The Mirror of the Sea - Almeria

Almeria is a city located in the south-eastern of Spain on the Mediterranean Sea and the capital of the province of Almería. The name of the city originated in Arab which means "The Mirror", so Almeria is also known as “The Mirror of the Sea”.

The city was established by the Caliphate of Córdoba in 995 as a harbor for the military defense. At this time the Moorish castle, Alcazaba, was built, which is a masterpiece of Islamic. The time of Córdoba was characterized by significant success in trade and culture, and thus Almeria as a port city achieved its historic peak. However, the 16^th century was a nightmare for Almeria due to the natural and human catastrophes. On one hand, the city was devastated by the violent earthquakes; on the other hand, due to its strategic position and wealth, the city of frequently attached by the Berber pirates.

In the early 18^th century, Almeria revived because huge iron mine was discovered here and a lot of French and British companies set up there business in the iron mine area which brought prosperity back to Almeria.

Almeria was also a victim during the Spanish Civil War which heavily bombed by the German planes.

Then in 1920s, the economy of the city started to boost because of the growth in tourism and agriculture. A lot of huge greenhouses were built in the city in order to plant vegetables all the year round. Most of the vegetables were exported to other European countries.

The above is about the history of the city which is full of ups and downs.

Film

There are a vast number of movies shot in Almeria from the year of 1943 to the present days.

In 1943, the white and black movie "La Alcazaba of Almería" directed by Vicente Zaragoza was first shot in Almeria. During the next six decades, there are a lot of documentaries and popular films chose Almeria as their shooting scene. One of the most important reasons is that in Almeria, there is a village named Tabernas which is Europe's only desert region.

Films shot in Almeria includes "Escape from Fort Bravo”, “The Magnificent Seven”, “The Good, The Bad, The Ugly”, “The Deserter”, "Return to Treasure Island", "Spanish fly", "Sexy Beast", "Imagining Argentina", "Zomerhitte” and so forth.

What is interesting is that most of the films belong to the epic ‘spaghetti western film’ which is a nickname for films usually directed by Italians, in co-production with a Spanish partner with a cast of Italian and Spanish actors.

Traffic in Almeria is always light, so driving a car here could be a great joy. Book a car in advance will allow you absolute freedom to move along the 322km long Spanish coastline.

Car rental companies with good reputation and excellent service such as CarDelMar, easyCar, MyCarHire, AutoEurope, Opodo, CarHire3000, arguscarhire.com, Holiday Autos, Netflights.com, carhiremarket, ebookers, Hertz, Expedia, Avis and Budget will take care of your need.