Parador de Mazagón

ANDALUSIA

The second largest of Spain’s Autonomous Communities, Andalusia occupies a major part of the southern half of the country. The region’s eight provinces extend from the Portuguese border in the west, north to the neighbouring regions of Extremadura and Castilla La Mancha and to Almería, bordering Murcia, in the east.

Inevitably, Andalusia will be best known to many people for its beaches, notably along the Mediterranean ‘Costa de Sol’ and the Atlantic ‘Costa de la Luz’, and the coast certainly encompasses a good part of the region’s natural wealth. This is no doubt largely due to the exceptional climate – one of the warmest in Europe – that prevails all along the coastline, with hot dry summers, winters with mild temperatures and many ‘mini regions’ boasting their own microclimates. But it is a mistake to associate Andalusia only with its ‘Costas’, for this is a region that offers the visitor virtually everything in terms of history, art and nature.

Scenically, Andalusia is a land of contrasts. For example, in the province of Granada in winter one can experience 22°C on the coast and travel just 33 km north into the Sierra Nevada mountains to find a temperature of 10°C below zero. Further east , in the province of Almería, is an area unique in Europe – the Tabernas desert, where many of the ‘Spaghetti Westerns’ were filmed. To the north of Granada is the province of Jaén, the land of the olive with over 50 million olive trees planted and olive oil providing the main source of wealth in the province. Further south, some thirty municipalities form the famous ‘route of the white towns’, a string of picturesque little towns and villages extending across the northern part of the provinces of Cádiz and Málaga and all displaying the same picture- postcard white architecture so typical of rural Andalusia. Over 17% of the region of Andalusia is classified as a protected natural area, with its two national parks of Doñana and Sierra Nevada particularly well known for the preservation of their rich variety of flora and fauna.

Cádiz, Seville, Córdoba, Granada, Málaga – all these historic Andalusian cities display countless examples of the rich architectural and artistic legacy from over eight centuries of Moorish occupation of this region. Pride of place must go to the most emblematic monument in Granada (the capital of Spain’s last Moorish kingdom) – the incomparable Alhambra with its adjoining Generalife gardens, a unique complex of palaces, fortresses and royal quarters making this one of the most fascinating, and most visited, monuments in the world.

An essential feature of Andalusian art, and life, is of course the form of music and dance known as flamenco, an artistic expression of the most deeply rooted Andalusian culture. The precise origin of flamenco is unknown, but certainly it has Moorish influences and many of its most famous practitioners, both past and present, have been of gypsy origin. Wherever you are in Andalusia you are likely to hear flamenco, whether at an organised concert, or coming from inside someone’s house, or simply an impromptu performance in a village square. It’s in everyone’s blood, and it’s delightful.

Given the immense area of this region, gastronomic diversity best describes the cuisine of Andalusia. The so-called ‘Mediterranean diet’, with its basis of olive oil and considered by many experts to be the healthiest in the world, has its origin here. One of Spain’s most famous products, the Iberian Jabugo ham, is produced in Huelva province with the very finest hams reputedly cured ‘in a certain position in a certain room of a certain house in Huelva’. Gazpacho, the cold soup made with tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, bread and garlic originated in Andalusia and is found throughout the region as is ‘ajoblanco’, a delicious variation on gazpacho. Fruit and vegetables grow in profusion along the coastal region: mountains of strawberries in Huelva province; oranges, lemons, tropical and sub-tropical fruit (mango, papaya, banana, avocado) in Málaga and Granada provinces, and many varieties of vegetable in Almería province. In the mountains further inland, game dishes include partridge, rabbit, venison and wild boar, while anywhere near the sea you will find one of the most popular of all Andalusian dishes – ‘pescaito frito’ or mixed fried fish.

Not particularly renowned for the excellence of its wines, Andalusia does however produce the finest sherries in the world (the major establishments can be visited in Jerez de la Frontera) and – especially in Málaga province – several delicious dessert wines.