjoys a 25º average, with maximums passing 40º. There is a marked contrast between the long durations of summer and winter and the brevity of spring and fall. Rainfall is meager, an average of 474 liters annually, and falls mainly between the months of October and May. Granada summers are practically rain free.
Granada's Principal Fiestas Three of the year's fiestas are considered essential in Granada: Holy Week, the Crosses of May and Corpus Christi. The first of these, "Semana Santa," is celebrated in March or April when local "cofradías" take their precious images of saints and virgens out on the streets in ritual processions which attract thousands of visitors every year. The one-day "Cruces de Mayo" fiesta is unique to Granada and is perhaps the most delightful of all for its contest of flower-bedecked giant crucifixes in most of the plazas of the city and its cheerful and colorful rites of spring. Corpus Christi, Granada's principal fiesta, takes place in June. The procession itself is limited to Thursday but the festivities in the fairgrounds just outside the city are spun out for a whole week. First-time visitors are invariably captivated by the stellar levels of eating, drinking, dancing, fun and high folderol.
More information on the fiestas of Granada
Festivals Granada hosts one of Spain's most prestigious annual musical events, the International Festival of Music and Dance, in its 52nd edition this year. This festival has grown over the past half century in program, attendance and stature and this year offers three stunning weeks (the last two of June and the first of July) of musical programming. The concerts, camera music, recitals, ballets, contemporary dance, antique music, electro-acoustic, flamenco and contemporary music events take place in the most beautiful settings all over the city: in the Alhambra and Generalife, the Albaicín, the Cathedral and many other evocative historical places.
The Granada Jazz Festival has also established itself as a favorite in Granada and done its part to foment genuine "afición" for this black American musical idiom. Since 1980 it has brought to this city jazz legends like Miles Davis, Oscar Peterson, Charlie Haden, Art Blakey, Tete Montoliu, Dizzy Gillespie, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock or Chano Domínguez.
Granada's Tango Festival is in its 15th edition this year and has consolidated itself as one of this city's most interesting initiatives, not only in musical terms, but as a valuable cultural interchange between two cultures which are so close and, at the same time, so distant.
Granada also hosts a series of other festivals which reinforce this city's devotion to artistic and cultural matters. These include the annual Theater and Short Film Festivals, as well as other one-time events which arise periodically. Famous Spaniards From Roman emperor Trajan to chef Ferran Adria
Explorers Cosme Damián Churruca (1761–1805), explorer, astronomer and naval officer, mapped the Straight of Magallanes (1788–1789) Hernán Cortés (1485–1547), conquistador of old Mexico Lope de Aguirre (1511–1561), soldier, adventurer, killer and traitor, explored the Amazonas looking for El Dorado Diego de Almagro (1475–1538), explorer and conquistador, first European arriving Chile Juan Bautista de Anza (1736–1788), soldier and explorer, founded San Francisco, California Pedro Arias de Ávila, Pedrarias Dávila (1440–1531), conquistador, founder of Panama and governor of Nicaragua Fray Tomás de Berlanga (1487–1551), bishop of Panama, discovered the Galápagos Islands Gaspar de Espinosa (1467/77?–1537), soldier and explorer, first European reaching the coast of Nicaragua, co-founder of Panama City Hernando de Soto (1500–1542), explorer and conquistador, first European exploring Florida and the plains of eastern North America, discovered the Mississippi river and the Ohio river Juan Sebastián Elcano (1476–1526), explorer and sailor, first man circumnavigating the World Vasco Núñez de Balboa (1475–1519), first to sight the Pacific Ocean, founding Darién Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca first European exploring southwestern United States, 1527–1536, also explored South America, 1540–1542. Francisco de Orellana, first European exploring the Amazonas river. Francisco Pizarro (1471–1541), conqueror of the Inca Empire in Peru Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo (1499–1543), explorer, founded the city of San Diego, California
Film directors Pedro Almodóvar (born 1949) Alejandro Amenábar (born 1972) Montxo Armendáriz Juanma Bajo Ulloa Iciar Bollaín José Luis Borau Luis Buñuel (1900–1983) Mario Camus Isabel Coixet Fernando León de Aranoa (born 1968) Alex de la Iglesia Agustín Díaz Yanes Víctor Erice Fernando Fernán Gómez Marco Ferreri Jesus Franco José Luis Garci (born 1944) Luis García Berlanga Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón Bigas Luna (born 1946) Julio Medem (born 1958) Fernando Méndez Leite Pilar Miró José Luis Sáenz de Heredia Carlos Saura (born 1932) Santiago Segura David Trueba Fernando Trueba Benito Zambrano Iván Zulueta (born 1943)
LeadersTrajan (53–117), Roman Emperor, 98–117 Hadrian (A.D. 117–138), Roman Emperor Under his orders "Hadrian Wall" was built in the UK.Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–80), Roman EmperoJosé Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (born 1960), President Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, Duke of Alba (1507–1582) José María Aznar (born 1953), former President Spanish monarchs - Juan Carlos de Borbón (born 1938), King of Spain since 1975 Josep Borrell (born 1947), President of the European Parliament José Antonio Cánovas del Castillo President and historian Rodrigo 'Ruy' Díaz de Vivar, El Cid (c. 1045–1099), Spanish knight and hero Buenaventura Durruti (1896–1936) Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, El Gran Capitán, (1453–1515) Francisco Franco (1892–1975), army general and political leader. Ruled Spain for 41 years as 'Caudillo' Felipe González (born 1942), former President Queen Isabella I, Queen of Spain (1451–1504) Casto Méndez Núñez (1830–1880), naval officer Leopoldo O'Donnell Y Jorris (1809–1861), former President and military Spanish Rodrigo Rato (born 1949) Director of the IMF Javier Solana (born 1942), ex Secrtetary General of NATO, EU foreign policy chief
Actors Victoria Abril Elena Anaya Antonio Banderas Celso Bugallo Mark Consuelos Penélope Cruz Angelines Fernández Fernando Fernán Gómez Sancho Gracia Alfredo Landa Jordi Molla Sara Montiel Marisa Paredes Francisco Rabal Fernando Rey Pepe Sancho Paz Vega
Architects Ricardo Bofill (born 1939) Santiago Calatrava (born 1951) Ildefons Cerdà (1815–1876) Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926) Rafael Moneo (born 1937) Eduardo Torroja (1899–1961) Enric Miralles (1955–2000)
Authors Mateo Alemán (1547–c. 1609) Vicente Aleixandre (1888–1984), poet, Nobel prize 1977 Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (1836–1870), poet Jacinto Benavente (1866–1954), dramatist, Nobel prize 1922 Pedro Calderón de la Barca (1600–1681), playwright and poet Rosalía de Castro (1837–1885), poet Camilo José Cela (1916–2002), novelist, Nobel prize 1989 Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616), author and soldier, writer of El Quijote, or Don Quixote Miguel Delibes (born 1920), novelist José Echegaray (1832–1916), dramatist, Nobel prize 1904 Leandro Fernández de Moratín (1760–1828), dramatist and neoclassical poet Antonio Gala Benito Pérez Galdós Federico García Lorca (1898–1936), poet and playwright Luis de Góngora, poet and priest Juan Ramón Jiménez (1881–1958), poet, Nobel prize 1956 Jon Juaristi Mariano José de Larra (1809–1837), journalist Antonio Machado (1875–1939), poet Salvador de Madariaga Javier Marías (born 1951), novelist and translator Juan Marsé (born 1933), novelist Joanot Martorell Tirso de Molina (1571–1648), playwright Agustín Moreto y Cavana, playwright Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos (1744–1811), statesman and author José Ortega y Gasset (1883–1955), author Emilia Pardo Bazán (1851–1921), author Arturo Pérez-Reverte (born 1951), novelist and war reporter Francisco de Quevedo (1580–1645) Fernando de Rojas Francisco de Rojas Zorrilla, playwright José Martínez Ruiz (1863–1967), journalis, poet, political radical, writer Juan Ruiz de Alarcón, playwright Pedro Salinas, (1891–1951), poet Ramón J. Sender (1901–1982), novelist, journalist and anarchist Torcuato Luca de Tena (1923–1999), novelist, journalist and lawyer Miguel Unamuno (1864–1931), existentialist author Ramón María del Valle-Inclán (1866–1936), author Garcilaso de la Vega (1501–1586), poet Félix Lope de Vega (1562–1635), poet and playwright Cristóbal Zaragoza (1923–1999), novelist and philosopher María de Zayas y Sotomayor José Zorrilla y Moral, poet and playwright Spanish language poets Musicians Isaac Albéniz (1860–1909), composer Pau Casals (1876–1973), cello Manuel de Falla (1876–1946), composer Enrique Granados (1867–1916), composer Antonio Katrasca Paco de Lucía (born 1947), guitar Miguel Pardos (born 1989), guitar Andrés Segovia (1893–1987), guitar Joaquín Turina (1882–1949), composer Xavier Cugat (1900–1990), bandleader
Singers Edward Aguilera (born 1976), first European member of Menudo Victoria de los Ángeles (born 1923), soprano Miguel Bosé Nino Bravo (1944–1973) Montserrat Caballé (born 1933), soprano José Carreras (born 1946), tenor Charo Plácido Domingo (born 1941), tenor Enrique Iglesias (born 1975), pop singer Julio Iglesias (born 1943), pop singer Julio José Iglesias (born 1973), pop singer Alfredo Kraus (1927–1999), tenor La Pandilla teen group, all members are from Spain Raphael Los del Río Enrique Urquijo (1960–1999), New Wave musician Joan Manuel Serrat
Painters Salvador Dalí (1904–1989), visionary artist Francisco Goya (1746–1828), painter El Greco Juan Gris (1887–1927), cubist painter from Madrid Jesús Mari Lazkano Joan Miró Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1618–1682), painter Pablo Picasso (1881–1973), painter Antoni Tàpies Darío Urzay Diego Velázquez (1599–1660), painter Ignacio Zuloaga (1870–1945), painter Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1644), painter
Philosophers Abraham ben Samuel Abulafia (1240– probably 1292), Philosopher, an early cabbalist Maimónides (1135–1204), Philosopher José Ortega y Gasset George Santayana (1863–1952), US writer Fernando Savater (born 1947), Philosopher Lucius Anneo Seneca (4 bC–65 aC), Philosopher
Scientists Algafequi, glasses inventor (Cordoba) José María Algué (1856–1930), Meteorologist, inventor of the barocyclometer, the nephoscope, and the microseismograph Martín de Azpilicueta (1492–1586), economist, theologist and philosopher Ángel Cabrera (1879–1960), naturalist, investigated the South-American fauna José Celestino Bruno Mutis (1732–1808), botanicist, doctor, philosopher and mathematician, carried out relevant research about the American flora, founded one of the first astronomic observatories in America (1762) Mateo José Buenaventura Orfila (1787–1853), doctor and chemist, father of modern toxicology, leading figure in forensic toxicology. Juan de la Cierva y Codorníu (1895–1936), aeronautical engineer pioneer of rotary flight inventor of the autogyro Jaime Ferrán (1852–1929), doctor and researcher, discovered several vaccines Francisco Hernández (1517–1587), botanicist, carried out important research about the Mexican flora Manuel Jalón Corominas (born 1925), aeronautical engineer, inventor, and officer of the Spanish Air Force Carlos Jiménez Díaz (1898–1967), doctor and researcher, leading figure in pathology Gregorio Marañón (1887–1960), doctor and researcher, leading figure in endocrinology Narcís Monturiol (1818–1885), physicist and inventor, pioneer of underwater navigation Severo Ochoa (1905–1993), doctor and biochemist, achieved the synthesis of ribonucleic acid (RNA), Nobel prize in 1959 Joan Oró (born 1923), biochemist, carried out important research about the origin of life Julio Palacios Martínez (1891–1970), physicist and mathematician Isaac Peral y Caballero (1851–1895), engineer and sailor, designer of the first operative submarine Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852–1934), father of Neuroscience, Nobel prize in 1906 Julio Rey Pastor (1888–1962), mathematician, leading figure in geometry Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente (1928–1980), naturalist, leading figure in ornithology, ethology, ecology and science divulgation Miguel Servet (1511–1553), scientist, surgeon, geographer, linguist, helenist, humanist, and philosopher Leonardo Torres y Quevedo (1852–1936), engineer and mathematician, pioneer of automatic calculation machines, inventor of the automatic chess, pioneer of remote control, designer of the funicular over the Niagara Falls Antonio de Ulloa (1716–1795), scientist, soldier and author
Sports Fernando Alonso (born 1981), Formula One driver Severiano Ballesteros, golfer Galo Blanco, tennis player Fermin Cacho Ruiz, athlete, Olympic 1,500 Gold Medalist Pedro Carrasco, world champion boxer Javier Castillejo, world champion boxer Juan Carlos Ferrero, tennis player, French Open champion Sergio García, golfer Pau Gasol, NBA basketball player Miguel Induráin, Tour de France champion cyclist Raúl López, NBA basketball player Feliciano López,tennis player Carlos Moyà, tennis player Rafael Nadal,tennis player Ángel Nieto, motorbikes pilot, 12+1 times champion of the world José María Olazábal, golfer Manuel Orantes (born 1949), champion tennis player Raúl, football player Carlos Sainz, rally driver Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, tennis player, French Open champion Javier Sánchez, tennis player, brother of Arantxa Manuel Santana (born 1938), champion tennis player
Chefs & Others Ferrán Adriá, cook Karlos Arguiñano, cook and entertainer Carlos D. Cidon, chef Joaquín Cortés, dancer Luis Miguel González Lucas, better known as Luis Miguel Dominguín, bullfighter, father of Miguel Bosé Chabeli Iglesias, reporter, daughter of Julio Iglesias Federica Montseny, anarchist, politician, writer Diego Salcedo, priest, first Spaniard killed by Puerto Rican Taínos Juan Sánchez Vidal, renowned collector Pedro Subijana, cook Cristina Sánchez, bullfighter Aguas Santas Oca & Navarro, first lady of Honduras Torquemada, inquisitor Joan March Ordinas, political and businesmen.
History and current Spain info: Prehistory The original peoples of the Iberian peninsula (in the sense that they are not known to have come from elsewhere), consisting of a number of separate tribes, are given the generic name of Iberians. This may have included the Basques, the only pre-Celtic people in Iberia surviving to the present day as a separate ethnic group. The most important culture of this period is that of the city of Tartessos. Beginning in the 9th century BC, Celtic tribes entered the Iberian peninsula through the Pyrenees and settled throughout the peninsula, becoming the Celt-Iberians.
The seafaring Phoenicians, Greeks and Carthaginians successively settled along the Mediterranean coast and founded trading colonies there over a period of several centuries.
Around 1,100 BC Phoenician merchants founded the trading colony of Gadir or Gades (modern day Cádiz) near Tartessos. In the 8th century BC the first Greek colonies, such as Emporion (modern Empúries), were founded along the Mediterranean coast on the East, leaving the south coast to the Phoenicians. The Greeks are responsible for the name Iberia, after the river Iber (Ebro in Spanish). In the 6th century BC the Carthaginians arrived in Iberia while struggling with the Greeks for control of the Western Mediterranean. Their most important colony was Carthago Nova (Latin name of modern day Cartagena).
Hispania: Spain & the Roman Empire The Romans arrived in the Iberian peninsula during the Second Punic war in the 2nd century BC, and annexed it under Augustus after two centuries of war with the Celtic and Iberian tribes and the Phoenician, Greek and Carthaginian colonies becoming the province of Hispania. It was divided in Hispania Ulterior and Hispania Citerior during the late Roman Republic; and, during the Roman Empire, Hispania Taraconensis in the northeast, Hispania Baetica in the south and Lusitania in the southwest.
Hispania supplied the Roman Empire with food, olive oil, wine and metal. The emperors Trajan, Hadrian and Theodosius I, the philosopher Seneca and the poets Martial and Lucan were born in Spain. The Spanish Bishops held the Council at Elvira in 306.
Most of Spain's present languages, religion, and laws originate from this Roman period.
Muslim Spain Al-Andalus and Reconquista From the 8th to the 15th centuries, parts of the Iberian peninsula were ruled by Muslims (the Moors) who had crossed over from North Africa. Christian and Muslim kingdoms fought and allied among themselves. The Muslim taifa kings competed in patronage of the arts, the Way of Saint James attracted pilgrims from all Western Europe and the Jewish population of Iberia set the basis of Sephardic culture. Much of Spain's distinctive art originates from this seven-hundred-year period, and many Arabic words made their way into Spanish and Catalan, and from them to other European languages.
Renaissance in Spain By 1512, most of the kingdoms of present-day Spain were politically unified, although not as a modern centralized state. The grandson of Isabel and Fernando, Carlos I, extended his crown to other places in Europe and the rest of the world. The unification of Iberia was complete when Carlos I's son, Felipe II, became King of Portugal in 1580, as well as of the other Iberian Kingdoms (collectively known as "Spain" since this moment).
During the 16th century,with Carlos I and Felipe II, Spain became the most powerful European nation, its territory covering most of South and Central America, Asia - Pacific, the Iberian peninsula, southern Italy, Germany, and the Low Countries. This was later known as the Spanish Empire.
It was also the wealthiest nation but the uncontrolled influx of goods and minerals from Spanish colonisation of the Americas resulted in rampant inflation and economic depression.
In 1640, under Felipe IV, the centralist policy of the Count-Duke of Olivares provoked wars in Portugal and Catalonia. Portugal became an independent kingdom again and Catalonia enjoyed some years of French-supported independence but was quickly returned to the Spanish Crown, except Rosellon.
A series of long and costly wars and revolts followed in the 17th century, beginning a steady decline of Spanish power in Europe. Controversy over succession to the throne consumed the country during the first years of the 18th century (see War of the Spanish Succession). It was only after this war ended and a new dynasty was installed — the French Bourbons (see House of Bourbon) — that a centralized Spanish state was established and the first Borbon king Philip V of Spain in 1707 cancelled the Aragon court and changed the title of king of Castilla and Aragon for the current king of Spain.
19th Century Spain was occupied by Napoleon in the early 1800s, but the Spaniards rose in arms. After the War of Independence (1808–1814), a series of revolts and armed conflicts between Liberals and supporters of the ancien régime lasted throughout much of the 19th century, complicated by a dispute over dynastic succession by the Carlists which led to three civil wars. After that, Spain was briefly a Republic, from 1871 to 1873, a year in which a series of coups reinstalled the monarchy.
In the meantime, Spain lost all of its colonies in the Caribbean region and Asia-Pacific region during the 19th century, a trend which ended with the loss of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Philippines and Guam to the United States after the Spanish-American War of 1898.
20th centuryThe 20th century initially brought little peace; colonisation of Western Sahara, Spanish Morocco and Equatorial Guinea was attempted. A period of dictatorial rule (1923–1931) ended with the establishment of the Second Spanish Republic. The Republic offered political autonomy to the Basque Country and Catalonia and gave voting rights to women. However, with increasing political polarisation, anti-clericalism and pressure from all sides, coupled with growing and unchecked political violence, the Republic ended with the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in July 1936. Following the victory of the nationalist forces in 1939, General Francisco Franco ruled a nation exhausted politically and economically.
After World War II, being one of few surviving fascist regimes in Europe, Spain was politically and economically isolated and was kept out of the United Nations until 1955, when it became strategically important for U.S. president Eisenhower to establish a military presence in the Iberian peninsula. This opening to Spain was aided by Franco's rabid anti-communism. In the 1960s, more than a decade later than other western European countries, Spain began to enjoy economic growth and gradually transformed into a modern industrial economy with a thriving tourism sector. Growth continued well into the 1970s, with Franco's government going to great lengths to shield the Spanish people from the effects of the oil crisis.
Upon the death of the dictator General Franco in November 1975, his personally-designated heir Prince Juan Carlos assumed the position of king and head of state. With the approval of the Spanish Constitution of 1978 and the arrival of democracy, the old historic nationalities — Basque Country, Catalonia, Galicia and Andalusia— were given far-reaching autonomy, which was then soon extended to all Spanish regions, resulting in one of the most decentralized territorial organizations in Western Europe. However, the radical nationalism in the Basque country and the terrorist group ETA continues to be one of the most important problems facing Spain.
Adolfo Suárez González, Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo Bustelo, after an attempted coup d'état in 1981, Felipe González Márquez (when Spain joined NATO and European Union), José María Aznar López and José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero have been prime ministers of Spain.
Politics
Politics of Spain Spain is a constitutional monarchy, with a hereditary monarch and a bicameral parliament, the Cortes Generales or National Assembly. The executive branch consists of a Council of Ministers presided over by the President of Government (comparable to a prime minister), proposed by the monarch and elected by the National Assembly following legislative elections.
The legislative branch is made up of the Congress of Deputies (Congreso de los Diputados) with 350 members, elected by popular vote on block lists by proportional representation to serve four-year terms, and a Senate or Senado with 259 seats of which 208 are directly elected by popular vote and the other 51 appointed by the regional legislatures to also serve four-year terms.
Spain is, at present, what is called a State of Autonomies, formally unitary but, in fact, functioning as a Federation of Autonomous Communities, each one with different powers (for instance, some have their own educational and health systems, others do not) and laws. There are some problems with this system, since some autonomous governments (especially those dominated by nationalist parties) are seeking a more federalist—or even confederate—kind of relationship with Spain, while the Central Government is trying to restrict what some see as excessive autonomy of some autonomous communities (e.g. Basque Country and Catalonia).
The terrorist group ETA (Basque Homeland and Freedom) is trying to achieve Basque independence through violent means, including bombings and killings of politicians and police. Although the Basque Autonomous government does not condone any kind of violence, their different approaches to the separatist movement are a source of tension between the federal and Basque governments.
On May 17, 2005, all the parties in the Congress of Deputies, except the PP, passed the Central Government's motion of beginning peace talks with the ETA with no political concessions and only if it gives up all its weapons. PSOE, CiU, ERC, PNV, IU-ICV, CC and the mixt group -BNG, CHA, EA y NB- supported it with a total of 192 votes, while the 147 PP parliamentaris objected.
On February 20th 2005, Spain became the first country to allow its people to vote on the European Union constitution that was signed in October 2004. The rules states that if any country rejects the constitution then the constitution will be declared void. The final result was very strongly in affirmation of the constitution, making Spain the first country to approve the constitution via referendum (Hungary, Lithuania and Slovenia approved it before Spain, but they did not hold referenda).
Administrative divisions
Administratively, Spain is divided into 50 provinces, grouped into 17 autonomous communities and 2 autonomous cities with high degree of autonomy.
Autonomous communities
Autonomous communities of Spain
Autonomous communities of Spain Spain consists of 17 autonomous communities (comunidades autónomas) and 2 autonomous cities (ciudades autónomas; Ceuta and Melilla). Andalusia (Andalucía)
Aragon (Aragón) Principality of Asturias (Principáu d'Asturies in Asturian/Principado de Asturias in Spanish) Balearic Islands (Illes Balears in Catalan / Islas Baleares in Spanish) Basque Country (Euskadi in Basque/País Vasco in Spanish)
Canary Islands (Islas Canarias)
Cantabria Castile-La Mancha (Castilla-La Mancha) Castile-Leon (Castilla y León in Spanish) Catalonia (Catalunya in Catalan/Cataluña in Spanish/ Catalunha in Aranese) Extremadura Galicia (Galicia or Galiza in Galician) La Rioja Madrid Murcia Navarre (Nafarroa in Basque/Navarra in Spanish) Valencia (Comunitat Valenciana in Valencian /Comunidad Valenciana in Spanish, as official denominations).
Provinces Provinces of Spain The Spanish kingdom is also divided in 50 provinces (provincias). Autonomous communities group provinces (for instance, Extremadura is made of two provinces: Cáceres and Badajoz). The autonomous communities of Asturias, the Balearic Islands, Cantabria, La Rioja, Navarre, Murcia, and Madrid are each composed of a single province. Traditionally, provinces are usually subdivided into historic regions or comarcas (main article: Comarcas of Spain).
Places of sovereignty
There are also five places of sovereignty (plazas de soberanía) on and off the African coast: the cities of Ceuta and Melilla are administered as autonomous cities, an intermediate status between cities and communities; the islands of the Islas Chafarinas, Peñón de Alhucemas, and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera are under direct Spanish administration.
The Canary islands, Ceuta and Melilla, although not officially historic communities, enjoy a special status.
Spain Geography
Geography of Spain Mainland Spain is dominated by high plateaus and mountain ranges such as the Pyrenees or the Sierra Nevada. Running from these heights are several major rivers such as the Tajo, the Ebro, the Duero, the Guadiana and the Guadalquivir. Alluvial plains are found along the coast, the largest of which is that of the Guadalquivir in Andalusia, in the east there are alluvial plains with medium rivers like Segura, Júcar and Turia. Spain is bound to the east by Mediterranean Sea (containing the Balearic Islands), to the north by the Bay of Biscay and to its west by the Atlantic Ocean, where the Canary Islands off the African coast are found.
Spain's climate can be divided in four areas:
The Mediterranean: mostly temperate in the eastern and southern part of the country; rainy seasons are spring and autumn. Mild summers with pleasant temperatures. Hot records: Murcia 47.2 ºC, Malaga 44.2 ºC, Valencia 42.5 ºC, Alicante 41.4 ºC, Palma of Mallorca 40.6 ºC, Barcelona 39.8 ºC. Low records: Gerona -13.0 ºC, Barcelona -10.0 ºC, Valencia -7.2 ºC, Murcia -6.0 ºC, Alicante -4.6 ºC, Malaga -3.8 ºC.
Inner Spain: Very cold winters (frequent snow in the north) and hot summers. Hot records: Sevilla 47.0 ºC, Cordoba 46.6 ºC, Badajoz 45.0 ºC, Albacete and Zaragoza 42.6 ºC, Madrid 42.2 ºC, Burgos 41.8 ºC, Valladolid 40.2 ºC. Low records: Albacete -24.0 ºC, Burgos -22.0 ºC, Salamanca -20.0 ºC, Teruel -19.0 ºC, Madrid -14.8 ºC, Sevilla -5.5 ºC.
Northern Atlantic coast: precipitations mostly on winter, with mild summers (slightly cold). Hot records: Bilbao 42.0 ºC, La Coruña 37.6 ºC, Gijón 36.4 ºC. Low records: Bilbao -8.6 ºC, Oviedo -6.0 ºC, Gijon and La Coruña -4.8 ºC.
The Canary Islands: subtropical weather, with mild temperatures (18 ºC to 24 ºC Celsius) throughout the year. Hot records: Santa Cruz de Tenerife 42.6 ºC. Low records: Santa Cruz de Tenerife 8.1 ºC.
Most populous metropolitan areas
Madrid 5 603 285 Barcelona 4 667 136 Valencia 1 465 423 Sevilla 1 294 081 Malaga 1 019 292
Territorial disputes Spain has called for the return of Gibraltar, a tiny British possession on its southern coast. It changed hands during the War of the Spanish Succession in 1704. The most recent talks dealt with the idea of "total shared sovereignty" over Gibraltar, subject to a constitutional referendum by Gibraltarians, who have expressed opposition to any form of cession to Spain. The talks have been frozen, after the result of a referendum in Gibraltar where 98% of the people opposed them. See Gibraltar for more information.
Morocco claims the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla and the uninhabited Vélez, Alhucemas, Chafarinas, and Perejil ("Parsley") islands, all on the northern coast of Africa.
Portugal does not recognize Spain's de facto sovereignty over the territory of Olivença.
Spanish Economy Main article: Economy of Spain Spain's mixed capitalist economy supports a GDP that on a per capita basis is 87% that of the four leading West European economies. The centre-right government of former President Aznar successfully worked to gain admission to the first group of countries launching the European single currency, the euro, on 1 January 1999. The Aznar administration continued to advocate liberalization, privatization, and deregulation of the economy and introduced some tax reforms to that end. Unemployment fell steadily under the Aznar administration but remains high at 11.7%. Growth of 2.4% in 2003 was satisfactory given the background of a faltering European economy. Incoming Prime Minister Rodríguez Zapatero, whose party won the election three days after the Madrid train bombings in March 2004, plans to reduce government intervention in business, combat tax fraud, and support innovation, research and development, but also intends to reintroduce labour market regulations that had been scrapped by the Aznar government. Adjusting to the monetary and other economic policies of an integrated Europe - and reducing unemployment - will pose challenges to Spain over the next few years. Spain is nowdays considered as the 8th economic World power.
Spanish Languages
Main article: Demographics of Spain The Spanish Constitution, although affirming the sovereignty of the Spanish Nation, recognises historical nationalities.
The Castilian-derived Spanish (called both español and castellano in the language itself) is the official language throughout Spain, but other regional languages are also spoken. Without mentioning them by name, the Spanish Constitution recognizes the possibility of regional languages being co-official in their respective autonomous communities. The following languages are co-official with Spanish according to the appropriate Autonomy Statutes.
Catalan (català) in Catalonia (Catalunya), the Balearic Islands (Illes Balears) and Valencia (València).
Basque (euskara) in Basque Country (Euskadi), and parts of Navarre (Nafarroa). Basque is not known to be related to any other language.
Galician (gallego) in Galicia (Galiza). Occitan (the Aranese dialect). Spoken in the Vall d'Aran in Catalonia.
Catalan, Galician, Aranese (Occitan) and Spanish (Castilian) are all descended from Latin and have their own dialects, some championed as separate languages by their speakers (the Valencià of València, a dialect of Catalan, is one example).
There are also some other surviving Romance minority languages: Asturian / Leonese, in Asturias and parts of Leon, Zamora and Salamanca, and the Extremaduran in Caceres and Salamanca, both descendents of the historical Astur-Leonese dialect; the Aragonese or fabla in part of Aragon; the fala, spoken in three villages of Extremadura; and some Portuguese dialectal towns in Extremadura and Castile-Leon. However, unlike Catalan, Galician, and Basque, these do not have any official status.
Berber language is spoken among Muslims in Ceuta and Melilla.
In the touristic areas of the Mediterranean costas and the islands, German and English are spoken by tourists, foreign residents and tourism workers.
Many linguists claim that most of the Spanish language variants spoken in Latin America (Mexican, Argentinian, Colombian, Peruvian, etc. variants) descended from the Spanish spoken in southwestern Spain (Andalusia, Extremadura and Canary Islands).
Identities Spain is considered by some, including a part of Spanish population (aproximately 10% according to the latest surveys), to be a group of nations unified under a single State, much like Belgium, Switzerland or the United Kingdom. Despite this, the common history, the common features of the country and the policy of many Spanish governments has led to a "Spanish nationhood" which is the one people identify with Spain internationally.
The Spanish Constitution of 1978, in its second article, recognizes historic entities ("nationalities", not "nations") and regions, inside the unity of the Spanish nation.
But Spain's identity is sometimes, in fact, an overlap of different national identities, some of them even conflicting.
Castile is considered to be by many the "core" of Spain. However, this may just be a reflection of the fact that the Castilian national identity was the first one to be quashed by the Spanish Empire in the revolt of the Communards (comuneros). Today, Castilians generally consider themselves to be Spanish first, with regional identity being of lesser importance.
The opposite is the case of some Galicians, Catalans and Basques, who quite frequently identify primarily with Galicia, Catalonia and the Basque Country first, with Spain only second, or even third, after Europe. For example, according to the last CIS survey, 25% of Basques identify themselves only as Basques; 16.8% of Catalans do so with their autonomous community, and 7% Galicians with Galicia.
The situation is even more confusing, since there are regions with ambiguous identities, like Navarre, Valencia, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, etc. There has been a lot of internal migration (rural exodus) from regions like Galicia, Andalusia and Extremadura to Madrid, Catalonia, Basque Country and the islands.
Spain was the first European country to become a unified nation, with the union of Castile and Aragon) in 1492 and the annexation of Navarre in 1515. Until 1714, Spain was a loose confederation of kingdoms and statelets under one king, until King Philip V removed the autonomous status of the Aragonese crown. Navarre and the Basque Country, however, kept a high degree of autonomy within their legal and financial system (Fueros). Moreover, the creation of a unified state in the 19th and 20th centuries has led to the present situation, which is apparently simple, but sometimes extremely confusing. During the Second Spanish Republic (1931–1936), Catalonia and the Basque country were given limited self-government, which was lost after the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) and restored in 1978 during the transition to democracy.
Survey of the latest CIS (Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas) survey from which concrete data of this article have been extracted
Minority groups Since the 16th century, the most important minority group in the country have been the Gitanos. Other historical minorities are Mercheros (or Quinquis) and Vaqueiros de alzada. The latter, meaning "Mountain cow-breeders" dwell in mountain ranges in the Principality of Asturias and have kept historically apart from the valley dwellers.
The number of immigrants or foreign residents has tripled to 3.69 million in less than five years, according the latest figures (2005) of National Statics Institute. They currently make up around 8.4 percent of the total population. The rise of population in Spain in recent years was largely due to them. Nearly half of all immigrants have neither residence nor work permits.
The largest foreign minorities are Moroccans (365 846), Equadorians (202 294), Colombians (128 367) and British (121 107), followed by other nationalities, as Argentinians, Filipinos, Germans etc.
Religion 1928 Spanish one-peseta postage stamp pairs Pope Pius XI and Alfonso XIII
Roman Catholicism is, by far, the most popular religion in the country, with four in five Spaniards (80%) self-identifying as Catholics. The next group (one in eight, or 12%) is represented by atheists or agnostics. Minority religions account for one in seventy (1.4%) of all Spaniards.
It is important to note, however, that many Spaniards identify themselves as Catholics even though they are not very religious at all. According to recent surveys (New York Times, April 19, 2005) only around 18 percent of Spaniards regularly attend mass. Of those under 30, only about 14 percent attend.
Further evidence of the secular nature of modern Spain can be seen in the widespread support for the legalisation of marriage for homosexuals - over 70% of Spaniards support gay marriage according to a 2004 study by the Centre of Sociological Investigations. Indeed, in June 2005 a bill was passed by 187 votes to 147 to allow gay marriage, making Spain the third country in the European Union to allow same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual ones. Proposed changes to the divorce laws to make the process quicker and to eliminate the need for a guilty party are also popular. In many ways modern Spain can be described as a secular country with a strong Catholic tradition.
According to membership [1], the second religion of Spain is the organization of the Jehovah's Witnesses with 103 784 active publishers; there are also many Protestant denominations, all of them with less than 50 000 members, and about 20 000 Mormons. Evangelism has been better received among Gypsies than among the general population; pastors have integrated flamenco music in their liturgy. Taken together, all self-described "Evangelicals" slightly surpass Jehovah's Witnesses in number.
The recent waves of immigration have led to an increasing number of Muslims, who have about 800 000 members. Muslims were forcibly converted in 1492 and then expelled in the 16th century.
Since the expulsion of the Sephardim in 1492, Judaism was practically nonexistent until the 19th century, when Jews were again permitted to enter the country. Currently there are around 14,000 Jews in Spain, all arrivals in the past century. There are also many Spaniards (in Spain and abroad) who claim Jewish ancestry to the Conversos, and still practice certain customs. Spain is believed to have been about 8 percent Jewish on the eve of the Spanish Inquisition. See History of the Jews in Spain.
Over the past thirty years, Spain has become a more secularised society. The number of believers has decreased significantly and for those who believe the degree of accordance and practice to their church is quite diverse.
According to the latest official poll (CIS, 2002), 80% of Spaniards self-identify as Catholic, 12% as non-believer, and 1% as other (the remaining 7% declined to state). Of the 1.4% identifying as other, 29% identified as Evangelical Christian, 26% as Jehovah's Witnesses and 3% as Muslim (the rest either mentioned smaller religions or declined to state). According to the same poll, 73% believe in God, 14% don't and 12% are unsure (1% declined to state). Additionally, according to this poll, only 41% believe in Heaven. 24% of the Spaniards think that the Bible is just a fable. Only 25% of Catholics go to church at least once a week.
According to the CIA World Factbook, 94% of Spaniards are Roman Catholic. This is consistent with the Catholic Church's practice to claim all baptized as Catholic regardless of self-identification, and with the CIS poll's finding that 91% to 96% of all parents are remembered as being Catholics. While 80% of Spaniards self-describing as Catholics, 94% report having baptized their children but only 79% being inclined to baptize new children. 90% had a religious wedding.
Spanish literature International rankings Reporters without borders world-wide press freedom index 2002: Rank 39 out of 139 countries (2 way tie)
The Economist Intelligence Unit's worldwide quality-of-life index 2005: Rank 10 out of 111 countries (above countries like the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and France)
Further reading John Hickman and Chris Little, "Seat/Vote Proportionality in Romanian and Spanish Parliamentary Elections", Journal of Southern Europe and the Balkans Volume 2, Number 2, November 2000. Harold Raley, "The Spirit of Spain",Houston:Halcyon Press 2001.(ISBN 0970605498)
A Granada Chronology First and Second Centuries A.D. - After having hosted the Phoenician, Carthaginian and Greek settlements (the Greeks called the place "Elybirge"), Granada is occupied by the Romans who call it "Illiberis." Fifth Century A.D. - Visigothic occupation, the city maintains its civil, military and religious importance. 711 - Tarik, deputy of the North African governor, Musa ben Nusayr, leaves Tangier at the head of an army of 9,000 men and lands in Gibraltar. The total occupation of the Iberian peninsula takes them just five years. 713 - Definitive occupation of Granada by the Moors, who call the city "Ilbira," ("Elvira" for the Christians). 929 - Abdelrahman III proclaims himself Prince of the Believers and declares independence from Bagdad; the Cordoba caliphate is born. 1010 - Internecine strife among groups of different cultures and ethnias lead to the destruction of the city, after which it comes to be known as "Garnata," from which "Granada" later derives. 1031 - With the fall of the Omeya dynasty, independent kingdoms-"reinos de taifa"- begin to arise in all of al-Andalus 1212 - The united armies of the kingdoms of Castille, Aragon and Navarre defeat the Almohades in the battle of Navas de Tolosa. 1231 - Al-Ahmar ibn Nasr, founder of the Nazari dynasty, is named governor of Arjona, the city of his birth, and shortly afterwards extends his power over the cities of Jaén and Guadix. He establishes his capital in Granada. 1237 - The construction of the Alhambra begins, under the direction of al-Ahmar. 1314 - Work begins on the construction of the Generalife. 1482 - The War of Granada begins. Prince Boabdil siezes the throne from his father. 1491 - Boabdil, the last Nazarí king, capitulates before Ferdinand and Isabella and negociates the surrender of Granada on November 25. 1492 - The Catholic Monarchs enter Granada triumphantly on January 2. 1492 - Cardenal Cisneros decrees obligatory baptism for all the Moriscos. 1568 - Led by Aben Humeya, and due to the repression they endure, the Moors of the Albaicin rebel. Don Juan de Austria puts down the rebellion and the Moriscos are expelled from Granada. 1883 - The first concerts are staged in the Palacio de Carlos V during the Corpus Christi celebrations, concerts which are the foundations of Granada's International Festival of Music and Dance . 1922 - Federico García Lorca and other intellectuals promote Spain's first Flamenco Song Contest (Concurso de Cante Jondo). 1936 - The Spanish Civil War breaks out. Federico García Lorca is assassinated outside the city. 1939 - End of the Civil War. Francisco Franco is autoproclaimed "generalísimo," 36 years of dictatorship follow. 1975 - Franco dies, the so-called "Transition" (to democracy) period begins. 1977 - First democratic elections after Franco regime. The centrist UCD party wins and Adolfo Suarez is named president. 1978 - The new Spanish Constitution is adopted. 1980 - First edition of the Granada Jazz Festival. 1982 - Failed coup d'etat in the Congreso de los Diputados, the Spanish legislature. 1995 - Granada named starting point of the Rally París-Dakar, a position it will retain in the years 1996, 1998 and 1999. 1996 - Sierra Nevada organizes the final of the World Alpine Ski Championships.

Nobleza Obliga
No one is quite sure how this felicitous situation came about. Perhaps it's because Granada has her feet in the Mediterranean, perhaps it has to do with the city's multi-national population of some 60,000 students, or with the city's racial and cultural mix over the past thousand years or so. The Moorish kingdom of Granada once covered half of the geography of Andalucía and, as everyone knows, nobleza obliga .
Anyone planning a visit to Granada would be well advised to prepare accordingly, in order to take maximum advantage of the city's special hospitality. It would be useful to learn a bit of Spanish; just a smattering of the language will go a long way here. One might consider finding an excuse to stay a little longer, a short course, time for writing or for painting. Granada's rewards are proporcional to the time one is willing to spend. It's a sure investment with only one "danger" of which visitors should be aware: many visitors who came to Granada to stay for a week or a month are still here years later!
Granada is the capital city of the province of the same name, located in southeastern Spain between the shores of the Mediterranean and the Andalusian hinterland. The city is located at the foot of Sierra Nevada, the highest mountain range of the Iberian peninsula. With more than a thousand years of recorded history, Granada enjoys one of Spain's most important cultural and architectural patrimonies. Besides the Alhambra, the world renowned palaces and fortresses of the Nazarí dynasty, and the historical Moorish Albaicín quarter, both designated as Patrimony of Humanity by the UNESCO, Granada boasts a Renaissance cathedral dating from the 16th century and many other architectural monuments of the first magnitude.
It is Granada's young people who have converted this provincial Andalusian city into the vibrant, active place that it is today. The University of Granada brings together some 60,000 students from all parts of Spain and the rest of the world, and the interaction of their different cultures yields a refeshing, ever-changing "ambiente" as the city continually adapts itself to their image and necessities.
While Granada offers the three, four and five-star hotels which are standard tourist and business lodging, it also provides a wide selection of humble "pensiones" at student-friendly prices, as well as shared flats and rooms for longer stays.
Granada nights are renowned for their lively social scene thanks to the students who pour onto the streets after sundown in search of camaraderie in the city's bars. As one of the the few Spanish cities where a tasty hors d'oeuvre is still served with every drink at no extra cost, Granada is justly proud of its tapas tradition. Everyone agrees that to share with friends a glass of wine accompanied by a tapa of saucy meat, fried fish or "patatas bravas" in one of Granada's evocative historic settings is an experience not to be missed.
Holy Week or Semana Santa, is Andalucia quintessential fiesta, and the one which attracts the most visitors from abroad. This traditional rite of spring condenses better than any other event the mix of cultures which came together to form Granada's distinct character. It is a rare privilege to contemplate the Christian imagery as it wends its way through the narrow streets of the Moorish Albaicín quarter, or through the Alhambra itself. The origins of this celebration in Granada hark back to the end of the 15th century, with the conquest of the city by Ferdinand and Isabella, the Catholic Monarchs.
Most of the other Andalusian capitals had already established Holy Week brotherhoods by that time, and they soon flourished in the recently conquered Granada. These first associations, sober and severe, did not much resemble today's versions, more ornamental and passionate. Despite the prohibition of the brotherhoods in 1573, they were permitted again in 1611.
Due to the rigorous religious orthodoxy imposed by the new "señores" of Granada, these "cofradías" infused Holy Week with an intensely intimate religious carácter. Today, after 2000 years, the fiesta commemorates the events narrated in the New Testament, from the entrance of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem until his crucifixion and resurrection on the third day. The object of this exercise, in the Spanish Catholic tradition, is to evoke the transition of Jesus Christ from Christ the Crucified to Christ the Reborn.
The baroque imagery, with its glaring realism and almost mystic religious fervor, contributes a magical atmosphere to the processions through this city which is an artistic experience in itself. When these "pasos" traverse the streets of Granada, both locals and visitors unite to create an atmosphere of solemnity, admittedly not without its festive side, but always within the bounds of profound respect.
Holy Week in Granada posseses not only religious significance, but also artistic and theatrical value. The routes of the processions pass through the most beautiful and evocative quarters of they city, creating an imcomparable aesthetic experience for thousands of observers from all over the world. Some of them approach the processions as a participatory event, singing flamenco "saetas" or reciting poems the the passing polichromed saints and virgens in a spectacle which combines art, religion and tradition, and is impossible to comprehend outside of its historical and cultural context.
Castles, Caves and Prized Pigs in Southern Spain
MY first contact with the Sierra de Aracena came in a tapas bar in Seville, more than an hour's drive from the region. Casa Roman was and remains a cacophonous, atmospheric place full of smoke-streaked oil paintings and wooden stools; of neatly dressed, slick-haired locals; and of tourists trying their best to keep their guidebooks tucked out of sight.
The Three Ages of a Pig. From top, fattening up on the farm; plates of ham to be served; a souvenir.
Casa Roman became my family's neighborhood watering hole during the many years we lived in Seville's labyrinth of an old city. Yet the bar was renowned not for its ambience, but for its ham. And it is where, in 1996, I first tasted the Spanish acorn-fed variety, jamón ibérico de bellota, that comes from the Sierra de Aracena, the hill country northwest of Seville.
The Spanish have long considered it the world's finest ham, and the world is increasingly in agreement, even though it remains, at least for another year or two, impossible to buy it in the United States.
At Casa Roman, as in many Spanish restaurants, the hams dangle like stalactites from the rafters. As you snuggle up to the bar and reach for your glass of Cruzcampo beer or Fino Quinta sherry, you find your nose only a few inches from the moist, mold-streaked piece of cured meat that is still sweating just enough to require the appendage of a small white cup to trap the occasional drop of golden fat that oozes down its sides at a leisurely, Andalusian pace.
"Our good customers like to say, 'Serve me a ham that cries,' " said Rafael Escobar, a 65-year-old Sevillano who began working behind the bar at Casa Roman in 1983.
Up so close, the smell is vaguely sweet, vaguely musty. But once the ham has been carefully, artfully sliced into thin, dark red, nearly translucent rectangles and placed before you with requisite pride on a plain white plate, the taste is anything but vague: It is an unctuous blend of tender, nutty flesh and savory fat that does not quite melt in your mouth, which is for the best considering that you are in no hurry for it to go away.
Unlike some of the other best things in life, jamón de bellota was not an acquired taste. It was something to relish from the start, even for my two very young daughters, who would devour it by the plateful at no small expense considering that a plateful often costs 15 euros ($18.50) or more. As the weeks turned into months and then years, my family and I began making regular pilgrimages to the region where these remarkable hams were produced.
The Sierra de Aracena has long been a popular weekend retreat for Sevillanos, and it is a place of subtle charm rather than lunge-for-your-camera splendor: much more the Berkshires than the Grand Tetons. None of its peaks exceed 3,000 feet. Its rustic, whitewashed villages are not as postcard-ready as the artfully tended hill towns of Tuscany or the spectacularly situated white towns like Ronda that lie to the southeast of Seville. If you are looking for a week of elaborate, high-end cuisine, you're much better off heading to the rolling countryside of Burgundy or Catalonia.
But there is a roughhewn authenticity in the stone walls, wooded pastureland, medieval castles and unpretentious bars and restaurants of the Sierra de Aracena. It is an area best visited in spring or autumn - the winters are clammy and the summers hot - and when we returned in April for three days of hiking, exploring and eating, it was, as always, not quite enough.
The best-known town is Jabugo, famous because it is the center of the ham industry. The sound of its name is enough to make most Spaniards start scouting for a place to have lunch, but aficionados know that Jabugo is not the only town in this region that produces top-quality ham. Producers like Lazo in Cortegana and Chacón in Cumbres Mayores also have excellent reputations. And, from a scenic perspective, Jabugo, with its scruffy outskirts and inelegant mix of old and modern facades, is hardly the highlight of a region that extends from the clifftop town of Zufre in the east to Aroche in the west, close to the Portuguese border.
The area, part of a protected region that regulates further development, is at its most appealing on the meandering two-lane road of uneven quality that leads from the town of Aracena to Cortegana through rolling, wooded scenery, passing through the hamlets of Linares de la Sierra, Alájar and our family's favorite, Almonaster la Real.
Almonaster's exclamation point is its small jewel of a mezquita, or Moorish mosque, with an attached bullring. The mezquita dates from the 10th century and is the only significant Islamic building in the Sierra. The mosque, with its red brick arcades, is rarely used for worship, and the bulls are fought next door just once a year in mid-August. But the view from the mezquita's steps at sunset - with the undulating green hills changing tones before you - is there in all seasons, and it is one of the finest in these mountains.
It has competition, however, including the more exposed, panoramic view from atop the battlements in Cortegana's well-restored castle, which was part of the defenses built throughout the region in the late 13th and 14th centuries after the reconquest of this part of Spain from the Moors.
A more isolated fortress across the border in Portugal is a scenic detour: north of Aroche to Barrancos and then along a lonely seven-mile dirt track to the castle of Noudar, a birdwatcher's delight that sits high above a big bend in the Ardila River. From Aroche, reaching Noudar takes about an hour, and you can drive to the castle or stop and park when it comes into view and hike the other mile or three. We hiked, which was good for the constitution but not for the reward. We just missed closing time at 5 p.m. and had to peek through slits in the gate to glimpse the resident sheep, goats and guard dogs of this fortified medieval village that was home to 300 people and is now home to a caretaker and his livestock.
Back on the much more beaten track in Aracena the following day, we arrived in time to revisit one of Europe's most remarkable caves - the Gruta de las Maravillas - whose entrance point is not in a remote valley but in the middle of town. Open to visitors since 1914, it has long been the primary tourist magnet in the region, and the cobblestoned path that leads to the entrance is lined with souvenir shops, ham emporiums and restaurants, although the better restaurants are found elsewhere in this pleasant, attractive town of about 7,000.
The remnants of the city's Moorish castle loom overhead, but what is below is more spectacular: more than a mile of mineral formations, crystalline pools and chambers with apt names like the Cathedral. In nearly a century of human impact and less-than-optimal lighting have damaged the cave's integrity, generating algae and lichen growth on some of its features, it is worth the walk and the often cramped quarters.
But the destination should not be the absolute priority in the Sierra de Aracena, which is best treated not as a checklist but as a wandering zone. It is a place to follow the small footpaths that link villages; a place to catch a glimpse of that monastery perched high above the road and try to find a way to reach it; a place to walk into a noisy, humble local restaurant full of families whose children keep migrating from the table to the street and to order a glass of sherry or red wine from Rioja to go with some dish, any dish that comes from the local pigs.
You see the pigs frequently as you travel here, and they hardly resemble the lumbering pink variety that produce fillings for American sandwiches. Iberian pigs are smaller, darker and hairier, with comparatively long and slender legs. They are the descendants of wild boars, although they scatter in a hurry if you make a brusque movement. Their color is where the term pata negra (black leg) originates, and breeders of pata negra maintain that what really separates their pigs from the rest of the world's herd is their unusual metabolism, which allows fat to permeate into their muscles, giving the meat the sort of marbled quality that Texas ranchers appreciate.
The pigs' active lives help in that process. In late October, they are sent into the dehesa - the wooded pastures of Andalusia - for the montanera, where amidst the holm oaks and cork oaks that cover the Aracena region, they stuff themselves on grass and acorns during the fattening process before the slaughter. It has been estimated that each pig will eat 1,000 pounds of acorns or more during the next three months.
After the slaughter, which in Spanish translates as "the sacrifice," they are packed in sea salt for one day for each kilogram (2.2 pounds) of weight and then kept in two types of storage rooms to sweat. From cradle to grave to tapas bar, the process takes at least two years, and though the clientele remains largely Spanish, that is beginning to change.
Top French chefs like Alain Ducasse have also become converts, and several restaurants in Paris now specialize in "Jabugo." There is increasing demand in Japan, and though true jamón ibérico has long been banned in the United States because no Spanish slaughterhouse or curing facilility met United States Department of Agriculture standards, that changed in July when a small producer in northern Spain became the first to receive a permit to export to the United States. Some producers from Aracena are also seeking permits, and one American online store, La Tienda in Williamsburg, Va., is taking preorders on Iberian hams for 2007 or 2008 (estimated price is $800 to $1,000 per ham).
Nonetheless, enjoying the best that the Sierra de Aracena has to offer in the United States won't have the same subtle appeal (or price tag) as enjoying it in the Sierra de Aracena, where the mood and the crowds remain agreeably light, and where the black pigs meet their makers after a long, sweet feed under the oak trees.
Where Ham's the Thing
GETTING THEREThe airport of Seville, the closest major gateway to the region, is about a 90-minute drive from the town of Aracena. But you can also rent a car and make the longer drive from airports in Madrid, Málaga or even Lisbon or Faro in Portugal. There are regular buses to Aracena that leave from Plaza de Armas in Seville (one way, 6 euros; round trip, 9 euros, or $7.40 and $11, at $1.23 to the euro).
WHERE TO STAYThough supply is increasing, luxury accommodations are not abundant in the Sierra de Aracena. One of the most charming and welcoming options is the guesthouse Finca Buen Vino, (34-959) 124034, www.fincabuenvino.com/house.html, an extensive property in Los Marines, about four miles west of Aracena on the N-433 road. It was built and is operated by Sam and Jeannie Chesterton, who raise their own lambs and pigs, and offer rooms and elegant meals in a family atmosphere in the main house (dinner is 35 euros a person, with wine). There are also three private cottages in an isolated corner of the property. Rates vary by season, peaking in summer at 140 euros for a double, with breakfast, and 800 to 1,000 euros a week for a cottage. The rest of the year, doubles are 120 euros; a cottage is 150 euros a day.
The La Posada de Cortegana, (34-959) 503301, has rustic cabins, too close together for some tastes, about one and a half miles north of El Repilado near Cortegana. Set next to a stream with excellent hiking trails nearby and a reasonably good restaurant on site. Prices, including breakfast, start at 70 euros, double occupancy. Extra beds are 10 to 12 euros. Full board is also available.
WHERE TO EATOne of the most creative and atmospheric restaurants in the region is Restaurante Arrieros on Calle Arrieros in Linares de la Sierra, (34-959) 463717. The chef, Luismi Lopez, is a former photographer who takes an original approach to the region's local products, such as pork cheeks in red-wine sauce, wild mushrooms caramelized in sweet Pedro Ximénez sherry, and Iberian ham from the town of Corteconcepción. Desserts are also good, particularly the quince paste between slices of mild goat cheese. Lunch only; about 45 euros for two, without wine.
In Aracena, Restaurant Jose Vicente at 53 Avenida Andalucia, (34-959) 128455, has a well-established reputation for serving top-quality pork products; cured legs of ham are hardly the only savory part of the Iberian pig. It also offers top-notch cuts of meat, including the presa and the solomillo (12 euros each).
In Almonaster la Real, Las Palmeras on the Cortegana-Aracena road, (34-959) 143105, has a fine view of the mezquita, and a leafy patio for warm weather. The restaurant serves simple, hearty but excellent fare, and most of the pork products come from the proprietor Alejandro González Vázquez's own stock. The plate of jamón ibérico was one of the best for the price (13 euros) that we tasted, and value for money is the rule. A full lunch for four without wine came to about 50 euros.
GRANADA; Moorish Past Finds New Life In a Storied Spanish City
By VALERIE GLADSTONE Published: September 11, 2005
SITUATED on the rugged foothills of the Sierra Nevada, the southern Spanish city of Granada has long been famed as the site of the Alhambra, the spectacular 14th-century palace built under Moorish rule. Recently, however, Granada has begun showing signs of transformation, thanks to an ambitious campaign by the Andalusian Legacy Foundation to revive Granada's rich Hispanic-Moorish past.
Nowhere is the revival more noticeable than in the Albaicín quarter, built around a citadel founded in the 11th century. In a labyrinth of narrow streets and whitewashed homes with secluded inner patios, boutique hotels have opened in meticulously restored medieval buildings, and new restaurants offer an intriguing mix of Middle Eastern fare and traditional Andalusian cuisine.
During the day, Moroccan tea and spice shops and bazaars full of wares like handmade jewelry, brass tea sets and colorful paper lanterns draw tourists and residents, including many of the 60,000 students who attend the city's ancient university. On most evenings, people gather on the Mirador of San Nicolás, a park near the Albaicín quarter's high point, to watch the sunset over the Alhambra, then head to one of the many pretty garden restaurants nearby. As the night progresses, flamenco, American pop, Arabic chants and even reggae can be heard emanating from intimate clubs and on the streets surrounding the Plaza Nueva and the historic center.
A tour of the Albaicín quarter should start with a visit to the Bañuelo, (34-958) 229 738, Carrera del Darro, 31, 11th-century Moorish baths, which were originally a meeting place where people got haircuts and massages. Though they are no longer functional, you can still admire the classical symmetry of their design and the light filtering through the star-shaped openings in the ceiling. The Archaeological Museum, Carrera del Darro, 43, (34-958) 225 640, has a remarkable collection of pottery, jewelry and architectural fragments from prehistoric to Phoenician and Iberian times. Near Calle Calderería Nueva, you'll find intimate Moroccan tearooms, called teterías, which serve honey cakes, tea and coffee in quiet rooms with dim lighting. The most atmospheric of them are Tetería Alfaguera, Calderería Nueva, 7, and the candlelit Kasbah at Calderería Nueva, 4.
After a long walk around the easily navigable city, you can soak in a warm bath the size of a small swimming pool and perhaps get an invigorating massage at the Hammam Baños Arabes, Calle Santa Ana, 16. The $25 charge, at $1.25 to the euro, includes a 15-minute massage and 90 minutes in the baths; without a massage. it's $16. For reservations, call (34-958) 229 978. At the adjoining tea shop, Hammam Tetería, traditional live music, dancing and old-fashioned Andalusian storytelling take place Thursday and Friday evenings.
A good way to get a sense of Granada's energy is to spend some time in some of its tapas bars, where you'll find traditional specialties like grilled shrimp and red pepper salad. Among the best in the city center are Ajo Blanco at Calle Palacios, 17, known for its cheeses and ham products, and Om Kalsoum Calle Jardines, 17, which offers Moroccan tapas.
Granada's streets and plazas abound with cafes and restaurants, with the main action around Calle de Elvira, Plaza Nueva and Carrera del Darro. While eating and drinking are the main entertainment, there's also a lot of good music, both outside and in the cafes along the Darro River, in nightspots like the Upsetter, Carrera del Darro, 7, where you can listen and dance to reggae, (34-958) 227 296, and Eshavira, Postigo de la Cuna, 2 (34-958) 290 829, a hidden cavelike place, which features flamenco on Sundays and jazz the other nights of the week. All shows start around 11 p.m. The cover charge is $7.50, which includes one drink.
Avoid the expensive touristy flamenco in the Gypsy caves in the Sacromonte district but try La Peña Flamenca Platería, at Placeta de Toqueros, 7, (34-958) 210 650. The club features authentic flamenco several times a week.
Shoppers will want to wander over to the Moroccan bazaars in the streets near Calle Calderería Nueva, where you can find brass tea sets, colorful woven rugs and hand painted lanterns. A good bet is Bazaar Nueva Karavan, Carrera del Darro, 1, which sells attractive leather bags and glass lamps with fringed shades. You can also find fine reproductions of ancient Granada pottery and woodwork at Alhacaba, Plaza Almona 2-Bajo in the Albaicín, (34-958) 205 024. In the bustling Alcaicería market, vendors sell local and Moroccan handicrafts and aromatic herbs and spices.
The Huerta de San Vicente Museum, Calle Virgen Blanca, (34-958) 258 466, is dedicated to the poet and playwright Federico García Lorca. He wrote some of his best-known works, including ''Blood Wedding'' and ''The House of Bernarda Alba,'' in the building, which was his family's home. He spent his summers there from 1926 until his death in 1936.
Of course, it would be foolish to visit Granada and not spend some time at the Alhambra. Surrounded by woods, gardens and orchards, the magnificent palaces, citadel and fortress of the Alhambra were the home of the Nasrid sultans, who ruled Granada from 1232 to 1492. Intricately tiled rooms, ornate hallways and courtyards planted with fragrant trees can be explored independently or with a guide. Because of the site's popularity, the number of visitors is limited and reservations are needed.
The Alhambra becomes even more magical at night, when most visitors depart. In the relative silence, you can hear the fountains in the glorious Patio of the Lions and Court of the Myrtles, and as the sky darkens, see the stars reflected in the shimmering pools.
Tickets to the Alhambra are $12.50. Reservations should be made at the Alhambra ticket office in the Entrance Pavilion, or by calling within Spain at 902 224 460 or from the United States at (34-915) 379 178. To book on the Internet: www.alhambratickets.com. Granada also offers a City Pass for $25, available at the Alhambra ticket office, covering entrance fees to the complex and most other important monuments and museums. For information, contact the Andalusian Legacy Foundation at www.legadoandalusi.es or the Granada Tourist Office (34-958) 226 688.
IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE SULTANS
WHERE TO STAY The 126-room Alhambra Palace Hotel, perched on a hill near the Alhambra at Plaza Arquitecto García de Paredes, 1, (34-958) 221 468, www.h-alhambrapalace.es, reproduces the splendor of a Moorish palace, with sumptuous public areas lighted by brass lanterns, carpeted with oriental rugs and adorned with mosaic tiles. Doubles start at $209, at $1.25 to the euro, not including 7 percent tax.
The elegant new 70-room Hotel Hesperia Granada (34-958) 018 400, on the Web at www.hesperia-granada.com, in the small Plaza Gamboa, is set in a quiet area of the old city. The serene, plant-filled courtyard, fountain and stained-glass windows of the lobby evoke the Moorish past as do the spacious pastel rooms with handsome dark wood furnishings. Doubles start at $187.50.
Originally the home of a noble family, Casa del Capitel Nazarí, Cuesta Aceituneros, 6, (34-958) 215 260, on the Web at www.hotelcasacapitel.com, retains original ceramic tiling and antique detailing. The owner, Angel Pinto, rescued Roman columns from a nearby site and installed them in the patio. The hotel has 17 rooms with doubles starting at $87.50.
WHERE TO EAT Many Granada restaurants offer both Andalusian specialties like broad beans and ham and Moroccan dishes such as meat pastry with pine nuts and almonds and savory almond cream soup. Among the best of them is Restaurant Sibari, Plaza Nueva, 3, (34-958) 227 756, a friendly, casual place to watch people inthe plaza. Dinner for two with wine runs about $50.
On the crest of the Albaicín, you'll find two charming restaurants both with breathtaking views of the Alhambra. At Carmen Verde Luna, Camino Nuevo de San Nicolás 16, (34-958) 291 794, a seafood dinner for two is about $75.
The nearby Mirador de Morayma, Pianista García Carrillo, 2, (34-958) 228 290, Granadine remojón, with codfish, oranges and olives, and Alquería lamb stew with prunes costs about $62 for two. In most restaurants a bottle of local wine, like the white Castillo de San Diego and red Corral de Castro, costs $10 to $15.
GETTING THERE Granada is an hour's flight or a six-hour train ride from Madrid. (Round-trip air fare is $421 on Iberia or Air Europa. By train, one-way tickets are $42 for tourist class, $56 for first class). The 20-minute taxi ride from the airport costs about $27. For train information, call (1 902) 240 202, for flights (34-958) 245 200 and for buses (34-958) 278 677.
GETTING AROUND Granada is easy to navigate: most of the important sites are within walking distance of one another. If the hills of Albaicín and the Alhambra are too strenuous, you can take the No. 31 or No. 32 bus, which runs every few minutes from Plaza Nueva to the peaks of both districts. The ride costs a little more than $1.

Cordoba
Islamic Córdoba (756-1236): Medieval Europe's Cultural CapitalAfter his family was slaughtered by political rivals (750 A.D.), 20-year-old Prince Abd Al-Rahman fled the royal palace at Damascus, headed west across North Africa, and went undercover among the Berber tribesmen of Morocco. For six years he avoided assassination while building a power base among his fellow Arab expatriates and the local Muslim Berbers. As an heir to the title of "caliph," or ruler of Islam, he sailed north and claimed Moorish Spain as his own, confirming his power by decapitatin g his enemies and sending their salted heads to the rival caliph in Baghdad.
Thus began an Islamic flowering in southern Spain under Abd Al-Rahman's family, the Umayyads. They dominated Sevilla and Granada, ruling the independent state of "Al-Andalus," with their capital at Córdoba. By the year 950 - when the rest of Europe was mired in poverty, ignorance, and superstition - Córdoba was Europe's greatest city, rivaling Constantinople and Baghdad. It had more than 100,000 people (Paris had a third that many), with hundreds of mosques, palaces, and public baths. The streets were paved and lighted at night with oil lamps, and running water was piped in from the outskirts. Medieval visitors marveled at the size and luxury of the Mezquita mosque, a symbol that the Umayyads of Spain were the equal of the caliphs (rulers) of Baghdad.
This Golden Age was marked by a remarkable spirit of tolerance and cooperation among the three great monoth eistic religions: Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. The university rang with voices in Arabic, Hebrew, and Latin, sharing their knowledge of al-jibra (algebra), medicine, law, and literature. The city fell under the enlightened spell of the ancient Greeks, and Córdoba's 70 libraries bulged with translated manuscripts of Plato and Aristotle, works that would later inspire medieval Christians.
Ruling over the Golden Age were two energetic leaders - Abd Al-Rahman III (912-961) and Al-Hakam II (961-976) - who conquered territory, expanded the Mezquita, and boldly proclaimed themselves "caliphs."
Córdoba's Y1K crisis brought civil wars that toppled the caliph (1031), splintering Al-Andalus into several kingdoms. Córdoba came under the control of the Almoravids (Berbers from North Africa), who were less sophisticated than the Arab-based Umayyads. Then a wave of even stricter Islam swept through Spain, bringing the Almohads to power (1147) and driving Córdoba's best and brightest into exile. The city's glory days were over, and it was replaced by Sevilla and Granada as the centers of Spanish Islam. In 1236, Christians conquered the city, it declined in importance, and "Ave Marias" soon echoed through the columns of the mosque.
The Mezquita
Córdoba's Mezquita - was built on a ruined cathedral, served as a mosque, and is now a cathedral again. The massive former mosque - now with a 16th-century church rising up from the middle - was once the center of Western Islam and the wonder of the medieval world. It's remarkably well-preserved, giving today's visitors a chance to soak up the ambience of Islamic Córdoba in its 10th-century prime (•8, free entry until 10:00 Mon-Sat, covered by Córdoba Card, Mon-Sat 8:30-19:30, Sun 9:00-10:45 & 14:00-19:30, tel. 957-470-512).
Self-Guided Tour: The mosque reveals itse lf bit by bit. You enter through the Patio de Naranjas. When this was a mosque, the Muslim faithful would gather in this courtyard in the shade of orange trees to ritually wash themselves before entering. Gaze up through the trees for magnificent views of the Baroque bell tower, which encases the original minaret - the tower where a muezzin would call out five times a day to alert Muslims to face Mecca and pray.
Interior: Entering the church from the Patio, you pass from an orchard of orange trees into a forest of columns. The 850 red-and-blue columns are topped with double arches - one horseshoe arch atop another - made from alternating red and white stone. Many of the columns and capitals (of marble, porphyry, jasper, and onyx) were recycled from ancient Roman ruins and conquered Visigoth churches. Perhaps the column-and-arch shape reminded Muslim worshippers of a grove of Arabian date palms. Or, as the columns seem to recede to infinity, they may have been intended to reflect the immensity and complexity of Allah's creation.
At 85,000 square feet (including the Patio), the Mezquita is nearly as big as St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, but the low ceilings and dense columns create a different atmosphere than many religious buildings, whether churches or mosques. Unfortunately, the Mezquita is dimmer today than intended, because entrances to the Patio and the street were later closed up by Christians.
From the entrance, look straight ahead, through the rows of columns, to locate the mihrab - the ornately-decorated Muslim prayer niche - in the far south wall. This was the focus of the original mosque and the highlight of the Mezquita today. Picture 7,000 men kneeling in prayer, facing the mihrab, rocking forward to touch their heads to the ground, and saying, "Allahu Akbar, La illa a il Allah, Muhammad razul Allah" - "Allah is great, there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet."
Before leaving the entrance area, find the Roman mosaic (near entrance) from a Temple of Janus that stood here long before the mosque. Roman Corduba was the main city of central Spain.
Now, approach the mihrab at the far south wall - bypassing, for now, the cathedral rising from the center of the Mezquita.
Mihrab: The mihrab, a feature found in all mosques, is a decorated "niche" - in this case, more like a small room with a golden-arch entrance - that served as the focal point of the mosque. In a service, the imam (prayer leader) stood here to read scripture and give sermons. The mihrab sits in a screened-off room (maqsura, or prayer hall) reserved for the emirs and caliphs who ruled Al-Andalus. Built by Al-Hakam II (962-965), the room reflects the wealth of Córdoba in its prime. Three thousand pounds of glass-and-enamel cubes panel the walls and domes in golden mosaics designed b y Byzantine craftsmen, depicting flowers and quotes from the Quran. Overhead rises a colorful, starry dome with skylights and interlocking, lobe-shaped arches.
In most Muslim mosques, the mihrab indicates the direction the faithful should face during prayer, namely toward the holy city of Mecca. This is where Muhammad first received his call, but contrary to popular belief, Muslims face Mecca not for that reason but because it's the city of the prophet Abraham. Mecca (in modern Saudi Arabia) is east of Córdoba, but get out your compass, and you'll see that this mihrab actually faces roughly south, towards Kenya, Africa. One theory is that Abd Al-Rahman and his (homesick?) Umayyad descendents built the mosque facing the direction Mecca is from their ancestral hometown of Damascus.
To the left of the mihrab/maqsura is the Treasury (Tesoro), with display cases of finds from recent excavations. Opposite the mihrab is the Villaviciosa Chapel, where you'l l also find the Royal Chapel and the Visigoth ruins.
Visigoth Ruins, Villaviciosa Chapel, and Royal Chapel: On display are some of the Visigoth ruins of the fifth-century Christian church of San Vicente that preceded the mosque. Abd Al-Rahman I bought the church/monastery from his Christian subjects before leveling it to build the mosque.
In 1236, Christians conquered the city and turned the mosque into a church. Still, the locals continued to call it La Mezquita, and left the structure virtually unchanged. The exceptions are the Villaviciosa Chapel and Royal Chapel (Capilla Real), built for Christian worship, but lavishly decorated in the 1370s in Mudejar style - azulejo tiles, lobed arches, and stucco-work - by Muslims still living in the city.
From here, it's fairly apparent from the general outlines of the building how this great mosque was built in stages, over two centuries, by four different rulers:
The original mosque - the area near the entrance, north of the cathedral - was built by Abd Al-Rahman I (784-786).
As Córdoba itself grew, the mosque was expanded southward - where the cathedral now stands - by Abd Al-Rahman II (833-852).
At the city's peak, Al-Hakam II built the extension south of the cathedral, including the lavish mihrab (961-976).
Finally, Al-Mansur added the massive (and plainer) expansion to the east, turning the rectangular mosque into a square (987).
Remarkably, each ruler kept to Abd Al-Rahman I's original vision - of rows and rows of multi-colored columns topped by double arches. Then came the...
Cathedral: Rising up in the middle of the forest of columns is the cathedral, oriented in the Christian tradition facing the altar at the east end.
In 1523, Córdoba's bishop proposed building this church in the Mezquita's center. The town council opposed it, but King Charles V ord ered it done. However, when he saw the final product, he declared that they'd destroyed something unique to build something ordinary.
The basic structure is Gothic, complete with buttresses. The Baroque-era choir stalls (1750) are made of New World mahogany, and the twin pulpits feature a marble bull, lion, and eagle. The nave's towering Renaissance arches and dome emphasize the triumph of Christianity over Islam in Córdoba.
Synagogue (Sinagoga)
Rich Mudejar decorations - of intertwined flowers, arabesques, and Stars of David - plaster the inside walls of this small Jewish synagogue (•0.30, covered by Córdoba Card, Tue-Sat 9:30-14:00 & 15:30-17:30, Sun 9:30-13:30, closed Mon, Calle de los Judíos 20, tel. 957-202-928). What appear to be quotes from the Quran in Arabic are actually quotes from the Bible in Hebrew. On the east wall (the symbolic direction of Jerusalem), find the niche for the Ark, where they kept the scrolls of the Torah (the Jewish scriptures, including the first 5 books of the Christian Bible). The upstairs gallery was reserved for women.
The synagogue was rebuilt in 1315, under Christian rule, but the Islamic decoration has roots way back to Abd Al-Rahman I (see sidebar). During Muslim times, Córdoba's sizable Jewish community was welcomed, though they paid substantial taxes to the city - money that enlarged the Mezquita and generated good will. That good will came in handy when Córdoba's era of prosperity and mutual respect came to an end with the arrival of the intolerant Almohad Berbers. Christians and Jews were repressed, and brilliant minds - such as the rabbi and philosopher Maimonides (see below) - left for safer climates.
The Christian Reconquista of Córdoba (1236) brought another brief period of religious tolerance, and this synagogue was built, a joint effort by Christians, Jews, and Muslim (Mudejar) craftsmen. By th e end of the 14th century, Spain's Jews were again persecuted, then were finally expelled or forced to convert in 1492. This is only one of three surviving synagogues in Spain built before the completion of the Reconquista, and it's preserved largely unaltered.
Near the synagogue, you'll find...
Statues of Maimonides and Averroes: Statues honor two of Córdoba's deepest-thinking homeboys - one Jewish, one Muslim - who both fell victim to the wave of Islamic intolerance after the fall of the Umayyad caliphate. (Find Maimonides just south of the synagogue. Averroes is northwest of the synagogue, outside the Puerta de Almodovar gate.)
Maimonides (1135-1204) was born in Córdoba and raised on both Jewish scripture and Aristotle's philosophy. Like many tolerant Córdobans, he saw no conflict between the two. Maimonides - sometimes called the "Jewish Aquinas" - wrote the Guide of the Perplexed (in Arabic), in whic h he asserted (as the Christian philosopher Thomas Aquinas later would) that secular knowledge and religious faith could go hand-in-hand. Córdoba changed in 1147, when the fundamentalist Almohads assumed power. Maimonides was driven out, eventually finding work in Cairo as the sultan's doctor. Today tourists, Talmudic scholars, and fans of Aquinas rub the statue's foot for good luck.
The story of Averroes (1126-1198) is a mirror image of Maimonides', except that Averroes was a Muslim lawyer, not a Jewish doctor. He became the medieval world's number one authority on Aristotle, influencing Aquinas. Averroes' biting tract The Incoherence of the Incoherence attacked narrow-mindedness, asserting that secular philosophy (for the elite) and religious faith (for the masses) both led to truth. The Almohads banished him from the city and burned his books, ending four centuries of Córdoban enlightenment.
More Sights in Central Córdoba
Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos: Literally the "Castle of the Christian Monarchs," this fortress sits strategically on the Guadalqivir River. Constant reuse and recycling of the building has left very little of the original Visigothic structure, which was built along the Roman walls. The castle was rebuilt and expanded by the Moors, who added gardens and an enormous library. Ferdinand and Isabel donated the castle to the Inquisition in 1482, and it became an administrative and ecclesiastical center. It was central in the church‚s effort to discover "false converts to Christianity" - mostly Jews who had decided not to flee Spain in 1492. The interior is currently threadbare, with the exception of large Roman mosaics uncovered in the Plaza de Corredera. Medusa could use a comb, but don‚t stare too long (•4, covered by Córdoba Card; May-mid-June Tue-Sun 10:00-14:00 & 17:30-19:30, closed Mon; mid-June-mid-Sept Tue-Sun 8:30-14:30, closed Mon; erratic ho urs in winter - check with TI).
Patios In Córdoba, patios are taken very seriously, as shown by the fiercely fought contest that takes place the first half of every May to pick the city's most picturesque. Patios, a common feature of houses throughout Andalucía, have a long history here. The Romans used them to cool off, and the Moors added lush, decorative touches. The patio functioned as a quiet outdoor living room, an oasis from the heat. Inside elaborate ironwork gates, roses, geraniums, and jasmine spill down whitewashed walls, while fountains play and caged birds sing. Some patios are owned by individuals, some are communal courtyards for several homes, and some grace public buildings like museums or convents.
Today, homeowners take pride in these mini-paradises, and have no problem sharing them with tourists. Keep an eye out for square metal signs that indicate historic homes. As you wander Córdoba's backstreets, pop your head into any wooden door that's open. The owners won't mind (they keep inner gates locked), and you may be treated to a view of a picture-perfect patio. A concentration of previous patio-contest award-winners runs along Calle San Basilio and Calle Martín Roa, just across from the Alcázar gardens.
Away from the Center
Madinat Al-Zahra (Medina Azahara): The ruins of a once-fabulous palace of the caliph, five miles northwest of Córdoba, were completely forgotten until excavations began in the early 20th century. This site was a power center built to replace Córdoba in 929 A.D. Legend has it that Abd Al-Rahman III erected it on a whim to please his favorite concubine, but recent investigations have discovered that it was much more important than a love token. Madinat Al-Zahra was both a palace and an entirely new capital city - the "City of the Flower" - covering nearly half a square mile (only about 10 percent has been uncovered). Exte nsively planned with an orderly design, Madinat Al-Zahra was meant to symbolize and project a new discipline on an increasingly unstable Moorish empire in Spain. It didn‚t work. Only 75 years later, the city was looted and destroyed. No wonder it was forgotten for so long.
What remains is more like a jigsaw puzzle that is being slowly reconstructed. Throughout the site are millions of bits and pieces waiting for reassembly by patient archaeologists. Upper terrace excavations have uncovered stables and servants‚ quarters. (The terraced location shows off the surrounding countryside well.) Farther downhill, the house of a high-ranking official has been partially reconstructed. Continuing around to reach the lowest level, you'll come to the remains of the mosque - placed at a diagonal, facing true east. The highlight of the visit is an elaborate reconstruction of the caliph‚s throne room, capturing a moody world of horseshoe arches and delicate stucco. Accounts by contemporaries (which border on legend) say the palace featured waterfall walls, lions in cages, and - in the center of the throne room - a basin filled with mercury, reflecting the colorful walls. The effect likely humbled anyone fortunate enough to see the caliph.
Cost and Hours: 1.50, covered by Córdoba Card, Tue-Sat 10:00-20:30, Sun 10:00-14:00, closed Mon.
Getting There: Madinat Al-Zahra is located on a back road five miles from Córdoba. By car, head to Avenida Medina Azahara (one block south of the train station), following signs for highway A431. Go through Plaza del Poeta ibn Zaydun and turn onto Calle Periodista Quesada Chacón, still following A431. It curves to the right and becomes Carretera a Palma del Río. Turn right at signposted CV119, and continue on to the site.
No regular public transportation goes to the ruins, but you can get there via a tourist bus - set up by the TI - that leaves in the morning and returns two hours later (Tue-Fri at 11:00, Sat-Sun at 10:00 and 11:00, year-round). Catch the bus either at Avenida Alcázar, along the river, or on Paseo de la Victoria, in front of the Mausoleo Romano (•5, free with Córdoba Card, bus ticket includes informative English booklet).

Photo: Reuters
Painting the town Spanish red
Destination: Spain
Related coverageBunol 100% puree GALLERY La Tomatina festival
Nearly 40,000 people bombarded each other with more than 100 tonnes of tomatoes Wednesday in one of Spain's most original summer festivals.
Throwing tomatoes is 'wonderful for getting rid of stress', said Pilar Garrigues, culture councillor in the eastern town of Bunol, where the festival known as La Tomatina started spontaneously six decades ago.
Five lorries dumped more than 110 tonnes of mushy tomatoes in the town centre. By the time the one-hour battle was over, the streets were filled with tomato-covered participants ankle-deep in tomatoes between splattered houses.
Participants rushed to use the 500 showers prepared for the purpose, while squads of cleaners moved in to clean up the mess.
The Tomatina is believed to have begun in 1945, when a scuffle broke out between two groups of youths and fruit stalls were overturned. One of the stalls was full of tomatoes, and the first tomato fight lasted throughout the evening.
For 15 years local authorities have tried to ban the event, but its popularity is growing and the festival now draws tens of thousands of visitors annually from as far away as Japan, Australia and the US.
Regional Food of Spain: What Diversity!
Last year, 42 million Spaniards traveled as tourists within their own country. Spaniards like to say that 41 million of them traveled in search of a good meal.
Spaniards spend more money on food per capita than anyone else in Europe. That's not because eating out in Spain is expensive - menu prices are among the cheapest in Europe - but because the regional varieties from which to choose are seemingly without limit. Travel from one Spanish village to the next and you'll soon discover that each has its own specialty, from variations in the humble art of tapas to innovative nouvelle cuisine.
Catalonia
Most Catalans complain that if it wasn't for the Basques, their cuisine would be considered the finest in Europe. They have a point.
Not only do the good people of Barcelona live in one of Europe's most exciting and cosmopolitan cities - think the astonishing architectural creations of Antoni Gaudi and the pulsating street theatre of Las Ramblas - they also call home a city dedicated to the creative fusion of international tastes.
Less tied to tradition, and even less recognizably Spanish, Catalan kitchens - unlike those of the fiercely independent Basques - pride themselves on being ever open to the influences of the world. Catalans freely admit that they consider themselves Catalan first, European second and Spanish only third, and that they are experts in taking the best on offer from other European cultures and adding their own special twist.
In Barcelona, pastas abound - cannelloni with a Catalan twist has been adopted as Catalonia's own - as do pastries that could emerge from the finest Parisian patisserie. Mercat La Boqueria, on Las Ramblas, is one of Europe's best fresh food markets, a feast for the senses of French cheeses, Italian delicacies and German sausages. As such, it's an ideal starting point for sourcing provisions for your picnic on the steps of Gaudi's otherworldly La Sagrada Familia, an extraordinary work-in-progress that could only arise in Barcelona.
Basque country
If Spaniards elsewhere love their food, Basques are obsessed with it. They talk about it endlessly. They plan their day around it. And then they spend the rest of their time dreaming about it. So seriously do they take their food that the Basque country is awash with secret gastronomic societies whose sole purpose is the enjoyable art of eating.
San Sebastian is invariably the first stop on the discerning Spaniard's gastronomic tour and it should be yours as well. There are many reasons to visit San Sebastian, among them the Playa de la Concha (a perfect arc of sand that has been described as the world's most beautiful city beach), the views from Monte Igueldo out over the Cantabrian Sea, the cobblestone medieval quarter (casco viejo) and the friendly locals.
But for all of the city's considerable charms, the most compelling reason to visit is San Sebastian's well-deserved title as Spain's culinary capital, as the place where tradition meets innovation and food is elevated to an art form.
The bars of the casco viejo are home to Spain's most creative and abundant tapas (known in the Basque country as pintxos). The counter of each bar groans under the weight of bite-sized portions of seafood, mushrooms, meats and cheeses. Each of these foods would be tempting enough on its own, but the combinations are staggering: anchovies with Roquefort cheese and caviar; goat's cheese, salmon and eggplant, perhaps with a splash of strawberry jam; zucchini with crab; prawns with mushrooms. The list seems endless. Accompanied by a glass of the renowned Basque idra (cider) - poured straight from the barrel and from a great height - or a glass of txakoli (a slightly tart but refreshing white wine) and you're likely to set about planning to extend your stay.
The windmills of Consuegra that Quixote mistook for giants.
A knight to remember
A Spanish hero captivates John Huxley and leads him on a merry chase.
Even after the Spanish Government has spent millions of euros on publicity, prettification and signposting, it's still difficult to know where the Don Quixote trail really begins.
In Madrid's Plaza de Espana, perhaps, where busloads of Japanese come to be photographed with the imposing equestrian statue of the wizened knight, his scrawny, much sat-upon horse, Rocinante, and his scruffy, much put-upon squire, Sancho Panza?
In the rolling plains and gentle hills of Castilla-La Mancha, under vast skies dotted with monumental profiles of the potty couple and with the windmills he mistook for giants?
Or, everywhere, in the imaginations of millions of Spaniards for whom Quixote is - much like his creator Miguel de Cervantes - a national hero, international moneyspinner and universal dreamer and idealistic adventurer?
It does not much matter. As the guide, Corrine Samper, explains: "He may have been around for more than four centuries, but our Don Quixote is timeless and he's everywhere."
In art galleries, where he has been captured by artists such as Goya, Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso and, more literally, Alexandre Decamps. In recipe books: no fewer than 150 ways of preparing food is mentioned in Miguel de Cervantes's masterpiece.
In the Real Jardin Botanico Madrid, which displays plants mentioned in the book. And standing, somewhat forlornly, in fields out along the A4 autovia that quickly runs south of the city out through La Mancha, originally an Arabic word meaning "dry, waterless land".
Having been to Barcelona and having decided to postpone the Basque country to another time, we have flown into Madrid - its airport a postmodern barn of a place, big enough to lose baggage, people and even planes, one suspects - with a double whammy in mind. We want a week in the capital, wining and dining and doing the museums and galleries, targeting the Prado collection of Goya's so-called Black Paintings. And a week hiding away in the hills of Andalusia, walking, bird watching, making day trips to the great heritage centres of Seville, Granada and Cordoba, and to Malaga for the new Picasso galleries.
Both missions are accomplished (see panel), but Quixote proves irresistible, especially once the Penguin Classics edition of the 1000-page book, voted the greatest novel ever by the Nobel Institute, has been started.
The trail - as much eco as it is literary - is more than 2500 kilometres long and comes packaged in a series of 10 colour brochures, available in Spanish from the new Castilla-La Mancha office in Madrid.
But there are many easy excursions into that landscape in which Quixote - inspired by the exploits of knights of old - fumbles forth, mistaking not just windmills for giants, but dust clouds of sheep for armies, humble inns for castles, and dumpy matrons for distressed damsels.
A popular place to start is Consuegra. Not only is it just a few kilometers from the freeway, but it has a 13th century castle, originally of Moorish construction, and some of the finest molinos de viento, or windmills, in La Mancha. White-bodied and black-capped, they seem, from a distance, to march like some squat army across the hills. No wonder Quixote mistook them for giants - even though Sancho, a Baldrick-like character but with more brains, tried to dissuade him.
"Look, your worship," he says, "what we see there are not giants but windmills, and what seem to be their arms are the sails that, turned by the wind, make the millstone go."
When Quixote finally concedes they are windmills, he claims a wizard has transformed them from giants "to rob me of the glory of vanquishing them". Two of the windmills have been transformed into a tourism office and a shop. Despite these modern conversions and the intrusion of dozens of tourist coaches daily, Consuegra's windmills have become the most photographed in Spain.
Nearby is Puerto Lapice, with distant glimpses of windmills and plenty of bars, shops selling Quixote memorabilia and restaurants. One claims to be the inn where Quixote was "knighted" by a long-suffering innkeeper. Closer to town are the windmills of Campo de Criptana, a white-washed place that seems to tumble down the hill onto the plain. It also has a historic granary, a hermitage and several churches.
Many of the windmills have disappeared, but once there were 34, sufficient to support local views that this is the place Cervantes had in mind when Quixote and Sancho "caught sight of 30 or 40 windmills which were standing on the plain".
Such has been the success of the Ruta de Don Quijote, details of which can now be found in English on the internet (search for ''Don Quixote route'') that there can be few places in La Mancha that do not claim a literary reference.
But the pretty town of El Toboso can fairly lay claim to be the home of the idealized Princess Dulcinea, whom Quixote describes as the "mistress of [his] hapless heart". It even has a museum and an attractive, abstract statue of the knight and his lady to prove it. Belmonte demonstrably has the impressive 15th-century castle by which Quixote and Sancho camped. And Herencia is the place where Quixote killed a monk in another comical misadventure.
Despite the wealth of localized anecdote and detail in Cervantes's book, the precise locations of his hero's exploits are elusive. Realistic glimpses of the author may be gained in places he touched, such as Madrid, near his birthplace and where he died and was buried; Cordoba, where he lived; and Seville and Valladolid, where he stayed, either voluntarily or through imprisonment.
Despite the many kilometers of signposts and information boards throughout La Mancha, looking for his famous creation is today as much an exercise in imaginative recreation as physical verification.
But then that, along with the fine local food, the friendly people, plentiful history and wonderful bedtime reading, is precisely what makes the pursuit so enjoyable.
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MOOR
Few places, perhaps, come as close to that travel writer's cliche "a land of contrasts" as Andalusia. One false turn has the unwary visitor likely to encounter English lager louts and lobsters who still rush to Torremolinos and other resorts on the Costa del Sol. But several smart moves have the traveler transported into a magical countryside of dancing hills, dotted with postcard-pretty, whitewashed villages and defined, almost geographically, by some of the world's truly great heritage cities:
* Cordoba, for the miraculous Mezquita, which, depending on your perspective, is a wonderful blending of Islamic and Christian architecture, or an absurd display of vandalism by the latter on the former. Either way, a visit to the Mezquita - or the "Holy Cathedral Church (former Mosque of Cordoba)", as it is described in local tourist literature - is a highlight of any trip to Spain. Far from creating awe with steepling, vaulting verticality, the mosque created by Abd al-Rahman I is a maze of low, red-and-white striped arches, stretching in all directions. Truly amazing. And the bird watching along the nearby river is excellent, too.
* Granada, home of what Lonely Planet describes, with good reason, as the "one don't-miss destination" in Andalusia - the Alhambra. From a distance, the setting, against the snow-covered Sierra Nevada, looks more impressive than the structure, which is plain. Once inside the walls, though, a fairytale world of palace, gardens and ramparts unfurls, revealing glimpses of history dating back to Moorish times. Or so we were told. Along with several hundred other people, we arrived too late to buy tickets. So be warned. Go early or, like us, you can spend a pleasant day visiting the cathedral and unrestricted parts of the Alhambra, walking the streets of the old Muslim quarter, climbing to the Mirador San Nicolas for views across the city to the fortress.
* Seville, the biggest city in Andalusia, rightly famous for its bullrings, its tapas bars, its flamenco culture and the rich diversity of its Roman, Islamic, Gothic and renaissance architecture, highlighted by the cathedral and the peaceful gardens of the Alcazar. Even better if, like us, you visit Seville during Semana Santa, or Holy Week, when the city stops for colorful processions, many of them accompanied by penitents wearing long robes and Ku Klux Klan-like hoods.
* Malaga, a tourist hot spot, with plenty of beaches such as the Costa del Sol, but with other attractions, such as the Alcazaba fortress, the botanical gardens and the new, back street Picasso Museum, dedicated to the works of the city's most famous son. So much to see, so little time. One solution is to locate centrally in an area such as the Subbetica, making day trips to the bigger cities and coming home to the setting sun, a bottle of wine and a view of the olive groves. There are hundreds of pretty, unspoiled villages to choose from. Our choice was a one-bedroom casita in La Parrilla, near the not-much-bigger village of Villanueva de Algaidas.
La Parrilla (the owners, Simon and Emily Green, said the name means "the grill", as high-summer visitors will understand) is 10 kilometers from the nearest shop and 25 kilometers from the nearest supermarket, at Antequera. It was perfect for walking, bird-watching, exploring other historical attractions, such as those at Iznajar and Antequera, and natural curiosities, such as the amazing rock formations of El Torcal, and relaxing. A place where life continues at a leisurely pace, the peace broken only by birdsong, the buzz of mopeds and the grind of the olive-processing plant.
Helmets are now sensibly used in jai alai. Geoffrey Gray takes a peek at Basque Country and finds one of the world's fastest, most dangerous sports.
Brutal ballet with bullets
THE PELOTA went screaming down the side wall and, seemingly, out of reach. Adolfo Elizegi, the fiery backcourter, fuming and down on points, dived headfirst into the fronton's cold granite floor, scooping the goatskin ball deep in the belly of his cesta.
Then, twisting in one fast, desperate motion, he fired the rock-hard sphere against the front wall with a sound of shattered glass. Winner!
The crowd of a hundred or so sitting at the historic fronton in Gernika, Spain, the Basque town that Picasso made famous with his massacre-inspired abstractions, responded with a clamour of claps and hoots.
Mucho! Mucho! (nice shot!). Venga! Venga! (Come on, let's go!).
If you want to watch pure jai alai, the speedy, acrobatic attraction promoters once called "the game of dodging death" and "ballet with bullets", you have to make the trip back to its birthplace: Basque Country.
It was here during the 1850s that a lazy farmer in the French town of St Pee sur Nivelle learnt he could hurl potatoes faster and longer with a narrow, scooped-out basket. A century and a half later, those baskets are called cestas and, strapped to the hand of a professional jai alai player, can wing a pelota (a rock-hard ball with a rubber core and wrapped in goatskin) as fast as 290 km/h and shatter bulletproof glass.
An international obsession during the early part of the 20th century, when hundreds of Basque peloteros (players) played the tricky, handball-like game on frontons (courts) in China, Egypt, Cuba, Spain, Italy, Brazil, Macau, Indonesia, Australia, Argentina, Colombia and other places, jai alai is flirting with extinction.
In the United States, only two frontons remain open full-time, in Miami and Dania Beach.
These South Florida courts are often empty, dingy destinations inhabited by wayward gamblers who feast on promotions such as hot dogs and cups of beer that cost only a quarter.
But in summer the action shifts to the north of Spain, where the most talented players in the world return to visit their families and compete in feisty head-to-head matches.
"What you see here is the sport as it's meant to be played, and played in the same way that it's always been," said Inigo Calzacorta, a former professional who promotes matches in the Basque Country.
From June to August, partidos (matches) can be found virtually every night of the week in a dozen eclectic frontons on the northern tip of Spain and the south-west corner of France.
Finding all the games can be a challenge (partidos are often poorly advertised), but the hunt will take you through the best of the Basque region: medieval fishing villages and surf towns such as Getaria, where the surviving sailors of Magellan's famed voyage landed in 1522; rustic mountain hamlets such as Tolosa, famous for its hearty red beans; seaside resort towns such as Biarritz and St Jean de Luz; and San Sebastian, with its Belle Epoque boulevards, ornate bridges and postcard-perfect beaches.
The tournaments, which can span several weeks, draw a varied crowd: families, wrinkled-face farmers, courting couples, retired players, politicians and an ever-present mob of loud-mouthed gamblers who suck on cheap cigars and flood the court with a sweet, smoky haze.
Partidos are grueling contests. The hypnotizing rallies can rage on back and forth for an hour or more. The players' jerseys become drenched with sweat. Drama builds. There is - as Ernest Hemingway said when he passed through here so many years ago to chase bullfighters - aficion (fondness).
The mountain town of Markina (population 4752) is considered the home of jai alai. The best way to get there from San Sebastian is to follow the water. Drive along N-634, the dizzying pass that runs along the Cantabrian Coast with craggy cliffs that end on pristine beaches, and surf side restaurants that serve up grilled sardines and squid. The vista quickly changes from endless sea to Alpine mountains: sloping hills dotted with slashing pines and stone cottages trimmed in dark red paint, colour once taken from cattle blood.
Winding along these roads, it is easy to see why the Basques have been so aggressive about keeping this picturesque land their own. Reminders of the Basque separatist movement are everywhere, not just in the spray-painted slogans along the roads.
In small villages, the sidrerias, old-world restaurants that barrel a young and tart hard apple cider, use recipes for a codfish omelet that date to the days when Basques were known as whale hunters.
In the tavernas in the town squares, often next to the frontons, men wear traditional Basque berets, drink gritty coffee and feast on slices of ham hide that dangle from the ceiling by the hoof. They speak only in Basque, using tongue-twisting words - words whose origins seem as mysterious and unknown as the Basques themselves.
Egunon degizula jainkoak! (Translation: Hope you all have a good day, God willing.)
The sports here are tough-knuckled pastimes that demand the grit and raw display of machismo that is central to the Basque mystique. Boulder lifting, grass cutting, log chopping and tug-of-war are important contests in summer festivals.
Of the Basque games that involve a pelota, jai alai is one of at least 23 variations that require a medley of sticks, paddles and gloves. The most popular pelota game here now is the oldest, cheapest and most likely to cause injury: mano, in which only the hand is used to swat the pelota.
"There was a time when going to a jai alai match was like going to the finest bullfight in Madrid or going to the opera," said Gonzalo Beaskoetxea, a former world champion and author of Historia de la Cesta Punta, a self-published book that is perhaps the sport's most complete history. To drum up new interest, some entrepreneurs are also trying to make jai alai more accessible to play for young players and a draw for tourists. Calzacorta, for instance, is exploring the manufacturing of a cesta made from plastic synthetics that can be sold for $60 or so. (The current cestas, made from Spanish chestnut and reeds, take about a year to make and cost several hundred dollars.)
Calzacorta is also seeking support from investors and government in the hope of building the first jai alai museum, in Markina. Among its holdings would be sepia-toned photographs showing the first peloteros donning berets and riverboat moustaches and noble snow-white uniforms colored with sashes wrapped around their waists, along with shots of the fashionable old frontons, circa 1887, in San Sebastian, or circa 1895, in Bilbao.
The crowds were standing-room-only then, thickets of fine tailored suits and dresses, top hats, bonnets and parasols. Included, too, would be photographs of Hemingway, who romanticized the game and all its innate contradictions: skill and speed, courage and danger, grace and violence. "It is a grand sport," Hemingway said.
So many years later, traces of the grandeur remain. You have to look hard and far to find them. But if you listen close, they are not hard to hear.
Mucho! Mucho! Venga! Venga!

Ancient Vintages & Modern Spain
Dale Fuchs looks round architect Frank Gehry's latest masterpiece, a wavy titanium-clad hotel.
Destination: Spain
Driving south from Bilbao in Spain's Basque country, through swathes of fertile countryside, stone churches and rustic towns, you don't expect to stumble across an example of splashy modern architecture.
But there it is, sprouting from the vineyards, a sculpted metallic hulk - tinted wine red, gold and silver - rather like the twisted foil discarded from a bottle of rioja.
The hotel at the 150-year-old Marques de Riscal bodega near Elciego in La Rioja, which opened on September 27, bears all the wavy titanium-clad hallmarks of its designer Frank Gehry.
Ever since Gehry's Guggenheim put Bilbao on the map almost a decade ago, designer buildings and bridges have been shooting up throughout Spain, from Santiago Calatrava's ship-shaped opera house in Valencia to Sir Richard Rogers's rainbow-colored airport in Madrid. Now bodegas have joined the quest, with the likes of Calatrava's avant-garde cedar-clad, barrel-like winery installation at nearby Bodegas Ysios, which is open for public tours.
The Marques de Riscal has gone one better, creating a wine-themed hotel. Part of an EUR80 million ($140 million) overhaul, it is aimed at design-conscious and gastronomic tourists who don't mind paying EUR300 to EUR1350 for a room with red velvet curtains and marble baths.
Here ordinary baths will not suffice. Instead, at the "wine-therapy" spa, travelers can soak in tubs that look like oak barrels, bubbling with wine extracts.
The grape is everywhere, from the cellar beneath the lobby to the curled metallic canopies on sandstone pillars meant to suggest a vine sprouting from the ground.
Take the first sip on a 90-minute tour ( EUR6), which begins at stainless steel fermentation vats and concludes in a century-old stone cellar where oak barrels line dark, mould-stained walls.
Next to the Guggenheim the interiors of the hotel seem a bit tame. You expect every space to be mind-blowing, like the museum, and it is more standard urban chic. But a few curvy walls and the Gehry-designed chairs and lamps keep it interesting.
The best place to be is on one of the many outdoor decks enjoying the view of distant mountains while watching the sun reflect on titanium ribbons. The contrast of the avant-garde building with the surrounding countryside is exhilarating.
Back inside, the chef, Francis Paniego, hails from Michelin-starred Basque restaurant El Portal, known for its creative cuisine. The EUR90 tasting menu includes dishes such as foie gras custard, Iberian ham ice-cream and sweet tomato tartar with cold garlic cream soup.
Watch out if you drink too much wine at dinner: some of the the sleek rooms are slightly dizzying at first, with undulating leather headboards and slanted windows that follow the contours of Gehry's design.
Next year, a spokeswoman says, the hotel plans to offer grape harvest packages for do-it-yourself tourists who think strenuous exercise is romantic. The sauvignon massage may just come into its own.

Richly diverse, Spain convincingly assumes many disguises for Hollywood
ONE of Spain's main attractions is that everywhere seems a little bit different. If you lined up pictures of sun-parched Almeria, mountain towns in the Pyrenees and the green countryside of the north-west, the impartial observer would never place them in the same nation. It is arguably more diverse than any other country in Europe, slotting together scenes that could be from all over the world in one peninsula. This is something that has not gone unnoticed by filmmakers over the years. And when it is necessary to cut costs, when American film crews aren't welcome or the original site is just plain inaccessible, a Spanish location is often the remedy. Some of the most famous movies have been shot on Spanish soil. Here are a few:
SPAIN AS ... THE WILD WEST A Fistful Of Dollars; For A Few Dollars More; The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
Spain came to prominence as a cheap staging ground for Hollywood films when the so-called spaghetti westerns were shot in the Tabernas desert near Almeria. Although financed by Italian corporations, there were no suitable outdoor locations in Italy for the famous shoot-out scenes, but Tabernas was a great double for southern California and New Mexico. Of the films shot here, the moody gun slinging epics of Sergio Leone's "Dollars" trilogy, which catapulted Clint Eastwood to fame, are the most recognizable. While filming has wound down in the area, sets can still be visited. One of them, Mini Hollywood (+34 95 036 5236) is now a theme park, with staged shoot-outs all part of the fun.
SPAIN AS ... CUBA Die Another Day
Though part of the 20th James Bond film was set in Havana, due to American sanctions against the Caribbean island, filming there was an impossibility. After scouting around the world to find something similar, the producers eventually thought the old, pastel-colored buildings of Cadiz were the perfect match. Cadiz was founded by the Phoenicians as a trading centre back about 1100BC, and was Spain's most important port for centuries. Columbus set off on his second and fourth voyages from here, and there is Roman, Carthaginian and Moorish heritage. For those more concerned with topping up a tan than the knowledge bank, the beaches are superb. La Caleta beach, in particular, may seem familiar - it is the spot where Halle Berry emerges from the water in homage to Ursula Andress in Dr No.
SPAIN AS ... THE SOVIET UNION Dr Zhivago
When David Lean wanted to film Doctor Zhivago, Boris Pasternak's epic story of love and revolution, it was fairly obvious that the Soviet regime was not going to allow him a free rein on the streets of Moscow. The logical place, therefore, to create accurate portrayals of a Russian winter was a big plot of land near Madrid's international airport, yes? The set included a replica of the Kremlin, but one thing was missing - snow. They had to use ground marble instead. The set is no longer there, but you can visit the film's version of the Ural Mountains. The scenes of Zhivago crossing the steppes were filmed at the height of summer on the northern slopes of the Sierra de Guadarrama. The range is a short drive out of Madrid, and usually offers a cooler alternative to the city heat. Try telling that to Omar Sharif and the rest of the cast, who were forced to swelter in huge fur coats.
SPAIN AS ... TURKEY Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade
The Moorish influence on Granada made it an obvious choice as the double for the Turkish port of Iskenderun. The city easily fulfils the requirement of bustling streets and Arabic architecture. The Muslim rule may have been relinquished in the 15th century, but its influence remains, most noticeably in the justly famous Alhambra Palace. This is one of Spain's biggest tourist attractions, and despite the hype, it never fails to disappoint. The Arab quarter, or El Albaicin, is the best place to get a taste of the past while experiencing a different culture.
SPAIN AS ... THE MIDDLE EAST Lawrence Of Arabia
While the famous desert scenes were mainly filmed in Jordan, ironically the Jordanian seaport of Aqaba wasn't deemed up to the task of playing itself. The seaport ended up being built from scratch on Playa del Algorocibo, near Almeria. Many of the other cities featured in David Lean's epic turned out to be Seville, though. The Cairo officer's club is the Palaio Espanol in Plaza de Espana, while the buildings around Plaza De Americas double as Jerusalem and the Casino de la Exposicion fills in for the town hall in Damascus. The Moorish influence on Andalucia's biggest city was the clincher, but there is more to the city than old buildings. It is arguably the home of flamenco and, more controversially, bullfighting.
SPAIN AS ... FRANCE Kingdom Of Heaven
Ridley Scott's big-budget vision of the Crusades started off with Orlando Bloom's character plying his trade as a blacksmith in a French village in the shadow of a great castle. This mighty fortress was actually Loarre Castle, in the Huesca province of Aragon. Later on, the Valsain forest near Segovia was used for the pivotal ambush scene. This woodland is a nature-lover's paradise. Wild boar and deer still gambol through the densely packed trees and, unless you do something to really annoy them, they are happy to share their territory with walkers.

Fairytale Alcazar of Segovia
Spain beyond the Costa
MORE tourists - 53 million to be exact - visit Spain than any other country in Europe, but the overwhelming majority of these book the usual flights to the beach, dip across to Barcelona or are otherwise drawn by a heady mix of sun, sand and sangria. These are indeed worthy pursuits, but there is another Spain, one that is essential to understanding Europe's most popular holiday destination.
Castilla y Leon is the Spanish heartland, ranged across the high plateau of the Iberian interior and home to some of the country's most intriguing cities, medieval villages and a castle perched atop seemingly every hilltop. Better still, fewer than 1 per cent of visitors to Spain come here, which may in itself be reason enough to come.
The cities
Salamanca One of Spain's most charismatic cities, Salamanca combines an august history and stunning sandstone buildings with a lively, live-for-the-moment soundtrack. Salamanca's university - one of Europe's oldest, dating from 1218 - is the Spanish equivalent of Oxford, but from its magnificent courtyards students from all over the world spill into restaurants, bars and nightclubs.
As a result, Salamanca's streets throng with people and its grand edifices - the soaring old and new cathedrals, the Casa de las Conchas with its distinctive shell-decorated facade and the splendid Renaissance cloisters of the Convento de San Esteban are just a few highlights - provide one of Spain's most expansive and uniformly picturesque city backdrops. But for all Salamanca's grandeur, it is the monumental 18th-century Plaza Mayor that will leave the most lasting impression. Perhaps Spain's most beautiful city square, it comes alive at night.
Avila The walled city of Avila rises from the plains of south-western Castilla y Leon like an apparition, its formidable stone walls and 88 watchtowers encircling a town that provides a sober counterpoint to the energy of Salamanca.
It's a place that lends itself easily to legends - a local myth asserts that the town was founded by one of Hercules' sons - and that's perhaps why it has become one of the most revered centers of Spanish Catholicism. The city's favorite daughter is St Teresa, a Catholic mystic who revolutionized the Carmelite order in the 16th century and left behind an architectural legacy of rare beauty. The cathedral, with its red and limestone columns, El Greco paintings and astonishing altar pieces, is Avila's centerpiece, but the monasteries and churches that dominate the town serve as striking signposts to this most loved of
Spanish saintsWithin the walls, Avila huddles amid narrow streets and dark stone. Beyond the walls, the views back towards the town resemble nothing so much as the embodiment of a fairytale. Semana Santa (Easter) is the most evocative time to visit as hooded supplicants march slowly and silently through the streets as if returning the city to its Middle Ages heyday.
Segovia If Avila resembles a fairytale, it is Segovia that brought at least one fairytale to life. Locals claim that Segovia's castle served as the Walt Disney prototype for Sleeping Beauty's castle. A precipitous moat, towers that seem to spring from a child's imagination and stalactite-dominated salons set this fortress above so many others in Spain. The views from the castle's tower are exceptional, as are those back towards the Alcazar from the Iglesia de Vera Cruz, one-time home to a reputed piece of Christ's cross. Segovia also has a mind-blowing Roman aqueduct - held together with no mortar - and another important secret: this is one of the finest places in Spain to eat cochinillo (roast suckling pig), a winter obsession of fine-dining Spaniards.
Leon For pilgrims who traverse the long roads of the Camino de Santiago, Leon, in the north of Castilla y Leon, is more than just holy ground and few cities wear their mix of sacred and profane with such style. On the one hand, there is Leon's world-famous cathedral, one of Europe's most outstanding showcases for stained-glass windows - 128 of them covering 1800 square metres - which flood the magnificent interior with colorful, spectral light. At the same time, Leon's new showpiece Museum of Contemporary Art has become a poster boy for the innovations sweeping Spanish architecture, using as it does in its facade 37 shades of color that are pixelizations of one of the cathedral's windows. It's a city with so many sights to occupy the days and so much fun to fill your night.
Burgos Spain may have a reputation for boisterous and seemingly non-stop hedonism, but there is another, more reserved side to the character of inland Spain, a phenomenon fostered by the region's long, bitterly cold winters and baking summers.
Such is Burgos, a quiet, inward-looking city that can seem like a study in sobriety. It is home to what could be Spain's finest Gothic cathedral, awash with spires, flying buttresses and interior detail. Buried beneath the cathedral is El Cid, that heroically flawed figure of Spanish legend. There's also a castle overseeing the town, a riverfront promenade that is one of Spain's most tranquil, some fine monumental gates and a cluster of bar-restaurants where you'll eat as well as anywhere in Spain.
The villages
Sierra de Francia The mountains of south-western Castilla y Leon are among Spain's best-kept secrets, home to an array of villages as beautiful as they are time-worn. The Sierra de Francia was once one of Spain's poorest regions, so poor in fact that renowned filmmaker Luis Bunuel set his Land Without Bread here in the 1930s, while King Alfonso XIII found that the only milk available here for coffee during his 1922 visit was human milk. Although now fully integrated into Spain's economic success story, the sierra's hitherto isolation fostered a way of life and architecture that has changed little with the passing years.
La Alberca, a quaint and exceptionally pretty village of half-timbered houses and cobblestone streets, is the region's crowning glory. But smaller villages like San Martin del Castanar and Mogarraz are equally beautiful with their stone churches, twisting lanes, village bullrings and the sound of meandering streams filling the pristine mountain air.
Astorga Less a village than a small town whose name resounds across the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route, Astorga, in north-western Castilla y Leon, was once a Roman camp whose primary purpose was to guard the nearby gold mines of Las Medulas. The Romans left their mark. Astorga now boasts an outstanding Roman museum and its quiet streets conceal old Roman villas, Roman-era city walls and thermal baths. The Episcopal Palace is a flight of fancy designed by renowned Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi - turrets, playful concoctions of space and light and interior details that are a study of Gaudi's zany aesthetic vision. In keeping with this whimsy, the town also boasts a chocolate museum.
Covarrubias Entering the village through a monumental gate is like being transported into medieval Spain as the clamour of car noise from the outside world yields to quiet. It's the sort of place where antique buildings overlook old men in berets who pass the afternoon beneath the shade of balconies.
Santo Domingo de Silos Not many villages can claim monks who have starred on the world's pop charts. The monks of the Monastery of Santo Domingo gained fame in the 1990s when their Gregorian chants gained worldwide attention; they can still be heard chanting to much more modest audiences most days at 9am and at midday on Sundays.
Villages of the east Calatanazor is home to 64 souls and a ruined castle lauding it over valley and plains. It also has an epic history that encompasses the filming of Doctor Zhivago and an 11th-century battle between Muslims and Christians that gave name to its "Valley of Blood". Gormaz has even fewer people, 18, but the castle that overlooks the town could easily fit the combined populations in one of its towers. Strung out along a ridge and visible for kilometers around, the fortress of Gormaz is one of Castilla y Leon's most imposing. And then there's Medinaceli, another stone ensemble on a hilltop where the Plaza Mayor is magnificent, the Roman arch surprising and an overall air that captures the essence of Castilla y Leon - quietly beautiful, scarcely known and all the better for it.
Fast facts Getting there: Qantas/Air France fly Melbourne-Madrid via Singapore and Paris, about $2000.
Camino de Santiago
I'D NEVER been sadder. I lay on the hospital bed in Logrono, Spain, wearing tears of self-pity. A week earlier, armed only with a backpack, a block of brie and no idea, I signed on at the office in Saint Jean Pied de Port as a peregrina (pilgrim), and the officer there asked me what I was looking for. "A horse," I told him.
I'd just discovered there were three types of pilgrim - on bike, horse and foot. I'd also just discovered that it was 800 kilometers to Santiago in Spain. I was assured St Jacques would bring me what I asked for, and I regretted not asking for lower interest rates and a Latin lover who could salsa.
Or an extra anterior cruciate ligament that wasn't complaining at having run 250 kilometers with a 10-kilogram backpack. But the doctors were smiling. At the first major hospital on the route, these docs have seen it all: blisters that have to be punctured by jackhammers and heatstroke from the Spanish sun. I was told to jettison half my load, behave more like the small cucaracha (cockroach) I was, and ask for help from St Jacques.
Many people undertake the Camino walk (actually a cobweb of routes across southern Europe), reliving the odyssey of medieval Christians carrying the remains of martyr St Jacques to Santiago - to gain enlightenment, as penance, or simply to get fit and take in the sights.
Some complete only the last 100 kilometers Others, like me, start at the foot of the Pyrenees in France. One walker I met began at his front door, 2600 kilometers away in Holland. The route, which many compare to a "journey of life", has peaks and valleys, desolate plains, rainforests and wheat fields surrounding medieval houses. Plus the occasional brush with the 21st century in the form of four-lane highways and pilgrims yelling "I'm on the Camino!" into mobile phones.
Contrary to popular belief, it doesn't rain on the plains in Spain. Instead, they are an empty, 250-kilometre stretch of nothingness from Logrono to Burgos. But it was here, limited by the heat, that life slowed and the people passing, calling out "Buen Camino!", became friends.
I learnt many unexpected lessons: biblical songs in Portuguese, how to sleep in a room of 50 snoring Frenchmen and, courtesy of a medical student, how to blow up oranges.
Along the way I met Domingo from Venezuela. When I asked him about a medal he wore, he kissed it and gestured at the sky. "He's up there," he said, "My son." Seven days earlier he had buried his nine-year-old son, Jose. Unable to cope at home, Domingo and his wife had this week together to grieve, comfort one another and prepare for the task of looking after their 10-month-old baby they had left at home.
At this point the Camino stopped being about a destination, but rather about the journey - and not the road but the people on it. Slowly but surely, with only a few hundred kilometers to go, I was becoming a pilgrim.
On a rainy Saturday I arrived in Santiago and stayed a week, alone, in the bustle of the city, eating tapas, watching pilgrims arrive and new friends depart. But more than that, I digested my experience.
I realized I had learnt lessons that would help me in other journeys, including the most important journey of all - the camino of life.
Sea wall Cadiz, Andalucia.
Spain's unknown villages
Spain has countless beautiful villages that best reveal the country's true nature and history provided the visitor keeps well away from the big cities and beaches.
Almost every region in Spain has something to offer and the villages and towns can be reached easily with a hired car.
Here are some tips: Deia on the northwestern coast of the island of Majorca was made famous by such artists as Joan Miro and Frederic Chopin.
Olive trees and jasmine bushes 1,000-year-old line the path leading to the church, towering over the village. British writer Robert Graves (1895-1985), who lived in Deia for several years, was one of the famous who appreciated the view of the coastline from the terraced cemetery.
Peter Ustinov, Kate Moss, Bruce Springsteen and Bob Geldof are others who enjoyed the atmosphere in the idyllic village. The bay of Deia is probably one of the most beautiful beaches of Majorca.
. Vejer de la Frontera is situated in the province of Cadiz and is a classic example of the white villages of Andalusia. With its steep alleyways and white-walled homes decorated with geraniums it was named in 1978 as the most beautiful village in Spain. King Fernando II conquered the town from the Muslims in the year 1250 and it then for a long time marked the border between the Christian Spain and the rest of Spain ruled by the Arabs.
. Albarracin in the Aragon province is more like an open museum. A walk through the paved streets reveals palaces, villas and churches with impressive Renaissance art. Moorish inhabitants built many of the impressive buildings hewn from the rocks in the cliffs around the year 970.
. Santillana del Mar in northern Cantabria has a history doing back to the Stone Age. The Altamira Caves with their prehistoric wall paintings have made the town famous. Stone houses dating back to the 15th century line the cobblestone streets with the Plaza Mayor and the Merino Tower as the main tourist attraction.But the town has more to offer than buildings. Cantabria is well know for its cuisine of traditional stews, cheeses and sea foods.
Kick up your heels: mix flamenco dancing with a bit of sightseeing in Spain.
Put your best foot forward: Dance in Spain and afar
It might be time to cha-cha-cha your way through a dance holiday, writes Lisa Bachelor.
If you have a sense of rhythm - rather than two left feet - you might enjoy a dancing holiday. There are many styles to choose from, from flamenco to ballroom or belly dancing.
SALSA
One of the favorite dance styles, salsa is taking off around the world. Not surprisingly, Spain, Cuba and South America are the preferred destinations for mastering the moves. A number of companies now offer holidays that incorporate salsa classes with learning a bit of Spanish. One is Cactus Language, which offers holidays in Spain or Cuba. The one-week Spanish and Salsa holiday in Barcelona has an intense timetable featuring 20 one-hour Spanish lessons and two hours a day of salsa. It also offers a two-week Spanish and Salsa holiday in Santiago de Cuba. See cactuslanguage.com
BALLROOM
If you are after something more sedate, where better to learn the old-fashioned art of ballroom dancing than in Britain? HF Holidays offers four-night Beginners Ballroom dancing holidays in various locations. Accommodation is in stately homes and mansions. Prices are inclusive of accommodation, meals and tuition. If you can already dance the basics of waltz, quickstep, rumba and cha-cha-cha, you can improve your steps at the Ballroom Beyond Basics holiday.
BELLY DANCING
You have to relax your jaw and hands and use your arms like the conductor of an orchestra. These are just some of the secrets of successful belly dancing, according to instructor Keti Sharif. You can watch the experts and learn a few moves on a 10-day music and dance tour of Egypt with Oceana International. It starts and ends in Cairo and includes eight music and dance workshops, a tour of the pyramids, boating on the Red Sea, market shopping and optional scuba diving and horse riding. Costs are exclusive of flights and depart in April, June and September next year. See oceana.net.au
LINEDANCING
If line dancing and country music is more your thing, Australian-based Bootscootin' Travel Club has an array of musical adventures to suit. In March, you can have a week-long line dancing holiday in Tasmania. But it's not all dance - there are excursions to Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park as well as stop-offs in Hobart, Port Arthur and Launceston. Elvis fans might want to consider the two-week trip to the World Line Dance Gathering in Nashville, Memphis and Las Vegas. See bootstravelclub.com
FLAMENCO
Add a few flamenco lessons to a sightseeing holiday in Spain for local flavor. Viva Flamenco Promotions runs twice-yearly week-long flamenco holidays to Mijas, a picturesque village in Andalucia. Courses consist of daily two-hour classes. The October holiday coincides with the Fuengirola Festival, while the May holiday coincides with the Alhaurin el Grande Festival. See www.vivaflamencopromotions.com
Barcelona shopping +
Bypassing the tapas bars, Rachel Browne explores the city with credit card in hand. Long regarded as one of Europe's most vibrant cites, Barcelona has something for everyone, whether they want art and architecture, cuisine and culture, sun and shopping or simply to spend a weekend in an alcohol-fueled haze.
Arriving on a Friday, I was confronted with a swarming crush of tourists clearly seeking the latter.
The introduction of cheap flights from Britain and northern Europe has led to an invasion of the mini-break brigade, intent on downing their body weight in San Miguel and sangria over the course of a weekend.
Somewhat alarmed by the sheer number of grog-guzzling tourists, I decided to focus on the positive: at least they wouldn't be crowding into Barcelona's historic buildings, world-famous galleries and gorgeous shops.
Shopping is increasingly becoming one of Barcelona's main attractions, along with its art, architecture and aforementioned alcohol.
Leaving the crowds to the tourist-trap tapas bars, I ventured out to make a dent in Barcelona's 35,000 shops, not to mention my credit card.
Whether you're in the market for clothes, shoes, jewelry and accessories or antiques, glassware and ceramics, Barcelona is shopping heaven.
It doesn't have the distinction of other European style capitals such as Paris or Milan, nor does it have the hefty price tags. Not that Barcelona is a bargain hunter's paradise. The Catalonian capital knows it is a tourist magnet and the prices have been adjusted accordingly. While it's not cheap, it's not particularly expensive either and visitors during the sale times of January/February and July/August may be pleasantly surprised by what they can pick up at a reasonable price. At other times of year, shoppers on a budget should just follow the time-honored rules of rip-off avoidance: the more touristy the area, the greater the price, and the lesser the quality.
Thus Barcelona's colorful main thoroughfare, La Ramblas, lined with tacky souvenir shops selling over-priced kitsch, is best bypassed unless you're desperately seeking an ashtray in the shape of a castanet or the Sagrada Familia in a snow dome.
Instead, head for the narrow pedestrian-only streets of the Barri Gotic or the wide boulevards of the upmarket Eixample, both of which encourage leisurely browsing. As well as being home to some of Barcelona's most beautiful historic buildings, the old quarter, or Barri Gotic, also offers some of the best shopping. The shops are concentrated in a relatively small area east of La Ramblas with the best to be found on Calle Portaferrissa, Calle del Pi, Av. Portal de l'Angel, Calle Boqueria and Baixada de la Libreteria. Here you'll find countless small specialty shops as well as two of Spain's better known chain stores: Zara and Mango, which stock high-fashion clothes and accessories at mid-range prices.
The main streets branch off into a maze of smaller alleyways some only the width of the average Sydney footpath and unless you're blessed with a GPS-like sense of direction, you're bound to get lost but fear not, everything is well sign-posted and Barcelona's streets are not nearly as mean as its reputation. This is not to say that the city is a crime-free zone and you're best advised to cling limpet-like to your belongings to deter Barcelona's opportunistic bag snatchers who gravitate to the dark alleys of the Barri Gotic.
North of La Ramblas, the area known as the Eixample is much easier to navigate with its elegant, tree-lined thoroughfares, Rambla de Catalunya and Passeig de Gracia. The vibe here is definitely Double Bay with names and price tags to match.
Along the Passeig de Gracia you'll find designer labels Calvin Klein, Versace, Louis Vuitton, Chanel and MaxMara as well as some of architect Antonio Gaudi's most extraordinary creations, Casa Batllo and La Pedrera. As well as designer fashion, Passeig de Gracia is also a good spot to hunt for antique jewelry, furniture and art.
Another good area for antique browsing is along the slightly faded Circuit del Born in the Ribera district, where you'll also find numerous galleries, small artisan and jewelry stores and craft shops.
Those who prefer to do their shopping in the open air will enjoy Barcelona's numerous flea markets, stocked with a variety of pre-loved books, clothes, nick-knacks and assorted curios. Three of the most popular sites are the Mercat de les Encants in the Placa de las Glories Catalanes, the Mercat de San Antoni, and the Mercat at Placa Villa de Madrid. And then there is Barcelona's most famous market, the Mercat de la Boqueria, which opens on to La Ramblas. The cavernous produce market sells everything from fruit to freshly slaughtered meat and is a feast for the eyes, if not the stomach. It's also a good place to grab a cheap snack before finding a bench space on La Ramblas and watching the passing parade even if that consists of teeming tourist hordes.

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