Almería, Spain

Almería is a busy ferry-port, capital of the homonymous province, in the autonomous community of Andalusia and the center of the tourist region of Almería-Cabo de Gata-Níjar. It is surrounded to the west by the Sierra de Gádor, to the north by the Sierra Alhamilla and to the east by the valley and delta of the Andarax River and, beyond, a plain that culminates in the Sierra de Cabo de Gata. Almería has more than two hundred kilometers of beaches, the Sierra María-Los Vélez and Cabo de Gata-Níjar natural parks. Also you will see Roquetas de Mar. Alcazaba of Almería: built by Abderramán III, it is a Muslim fortress with three enclosures. Walls of Jayrán and Cerro de San Cristóbal: from the Alcazaba it descends north through the Barranco de la Hoya; this line of wall arrives until the hill of San Cristóbal. Almería has one of the driest conditions in all of Europe. However, given its richness in groundwater and for being an area with abundant sunshine, the region is known as "the sea of plastic". Currently, Almería has some 40,000 hectares with a plastic covered greenhouses, occupying almost the entire area of Campo de Dalías. According to what the estimates say, the greenhouses in Almería are producing around 3 and a half million tons of fruit and vegetables annually.