Andalusia

Andalusia (Spanish: Andalucía) is an autonomous community of Spain. Andalusia is the most populated and second largest of the seventeen autonomous communities that constitute Spain. Its capital is Seville.

Andalucia is bounded on the north by Extremadura and Castilla-La Mancha; on the east by Murcia and the Mediterranean Sea; on the west by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean (south-west); on the south by the Mediterranean Sea (south-east) and the Atlantic Ocean (south-west) linked by the Strait of Gibraltar at the very south which separates Spain from Morroco. Also in the south it bounds with the British colony of Gibraltar.

The name Andalusia is derived from the Arabic name "Al Andalus", which refers to the parts of the Iberian peninsula which were under Muslim rule. The Islamic history of Muslim Spain can be found in the entry al-Andalus. Tartessos, the capital of a once great and powerful Tartessian Civilization, was located in Andalusia, and was known in the Bible by the name of Tarshish. More information about this region can be found in the entry Hispania Baetica, the name of the Roman province that corresponds to the region.

Andalusian culture has been deeply marked by the eight centuries of Muslim rule over the region, which ended in 1492 with the reconquest of Granada by the Catholic monarchs.

The Spanish spoken in the Americas is largely descended from the Andalusian dialect of Castilian Spanish due to the role played by Seville as the gateway to Spain's American territories in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Andalusia is known for its moorish architecture. Famous monuments include the Alhambra in Granada, the Mezquita in Córdoba and the Torre del Oro and Giralda towers in Seville and the Reales Alcázares in Seville. Archaeological remains include Medina Azahara, near Córdoba and Itálica, near Seville.

Andalusian cuisine is known for its use of fish and shellfish, its desserts, and its world-famous sherry.

Andalusia is divided into eight provinces named after the capital cities of these provinces:

• Almería
• Cádiz
• Córdoba
• Granada
• Huelva
• Jaén
• Málaga
• Sevilla

Other Andalusian towns are:

• Algeciras, Cádiz
• Jerez, Cádiz
• Marbella, Málaga
• San Fernando, Cádiz
• Dos Hermanas, Sevilla
• Lebrija, Sevilla
• Utrera, Sevilla
• Antequera, Málaga
• Motril, Granada
• Ronda, Gaucín, and the so-called "pueblos blancos," Cádiz and Málaga
• Úbeda and Baeza, Jaén

Andalusia is the home of flamenco music and of bullfighting.

Day of Andalusia is celebrated on February 28.

This article is licenced under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Andalusia".