#andalusia-cordoba

#andalusia-cordoba

The Carolingians and Abbasids built ties that extended from western Europe to the eastern Mediterranean, reshaping the political landscape of their age.

Throughout its history, Spain has been shaped by a wide range of cultures and civilizations, including Muslim, Phoenician, Roman, Greek, Carthaginian, and Visigothic influences, which are reflected in its architecture and design.

We have deployed several types of cooling systems here, each one used depending on climatic conditions. The system, created millennia ago but updated for the 21st century, works by cooling water underground in the naturally low temperatures at night. To cool water more quickly, some is also sent to the roof via solar-powered pumps and sprayed out of nozzles in a thin layer through a method known as a falling film, before draining back down underground.

The bike I'm borrowing is much lighter than my own, with tyres twice the width, and drop handlebars splayed out to the sides for extra control. The gearing goes much lower than I am used to, meaning even the steepest slopes should be eventually surmountable.

The Tamborada festival in Hellin, marked by drumming, has been declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO, attracting over 20,000 participants of all ages.

Humans have a predisposition to experience a drop in alertness and vigilance around midday, between six and eight hours after waking up. In fact, the word siesta comes from the Latin sexta, which in Ancient Rome referred to the sixth hour of the day from dawn; a time reserved for rest and relaxation. There are many markers we measure in the laboratory which indicate that this period is present, even without having eaten lunch, he states.

Oskar: We matched on Tinder in Bali the day before he left, so we didn't physically meet. He was living in Melbourne at the time, and I actually had plans to move there. Santi: A month later, I asked him on a date. We watched Bridesmaids at an outdoor cinema. Oskar: I was obsessed. But I didn't have a permanent place to live... Santi: ...which is when my friend and I found a three-bedroom and needed another roommate. Oskar: We moved in as friends. Santi: At least, that was the plan. But that first night, I was really cold and I found my way into his room.

For a true sense of freedom and escape, nothing quite compares with an island getaway. Whether it's island hopping in Greece, exploring a Scandinavian archipelago by kayak or simply getting on a ferry to the Isle of Wight, we'd love to hear about your favourite European islands. The best tip of the week, chosen by Tom Hall of Lonely Planet wins a 200 voucher to stay at a Coolstays property the company has more than 3,000 worldwide.

A total solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes directly between the Sun and Earth, perfectly aligning to completely obscure the Sun, casting a dark shadow across the Earth. The event may be around five months away, but many are already planning their trips and accommodation is booking up fast.

MADRID - The most famous portrait of Maruja Mallo depicts the artist covered from head to toe in seaweed. She is crowned and draped with long, rope-like strands of kelp, her arms raised triumphantly like an all-powerful marine goddess. This unconventional photograph, snapped in 1945 by the poet Pablo Neruda on a Chilean beach, was no doubt carefully orchestrated by the Spanish artist, who viewed herself as an extension of her unique work, where female energy is a conduit for natural and even cosmic forces.

More than 30,000 hectares of land are covered in plastic, a geometric labyrinth five times the size of Manhattan, where 3.5m tons of vegetables are produced every year from tomatoes to cucumbers, peppers to courgettes, aubergines to melons, enough to feed half a billion people and generate a turnover of more than 3bn euros.

"I think Marbella is a little misunderstood and is often viewed as simply an ostentatious resort destination. It is still an authentic coastal town, and it's one of few places on the Spanish peninsula where you can experience so much diversity and vibrancy year-round."

The best all-inclusive hotels here are far removed from the buffet lines and wristband clichés that once defined the format. Instead, they offer thoughtfully designed spaces, ambitious dining programmes, excellent spas and an easy sense of Mediterranean leisure that suits the rhythm of island life.

The Reina Sofia's new rehang opens, quite pointedly, with a painting of a detained man sitting, head bowed and wrists shackled, as he waits for the arbitrary hand of institutional bureaucracy to decide his fate. The picture, Document No , was painted by Juan Genoves in 1975, the year Francisco Franco died and Spain began its transition to democracy after four decades of dictatorship.

A group of polychrome wood panels discovered under the floorboards of a house in Toledo in 2018 are going on display at the National Archaeological Museum in Madrid. They were found during construction of a hotel planned to go up over several buildings in the Bajada del Pozo Amargo street next to Toldeo's Cathedral. They had been stripped from their original location on the upper part of the walls of a quadrangular hall and reused as raw carpentry material in the house's subfloor.

Dating to the 1st-2nd century A.D., the bronzes are about 20 inches long and mounted to rectangular bases. They capture the little girls in dynamic movement, frozen in the act of propelling themselves forward, their fingers splayed wide on each side of the partridges just about to catch them. The craftsmanship is superior, every detail on the toddlers and partridges realistically depicted with fine materials. The eyes are inlaid with white stones and one of the girls still has her metal irises.

Driving the N2 is a meditation on the pleasures of the indirect, the unpredictable and the beauty of slowing down.