andalucia
Andalucia is Spain’s largest region and it’s the one which evokes the most powerful images of a country famed for its flamenco, fiestas, bullfighting and raw passion.
Famous Andalucians
It’s a land which has both spawned and inspired great writers, poets, actors and painters. Andalucia gave birth to Pablo Picasso and the 17 th century royal painter Velasquez and it held an enduring fascination for novelists Ernest Hemingway and Laurie Lee. It’s the setting for the most performed and famous opera of all time, Bizet’s Carmen. And it’s a unique place where east meets west in an exotic melting pot of Jewish, gypsy, Moorish and Christian cultures.
Andalucia and its Arabic background
After the Moors invaded Spain in the 8 th century the region became the mighty kingdom of El Andalus and the capital of Cordoba was transformed into a centre of unimaginable wealth, sophistication, culture and learning unrivalled anywhere in either the western or Islamic eastern worlds.
According to Islamic legend, the people of El Andalus asked Allah for five favours – clear blue skies, seas full of fish, trees laden with every kind of fruit, beautiful women and a fair system of government. Allah granted them everything except the last favour on the basis that if all five gifts were bestowed, the kingdom would become an unearthly paradise.