Almeria, old and new simultaneously

Among bewildered souls enslaved by a bucket list mentality I suspect a number of Andalusian cities feature: Seville, Granada, Cordoba, Cadiz... Conversely, Almeria is probably a rare contender. Like Malaga, - another under-rated Andalusian destination - Almeria is a modern thriving port. However, Malaga benefits from being within easy travelling distance from the Costa del Sol's big resorts and is home to the region's main airport, so it has become a major tourist destination almost by default. Almeria is situated 200km to the east in an area more famous for industrial scale tomato production and Spaghetti Westerns than world heritage sites. It takes a bit of effort to come here, but people who do will discover somewhere with just as illustrious a history and a fascinating culture as any of its more famous neighbours.

What strikes you about Almeria is it is a thriving port, a city living for here and now rather than somewhere trading on past glories. Nevertheless, it has some impressive monuments. Over 1000 years old, the ramparts of the Arabic Alcazaba still tower on the cliff above the city. They do not contain ornately decorated Moorish buildings like the Alhambra or Seville's Alcázar, but the fortifications and gardens are impressive.

Immediately below the walls lies the oldest part of the city, a tangle of ancient streets with cuboid single storey houses; it still looks more North African than European. .

Beyond here lies the Cathedral and City Hall, the heart of the city from the era of the reyes catolicos. Compared to the baroque exuberance of counter reformation Seville, Cadiz or Salamanca the municipal and ecclesiastical architecture of Almeria looks distinctly restrained. The cathedral appears fortress-like, which is unsurprising as it doubled as a place of sanctuary for citizens to protect them when the city was attacked by Barbary pirates. The city hall too looks almost neo-classical, simple and unadorned.

The city has always been more a workaday port than some magnificent regional capital and perhaps the main buildings reflect that - un-fussy and practical rather than grandiose statements of wealth and status.

Even today Almeria comes over as functioning for its people rather than re-arranged to appeal to tourists. Fine old buildings have been restored but there is little evidence of the wholesale preservation of historic districts; there is a mix of old and new everywhere - an art-decor interpolation in the Arab souk, the nineteenth century Theatre Apolo rubs shoulders with the contemporary style music school which resembles a giant liquorish alsort.

The sense that the ancient and modern is celebrated simultaneously goes beyond the architecture, it pervades daily life. Nowhere reflects this better than the Central Market. It looks to have been built in the late nineteenth century judging from the interior's wrought iron aisled space; though the grand doorway at one end harks back to the neo-classical, the entrance opposite has been remodelled more recently to make the place wheelchair, buggy and mobility scooter friendly. 

Within, in some respects the place is exactly what you would expect from a city market in Spain, a temple to raw produce, meat and vegetables on the ground floor, the fish market and a small Dia supermarket in the basement.

However, no two markets are the same, and Almeria's idiosyncratic touches on the model included, an empty space free of stalls in the middle with folding chairs used particularly by older residents as a meeting place; the municipal library had taken a couple of stalls to establish a book exchange. This area too had a small social space. In the mornings there were story telling sessions for mums and toddlers.

Most Spanish city markets feature eating places. Almeria's has an interesting take on this. The bar next to the fish market will happily grill the fish you have just bought so long as you buy a drink. It is these small touches that make these markets so delightful. The thing is it is perfectly possible to walk into a Spanish market to buy a bunch of cherry tomatoes, a bag of freshly picked oranges and a fish or two caught yesterday, and emerge feeling happier and more optimistic about humankind. This is not something that tends to happen after a Tesco's, Morrison's or Asda trip. In all honesty, every little does not help. Slogan free grocery shopping in a convivial space would help, but it's never going to happen back in the DK - no, not Denmark - I mean the Disunited Kingdom of dismal-land.

Time for a late lunch. We wanted something light, not the grilled fish. Eventually after circling the exterior of the market twice looking for a café with an inexpensive but interesting menu, an outside table in the sun, but out of the chilly breeze, we settled on Cornelia's Cafe.. The tapas were very inexpensive, a little over a euro each.

When they arrived the reason became plain, they were delicious, but very small plates. Pudding was required. Today's specials were chalked up on a sandwich board. What is "Tarte Zanahoria', we pondered. It sounded exotic. Google translate to the rescue - carrots! It may not have been exotic but it was a very fine carrot cake. As Gill said, "You can't sneeze at a carrot cake."