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Spain is the second largest country in Europe with over half a million sq km bordered by Portugal, France, Andorra and the Mediterranean Sea, the Bay of Biscay and the Atlantic oceans.
The country then has so much a variety - there are mountain ranges and high plateaus, several rivers and alluvial plains. 'Green' Spain has an Oceanic climate and is mainly along the Bay of Biscay. The inland parts of Spain have the moderate Continental clime and the Mediterranean climate is found by the coast up till the Pyrenees.
Today, Spain is a Constitutional Monarchy, and since 1986 a member of the EU. Thanks to its wealth of history and varied geography, Spain has lived through so many cultures that its art, literature, music, architecture, folklore and cuisine are as diverse and fascinating as there are regions. Spain has 40 locations listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites but more fascinating than monuments are the people and their customs and everyday lives. The economy is one of the most advanced in the EU and G7 and is growing apace. Yet the country is still an affordable experience which merits more than one visit and certainly consists of more than just the justly popular Costa del Sol.
The earliest evidence of 'modern man' which dates to around 13,000 BC can be found in the Cave of Altamira in Northern Spain. Later, there came to be two diverse populations - the Celts on the Atlantic side and the Iberians. Eventually, trade contacts led the Phoenicians to establish colonies along the Mediterranean coastline. From around 210BC, Rome fought over these strategically located seaside ports until it took over most if the Iberian Peninsula. The region benefitted through the establishment of new cities and the development of agriculture. Some of the Romans' hydro-engineering feats were still in continuous use until a few years ago! With the decay of the Roman Empire, the Germanic Visigoth tribes started to move in.
In the 8th Century, the Moors invaded and displaced or converted the majority of the Christian inhabitants into Islam. Three centuries later, the Moors had fragmented into rival kingdoms which enabled the Christian Reconquista to gain the upper hand. 1492 ended Islamic rule in Spain and the Renaissance ideals started to be applied by Ferdinand and Isabella whose marriage united Castille and Aragon politically. The year also saw an intensive drive to ensure all the subjects in their realm were Catholic. This was also the year when Columbus landed in America marking another phase in expansion of the Spanish Empire.
With the Ottoman Empire advancing in the Mediterranean, the Protestant Reformation undermining the European lands, the effort required to maintain the Americas and transport the treasures back home, forced Spain to build and maintain a military force which drained it of its economic strength. The involvement in the 19th Century Napoleonic wars and the 20th Century conflict in Morocco led to the political crises which exploded in the Civil War of 1936. Spain emerged from this fighting in time to stay clear of the Second World War. Generalissimo Franco ruled as Dictator until his death in 1975 and the Spain we know today started to emerge.
In a way, part of the charm that Spain holds today may be due to the fact that it was deliberately held back in the Old World values and thus has preserved nature and cities that modernity has elsewhere destroyed. But Spain has also caught up with the present and parts of it are as vibrant as any other modern country. The visitor certainly has enough things to do and see to last this trip and more.
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