Almeria’s glory

The previous day I looked out from the massive 10^th century Alcazaba (kasbah or fortress) over an urban mosaic of flat roofs and cube-shaped houses, a former 10^th century quarter called the Barrio de la Medina and about as North African as you can get. It could be Tangier but it is Almería, a Roman port that was transformed by Al-Andalus into its lifeline with the Islamic world.

Prosperous and cosmopolitan, it became the crossroads of Yemeni settlers and traders from Egypt, Syria, France, and Italy. The economy soared due to the production of silk—made from cocoons and transported on mules from the nearby Alpujarra mountains Then in 955, thanks to the hyperactive Caliph Abd-er Rahman III, Almeria’s status was crowned by this mammoth Alcazaba, very appropriate for a city whose name derived from the Arabic Al-mariyat, meaning “watchtower.” Later, in the 11^th century, as one of the most powerful taifas (principalities), it nurtured poets and philosophers Integrated into the last-stand emirate of Granada, Almería fell to Catholic forces in 1489.