Almería is the capital of the province of Almería within Andalusia. This is the last capital of the provinces for us to have visited all of the provinces of Andalusia. There are several instances of the city being 'founded', but the official date falls to being by the Moors in 955 AD. As was typical for this region, wars between the Moors and the Christians went back and forth for many years. The city is in a very ideal place for trade and defensibility. Due to the city being in such need of defenses, the Cathedral (first a mosque) has a very fortress-like appearance. The current architectural style is the Renaissance after being rebuilt in the 16th century after a earthquake in 1522 destroyed much of the structure. Our favorite part of the trip was the Alcazaba. Broadly, that means a walled fortification. It was built on top of the highest peak of the city with evidence of structures from the Roman era. Throughout history it was used as a fortification, seat of government, mosque, baths, and decorative gardens with fountains throughout. The most interesting part of this Alcazaba is that it is larger than the Alcazar in Granada. Presently the Alcazaba is part of the Architectural and Monumental Monumental Ensembles of Andalusia. The Alcazaba has been used to film Conan the Barbarian, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. As can be seen from the Alcazaba, the sides of the cliffs have houses carved into them called the Chanca. Surrounding Almería are many greenhouses for agriculture and also a landscape that was used in many Spaghetti Westerns.
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