ALMERIA ALCAZABA, CATHEDRAL AND CENTRAL MARKET SHORE EXCURSION TOUR

Story and photos by Barb & Ron Kroll

Which European city can you visit without concerns that rain will disrupt your vacation? Answer: Almeria, Spain is one of the driest cities in Europe.

Alcazaba with dry landscape and agaves below

Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll

Boasting 320 sunny days every year, only 26 days annually with rain, and warm winters, this Andalusian city experiences daytime temperatures of 17 degrees C (63 degrees F) in January.

Almeria's desert-like landscapes have made it a popular film location for dozens of movies and TV serials, including Lawrence of Arabia, Cleopatra, A Fistful of Dollars, Never Say Never Again with Sean Connery as James Bond, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, How I Won the War starring John Lennon. In Game of Thrones, the Alcazaba Fortress appeared as the capital of Dorne.

How to get to Almeria

Located on the southeast coast of Spain, Almeria is 400 kilometers (250 miles) southeast of Seville and 161 kilometers (100 miles) from the Alhambra in Granada. We arrived on an Oceania Mediterranean cruise from Alicante, Spain.

The Oceania Insignia docked at Muelle de Levante, the Port of Almeria cruise pier located just a 10-minute walk from the city center. Taxis are available at the cruise port. (Request prices in advance if you use them.) We decided to maximize our time by taking an Oceania shore excursion.

Some passengers took taxis to the three beaches close to downtown. Others went shopping. Almeria stores open at 10 am and close for siesta between 2 and 5:30 pm when the locals have lunch or take naps. Shoppers will find many ATMs in the downtown area.

Almeria viewed over crenellated Alcazaba walls

Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll

La Alcazaba fortress

Our tour bus followed the main street, Paseo de Almeria, and side streets to the base of the Moorish citadel that dominates Almeria from a hill. A long series of steps, bisected by a narrow channel of running water, climbed to the 13th-century entrance. We were happy that we wore good walking shoes.

As we climbed, our excellent guide Franciscus Scheffer explained that the Alcazaba is one of the largest fortresses in Europe, measuring more than nine acres (400,000 square feet).

Jacaranda tree beside Alcazaba tower

Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll

From the crenellated parapet walls of the Alcazaba, we enjoyed panoramic views of the flat-roofed buildings of Almeria (population 200,000).

Mediterranean gardens

Towers, walls and gates punctuate the three restored Muslim- and Christian-era enclosures. Franciscus told us that in 1522, an earthquake destroyed both the original 6th-century Roman fortress and the 11th-century Arab fortifications against Viking raids.

We were surprised to see jacaranda trees, agaves, prickly pear cacti, date palms, pomegranate and carob (locust bean) trees growing inside the fortress. "In the early 17th century, a military fort was no longer needed, so the Spanish created gardens with exotic plants inside the Alcazaba," said Franciscus.

Dried carob pod

Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll

A few decades ago, many of the exotic species were removed and replaced with Mediterranean plants, but the beautiful flowering jacarandas remain.

Mural in reconstructed Arab home

Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll

We picked up a dried carob pod (algarrobo in Spanish) from the patterned concrete pavement. "You can eat dried carob pods, but people here don't because they survived on them during the Spanish Civil War," said Franciscus.

Before leaving Almeria's Alcazaba to visit the cathedral, we explored some reconstructed 14th-century Arab homes. Inside the medieval living quarters, we viewed murals of people drinking tea at low tables and spinning wool, as well as spindles, clay lamps, toys and dishes with glazed patterns.

Almeria Cathedral

With its buttressed towers, the 16th-century Gothic and Renaissance cathedral on Plaza de la Catedral, resembles a fortress more than a church.

Almeria Cathedral

Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll

As church bells resounded, Franciscus explained the significance of the decorations on its façade.

"The cups were Roman symbols of money and the double-headed eagle symbolized the power of the emperor of the Holy Roman/German Empire. The decorations warned the 10,000 Muslims who resurrected against the 600 Christians who lived here that the emperor had enough money to hire an army against them."

Another decoration was directed at the Christians who ran to the cathedral for protection during attacks. "The bas-relief of angels feasting told them that if they lived good lives they would live in paradise."

Central Market

The image of feasting made us hungry, so after the tour we walked to the air-conditioned Central Market (Mercado Central) to join locals and visitors lunching on fresh seafood.

Cooks in the market cafés will prepare the food that you buy to eat at tables in the market. Try the red shrimp (gambas rojas) sautéed in garlic butter.

Eating fresh shrimp in Central Market

Clean, well-stocked counters display Iberian hams, sausages, fresh fish, cheese, wine and colorful fruit and vegetables. Much of the produce comes from the 100,000 acres (40,470 hectares) of greenhouses in nearby Campo de Dalías that also supply tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and melons to many European countries.

Crowd follows silver shrine on cart

Local festival

As we walked back to the cruise pier, singing and drumming drew our attention to a procession of residents. Several of the women and girls wore flowers in their hair and flamenco dresses.

Some carried castanets and waved fans. Many of the men and boys wore bolero hats.

We followed the crowd to a silver, candle and flower-covered shrine on a cart pulled by two oxen decorated with silver and red velvet headpieces. Revelers occasionally paused their celebrations to visit street-side tapas bars for drinks and snacks.

It was an unexpected but delightful glimpse of Andalusian culture.