Cities of Spain

Spain is not only jamon, excellent wine and amazing beaches. The cultural heritage of modern Spaniards was greatly influenced by the dominion of many peoples who inhabited these lands. Because Spain is a bizarre mixture of styles and traditions in absolutely everything: from architecture to cooking. Accordingly, tourists expect a lot of interesting things. The turbulent past of the country is reflected in numerous museums, ancient castles and magnificent temples, with which the sunny land abounds.

The best cities of Spain

The most interesting and beautiful places for recreation and cultural tourism! A list with titles, photos and a brief description

Barcelona

Interesting here can not be considered. From architectural monuments: Gothic temples, ancient minarets and squares to modern monumental buildings, such as the famous Barcelona stadium. You should definitely visit the colorful Boqueria market, the giant Mediterranean aquarium, the famous singing fountains and dozens of various museums: dedicated to Picasso, military, football, chocolate, archaeological and several others.

Madrid

The most famous museum in Madrid is dedicated to the symbol of Spain - jamon. In addition to the “tasty” institutions, there are also marine, national, decorative art, and a number of others. As a coastal city, Madrid has a luxurious aquarium combined with a zoo. Two more huge botanical gardens and a couple of giant amusement parks: Casa del Campo and the Disney counterpart from Warner Brothers.

Valencia

In addition to ancient castles, cathedrals, buildings with a long history, Valencia is famous for its Oceanographic Center, which has gathered hundreds of representatives of the deep sea from all over the world. Ecotourism lovers visit Albufera Park - a marshy reserve, which has sheltered millions of rare birds. Visitors are also delighted with the Prince Philip Science Museum with its unique collections.

Palma de Mallorca

A coastal tourist town without a dolphinarium or an aquarium is not possible. In Mallorca there are both at once. Another region is rich in caves, the most famous: Dragon, so nicknamed for stalactites resembling teeth and a huge cold Arta. Tired of a cultural holiday with an examination of architecture and visiting museums, you can look into the Kathmandu amusement park with many extreme attractions.

Seville

Great place for leisurely cultural tourism. They examine magnificent religious buildings, such as the Seville Cathedral, the Church of St. Luigi, the Hospital of the Five Sacred Wounds and the high ancient towers: Haralda and Zolotaya. Be sure to visit the park of Maria Louise, it is also an urban botanical garden, which sheltered the African and European flora.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

The town of the Canary Archipelago, which has grown from a fishing village. There are few special attractions here, a resort settlement, a traditional Spanish coastal city. Therefore, it is appreciated by tourists as a quiet place for a quiet beach holiday. It is worth looking at the ancient temples: Francis of Assisi, the Immaculate Virgin and the Masonic. And be sure to visit the Auditorio de Tenerife - a grand concert hall.

Granada

The pearl of Granada is the majestic brick fortress of the Alhambra, located on the cliff of the Sierra Nevada. In addition, it is interesting to wander through the real maze of narrow streets of Albasin - the Moorish quarter. And in the cave-cafes you can enjoy the true rhythms of the famous flamenco, sipping ice sangria and admiring the grace and genuine passion of the sultry Andalusian dancers.

Cordoba

The main attraction is the ancient Alcazar, founded by the Romans. The castle absorbed the architectural preferences of all its owners: Visigoths, Arabs and Andalusians. The former capital of the Cordoba Caliphate is one of the most "Moorish" cities in Spain, which is fully reflected in its appearance. Here is the Flamenco Museum, the ancient Cordoba Synagogue and the Cathedral Museum of Mesquite, a former mosque that became a Catholic church after the Reconquista.

Zaragoza

Another colorful city with a complete mixture of styles. Among the places of interest are the Moorish buildings like the castle of Alhaferia, preserved almost without restoration, to Christian basilicas and cathedrals. There is a museum of the sculptor Gargallo and a local analogue of our local history - dedicated to the history of Zaragoza. The exhibition pavilion Expo 2008 with the largest freshwater aquarium in Europe attracts tourists.

Malaga

The main attraction rises above Malaga - the 11th-century Alcazaba fortress, rebuilt by the Berbers in the traditional Arabic style. But extreme lovers value the city for something else: the local Plaza de Toros, the “Bull Square” - a grandiose bullfighting arena, in which there is a restaurant serving horned participants of the fight, defeated by brave matadors. In addition to bullfighting, a number of museums are interesting here: automobile, Picasso, botanical park.

Segovia

A small Castilian town with a history of more than two millennia. All of its historical center as a whole was on UNESCO lists. So as an excursion to the sights, an ordinary walk through the heart of the ancient settlement is quite suitable. Here is the Alcazar castle in the form of a ship, several ancient churches and the Museum of Segovia, literally crowded with works of art collected from Spanish monasteries.

Alicante

Santa Barbara, a huge fortress on top of Bencantile, a majestic rock, rises above the city. This is not the only castle of Alicanet, there is also San Ferdinando: a rather fresh fortress of the era of the Napoleonic wars, which turned out to be completely useless. Tourists must visit the Mercado Central - a huge grocery market and local museums, including archaeological and art. Full list of the cities of Spain see here.

The first cities in the Mesopotamia of the Tigris and Euphrates appeared at about the same time as the first cities of Ancient Egypt. The reasons for their appearance and function were similar. But at the same time, relatively long separate states existed in Mesopotamia, each of which had its own capital - Uruk, Ur, Nippur, etc. In the center of each city was a temple complex - a ziggurat. The ziggurat adjoined the square, which during religious ceremonies was supposed to contain the entire population of the city. On the same square was the palace of the ruler (king) surrounded by a garden. Around the royal palace were the homes of his close associates and soldiers. The rest of the city consisted of adobe dwellings of ordinary citizens, who were also surrounded by a wall, which usually had a regular geometric shape. The defensive walls around the cities in Mesopotamia were necessary, since individual states often were at enmity with each other, i.e. cities also acquired a military defensive function.

In the VII century. BC e. almost all Mesopotamia is united under the rule of the kings of Babylon. Accordingly, this city reaches a huge size for that time, becoming the first city in the history of mankind with a population of more than 1 million people. The rise of Babylon was facilitated by its advantageous location in the place of closest convergence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which allowed the Babylonian rulers to control the valleys of both of these rivers at the same time. In terms of plan, Babylon was a rectangle dissected by the Euphrates, with a total area of ​​about 10 km2. The city center occupied a huge area of ​​about 7 hectares (about 5 times the size of Red Square in Moscow). On it stood a seven-tier ziggurat about 90 m high (Tower of Babel). The area was surrounded by a complex of royal palaces and temples, surrounded by gardens (including the "hanging gardens" of Queen Semiramis). Along the coast of the Euphrates there was a wide main street of the city (the "sacred procession road"), connecting the central square with the main city gate - the gate of the goddess Ishtar. At the same time, most of the city's territory was occupied by residential quarters with a rectangular grid of streets, which had a width of only 1.5-2 m and were built up with adjoining close adobe houses. After the campaigns of Alexander the Great, Babylon was abandoned, but near this place, which was extremely advantageous for controlling a larger territory, subsequently there constantly appeared the capitals of large states - Seleucia (capital of the empire of Alexander the Great), Ktesifon (the capital of Persia), Baghdad “the capital of the Arab caliphate and modern Iraq).

On the territory of India, the oldest urban civilization took shape around the 20th century. BC. in the lower reaches of the Indus River. But later, due to the advance of the Thar desert, these territories were abandoned by people, and the cities were covered with sand. The center of Indian civilization moved to the Ganges basin, where in the 5th century BC e. the capital of Patali Putra was built near the modern city of Patna. The general layout of these cities was similar to the cities of Mesopotamia. They had to have a rectangular shape, surrounded by defensive walls. . In the city center was the palace of the ruler and the main temples. Separately, the cities “internal” (capitals) and “external” (provincial centers) were distinguished, that is, the main function of cities was administrative management, combined with defensive and religious functions.