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COLOURS OF ANDALUCIA Andalucia’s rich and fascinating culture is one of the most exciting and distinctive in all of Spain. This area was deeply influenced by more than half a millennium of Muslim rule during the Middle Ages, and this special walking tour takes you through a magnificent tapestry of people, architecture, landscape and cuisine. This is where bullfighters, beaches, flamenco, white towns, ancient palaces, tiny villages, religious processions, Picasso, tapas and sherry converge in a colourful procession of culture that is both charming and somewhat addictive. We explore the heart of southern Spain, getting a taste for its important cities such as its capital Seville and the Moorish cities of Córdoba and Granada. We spend time walking through some of its smaller villages and ‘white towns’ to meet the locals and experience its natural beauty, such as the Grazalema Natural Park declared Reserve of the Biosphere by the UNESCO. The Muslims rulers established universities and brought together the greatest achievements of all of the civilisations they had encountered. During this unique period in European history Islamic and Jewish scholars played a major part in reviving and contributing to Western astronomy, medicine, philosophy and mathematics. With the fall of Seville in 1248 a large part of Andalusia came under Castilian control, leaving only the emirate of Granada under Muslim rule until it too was conquered in 1492 by the Catholic monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella. We see their stunning legacies, such as the amazing Alhambra in Granada, the Mezquita in Córdoba and the Reales Alcázares in Seville. Next Page |
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