1.
Provinces of Spain
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Spain and its autonomous communities are divided into fifty provinces. The layout of Spains provinces closely follows the pattern of the division of the country carried out in 1833. The only major change of provincial borders since that time has been the sub-division of the Canary Islands into two rather than one. Historically, the provinces served mainly as transmission belts for policies enacted in Madrid, the importance of the provinces has declined since the adoption of the system of autonomous communities in the period of the Spanish transition to democracy. They nevertheless remain electoral districts for national elections and as references, for instance in postal addresses. A small town would normally be identified as being in, say, Valladolid province rather than the community of Castile. The provinces were the building-blocks from which the communities were created. Consequently, no province is divided more than one of these communities. Only two capitals of autonomous communities—Mérida in Extremadura and Santiago de Compostela in Galicia—are not also the capitals of provinces, seven of the autonomous communities comprise no more than one province each, Asturias, Balearic Islands, Cantabria, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, and Navarra. These are sometimes referred to as uniprovincial communities, the table below lists the provinces of Spain. For each, the city is given, together with an indication of the autonomous community to which it belongs. The names of the provinces and their capitals are ordered according to the form in which they appear in the main Wikipedia articles describing them. Unless otherwise indicated, their Spanish-language names are the same, locally valid names in Spains other co-official languages are indicated where they differ
2.
Spain
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By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
3.
Autonomous communities of Spain
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Spain is not a federation, but a highly decentralized unitary state. Some scholars have referred to the system as a federal system in all. There are 17 autonomous communities and two cities that are collectively known as autonomies. The two autonomous cities have the right to become autonomous communities, but neither has yet used this right and this unique framework of territorial administration is known as the State of Autonomies. The autonomous communities are governed according to the constitution and their own organic laws known as Statutes of Autonomy, since devolution was intended to be asymmetrical in nature, the scope of competences vary for each community, but all have the same parliamentary structure. Spain is a country made up of different regions with varying economic and social structures, as well as different languages. While the entire Spanish territory was united under one crown by the 16th century, the constituent territories—be it crowns, kingdoms, principalities or dominions—retained much of their former institutional existence, including limited legislative, judicial or fiscal autonomy. These territories also exhibited a variety of customs, laws. From the 18th century onwards, the Bourbon kings and the government tried to establish a more centralized regime, leading figures of the Spanish Enlightenment advocated for the building of a Spanish nation beyond the internal territorial boundaries. This culminated in 1833, when Spain was divided into 49 provinces and these were the Basque Country and Catalonia. This gave rise to peripheral nationalisms along with Spanish nationalism, therefore, economic and social changes that had produced a national cultural unification in France had the opposite effect in Spain. In a response to Catalan demands, limited autonomy was granted to Catalonia in 1913 and it was granted again in 1932 during the Second Spanish Republic, when the Generalitat, Catalonias mediaeval institution of government, was restored. During General Francos dictatorial regime, centralism was most forcefully enforced as a way of preserving the unity of the Spanish nation, peripheral nationalism, along with communism and atheism were regarded by his regime as the main threats. When Franco died in 1975, Spain entered into a phase of transition towards democracy, the then Prime Minister of Spain, Adolfo Suárez, met with Josep Tarradellas, president of the Generalitat of Catalonia in exile. An agreement was made so that the Generalitat would be restored and limited competencies would be transferred while the constitution was still being written. In the end, the constitution, published and ratified in 1979, found a balance in recognizing the existence of nationalities and regions in Spain, within the indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation. The starting point in the organization of Spain was the second article of the constitution. In order to exercise this right, the established a open process whereby the nationalities
4.
Catalonia
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Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, located on the northeastern extremity of the Iberian Peninsula. It is designated as a nationality by its Statute of Autonomy, Catalonia consists of four provinces, Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. The capital and largest city is Barcelona, the second-most populated municipality in Spain, Catalonia comprises most of the territory of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is bordered by France and Andorra to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the east, the official languages are Catalan, Spanish, and the Aranese dialect of Occitan. The eastern counties of these marches were united under the rule of the Frankish vassal the Count of Barcelona, in the later Middle Ages Catalan literature flourished. Between 1469 and 1516, the King of Aragon and the Queen of Castile married and ruled their kingdoms together, retaining all their distinct institutions, Courts, and constitutions. During the Franco-Spanish War, Catalonia revolted against a large and burdensome presence of the Royal army in its territory, within a brief period France took full control of Catalonia, at a high economic cost for Catalonia, until it was largely reconquered by the Spanish army. In the nineteenth century, Catalonia was severely affected by the Napoleonic, in the second half of the century Catalonia experienced industrialisation. As wealth from the industrial expansion grew, Catalonia saw a cultural renaissance coupled with incipient nationalism while several workers movements appeared. In 1914, the four Catalan provinces formed a Commonwealth, and with the return of democracy during the Second Spanish Republic, after the Spanish Civil War, the Francoist dictatorship enacted repressive measures, abolishing Catalan institutions and banning the official use of the Catalan language again. Since the Spanish transition to democracy, Catalonia has regained some political and cultural autonomy and is now one of the most economically dynamic communities of Spain, the origin of the name Catalunya is subject to diverse interpretations because of a lack of evidence. During the Middle Ages, Byzantine chroniclers claimed that Catalania derives from the medley of Goths with Alans. Other less plausible theories suggest, Catalunya derives from the land of castles, having evolved from the term castlà or castlan. This theory therefore suggests that the names Catalunya and Castile have a common root, the source is of Celtic origin, meaning chiefs of battle. Although the area is not known to have been occupied by Celts, the Lacetani, an Iberian tribe that lived in the area and whose name, due to the Roman influence, could have evolved by metathesis to Katelans and then Catalans. In English, Catalonia is pronounced /kætəˈloʊniə/, the native name, Catalunya, is pronounced in Central Catalan, the most widely spoken variety whose pronunciation is considered standard. The Spanish name is Cataluña, and the Aranese name is Catalonha, the first known human settlements in what is now Catalonia were at the beginning of the Middle Palaeolithic. From the next era, the Epipaleolithic or Mesolithic, important remains survive
5.
Tarragona
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Tarragona is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. It is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tarragonès, geographically, it is bordered on the north by the Province of Barcelona and the Province of Lleida. The city has a population of 132,199, the real founding date of Tarragona is unknown. The city may have begun as an Iberic town called Kesse or Kosse, named for the Iberic tribe of the region, william Smith suggests that the city was probably founded by the Phoenicians, who called it Tarchon, which, according to Samuel Bochart, means a citadel. This name was derived from its situation on a high rock. It was seated on the river Sulcis or Tulcis, on a bay of the Mare Internum, the city was first named Colonia Iulia Urbs Triumphalis Tarraco and was capital of the province of Hispania Citerior. Subsequently, it became the capital of the named after it, Hispania Tarraconensis, in the Roman Empire. Tarraco lies on the road along the southeastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. According to Mela it was the richest town on that coast and its fertile plain and sunny shores are celebrated by Martial and other poets, and its neighbourhood is described as producing good wine and flax. An inscribed stone base for a now lost statue of Tiberius Claudius Candidus was found in Tarragona during the nineteenth century and this important marble block was purchased by the British Museum in 1994. After the demise of the Western Roman Empire, it was captured first by the Vandals, the Visigothic Kingdoms rule of Tarracona was ended by the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 714. It was an important border city of the Caliphate of Córdoba between 750 and 1013, after the demise of the Caliphate, it was part of the Taifa of Zaragoza between 1013 and 1110 and under the control of the Almoravid dynasty between 1110 and 1117. It was taken by the County of Barcelona in 1117, after the dynastic union of Aragon and Barcelona, it was part of the Kingdom of Aragon from 1164-1412. After dynastic union of Aragon and the Crown of Castile, it remained a part of Aragon until the foundation of the Spanish Empire in 1516. During the Catalan Revolt, Tarragon was captured by Catalan insurgents with French support in 1641 and it was captured by allied Portuguese, Dutch, and British troops in 1705 during the War of the Spanish Succession and remained in their hands until Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. During the war, the Catalans supported the claim of Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen against the victorious Bourbon Duke of Anjou. He signed the Nueva Planta decrees, which abolished the Crown of Aragon and all remaining Catalan institutions, a British naval squadron commanded by Admiral Edward Codrington harassed the French besiegers with cannon fire and transported large numbers of reinforcements into the city by sea. Nevertheless, Suchets troops stormed into the defenses and killed or captured almost all the defenders and it became a subprefecture center in Bouches-de-lÈbre department of French empire
6.
Catalan language
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Catalan is a Romance language derived from Vulgar Latin and named after the medieval Principality of Catalonia, in northeastern modern Spain and adjoining parts of France. It is the national and only language of Andorra, and a co-official language of the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands. It also has status in the commune of Alghero, situated on the northwestern coast of the island of Sardinia. All these territories are often called Catalan Countries. 4% with Catalan and 47. 5% only Spanish, in order to integrate newcomers, the Generalitat de Catalunya spends part of its annual budget on the promotion of the use of Catalan in Catalonia and in other territories. Catalan evolved from Vulgar Latin in the Middle Ages around the eastern Pyrenees, during the Low Middle Ages it saw a golden age as the literary and dominant language of the Crown of Aragon, and was widely used all over the Mediterranean. The union of Aragon with the territories of Spain in 1479 marked the start of the decline of the language. In 1659 Spain ceded Northern Catalonia to France, and Catalan was banned in both states in the early 18th century, 19th-century Spain saw a Catalan literary revival, which culminated in the 1913 orthographic standardization, and the official status of the language during the Second Spanish Republic. However, the Francoist dictatorship banned the use of Catalan in schools and in the public administration, there is no parallel in Europe for such a large, bilingual, non-state speech community. Catalan dialects are relatively uniform, and are mutually intelligible and they are divided into two blocks, Eastern and Western, differing mostly in pronunciation. The terms Catalan and Valencian are two varieties of the same language, there are two institutions regulating the two standard varieties, the Institute of Catalan Studies in Catalonia and the Valencian Academy of the Language in the Valencian Community. Catalan shares many traits with its neighboring Romance languages, thus, the similarities are naturally most notable with eastern Occitan. Nouns have two genders, and two numbers, pronouns additionally can have a neuter gender, and some are also inflected for case and politeness, and can be combined in very complex ways. Verbs are split in several paradigms and are inflected for person, number, tense, aspect, mood, in terms of pronunciation, Catalan has many words ending in a wide variety of consonants and some consonant clusters, in contrast with many other Romance languages. The word Catalan derives from the territory of Catalonia, itself of disputed etymology, in English, the term referring to a person first appears in the mid 14th century as Catelaner, followed in the 15th century as Catellain. It is attested a language name since at least 1652, Catalan can be pronounced as /ˈkætəlæn/, /kætəˈlæn/ or /ˈkætələn/. The endonym is pronounced /kə. təˈɫa/ in the Eastern Catalan dialects, in the Valencian Community, the term valencià is frequently used instead. The names Catalan and Valencian are two names for the same language, see also status of Valencian below. By the 9th century, Catalan had evolved from Vulgar Latin on both sides of the end of the Pyrenees, as well as the territories of the Roman province of Hispania Tarraconensis to the south
7.
Cortes Generales
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The Cortes Generales is the legislature of Spain. It is a parliament, composed of the Congress of Deputies. The Cortes has power to any law and to amend the constitution. Moreover, the house has the power to confirm and dismiss the President of the Government. The system of Cortes arose in the Middle Ages as part of feudalism, a Corte was an advisory council made up of the most powerful feudal lords closest to the king. The Cortes of León was the first parliamentary body in Western Europe, from 1230, the Cortes of Leon and Castile were merged, though the Cortes power was decreasing. Prelates, nobles and commoners remained separated in the three estates within the Cortes, with the reappearance of the cities near the 12th century, a new social class started to grow, people living in the cities were neither vassals nor nobles themselves. Furthermore, the nobles were experiencing very hard times due to the Reconquista, so now the bourgeoisie had the money. So the King started admitting representatives from the cities to the Cortes in order to get money for the Reconquista. The frequent payoffs were the Fueros, grants of autonomy to the cities, at this time the Cortes already had the power to oppose the Kings decisions, thus effectively vetoing them. In addition, some representatives were permanent advisors to the King, isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, the Catholic Monarchs, started a specific policy to diminish the power of the bourgeoisie and nobility. They greatly reduced the powers of the Cortes to the point where they simply rubberstamped the monarchs acts, one of the major points of friction between the Cortes and the monarchs was the power of raising and lowering taxes. The role of the Cortes during the Spanish Empire was mainly to rubberstamp the decisions of the ruling monarch, however, they had some power over economic and American affairs, especially taxes. This allowed the Cortes to become influential, even when they did not directly oppose the Kings decisions. The abolition in the realms of Aragon was completed by 1716, Cortes existed in each of Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia and Navarre. It is thought that these legislatures exercised more power over local affairs than the Castilian Cortes did. Executive councils also existed in each of these realms, which were tasked with overseeing the implementation of decisions made by the Cortes. Thus, the Cortes in Spain did not develop towards a system as in the British case
8.
Province of Teruel
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Teruel is a province of Aragon, in the northeast of Spain. It is bordered by the provinces of Tarragona, Castellón, Valencia, Cuenca, Guadalajara, the area of the province is 14,809 km². Its population is 138,686, of whom about a live in the capital. It contains 236 municipalities, of more than half are villages of under 200 people. The main language throughout the province is Spanish, although Catalan is spoken in the comarca of Matarranya and this province is located in the mountainous Sistema Ibérico area. Most of the Teruel Province has undergone massive depopulation since the middle of the 20th century and this situation is shared with other areas in Spain, particularly with those near the Iberian mountain range and with other areas in Aragón. The exodus from the mountain areas in Teruel rose after General Francos Plan de Estabilización in 1959. As a consequence there are many ghost towns in different parts of the province, a great number of surviving towns in Teruel province have only a residual population, reviving somewhat during the summer when a few city-dwellers spend their holidays there. The Teruel Exists movement began at the turn of the 21st century and it is a platform of provincial authorities, institutions and sympathizers seeking to reverse the long-standing neglect of this province. org Teruel Info. - Caciquismo & desarrollismo – N. B and this text-only website is in Japanese
9.
Province of Zaragoza
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Zaragoza, also called Saragossa in English, is a province of northern Spain, in the central part of the autonomous community of Aragon. Its capital is Zaragoza, which is also the capital of the autonomous community, other towns in Zaragoza include Calatayud, Borja, La Almunia de Doña Godina, Ejea de los Caballeros and Tarazona. Its area is 17,274 km² and it is the fourth-largest Spanish province by land area and its population is 973,252, of whom nearly three-quarters live in the capital, and its population density is 50. 95/km². It contains 292 municipalities, of more than half are villages with fewer than 300 people. The main language throughout the province is Spanish, although Catalan is spoken in the Bajo Aragón-Caspe comarca, the province of Zaragoza is bordered by the provinces of Lleida, Tarragona, Teruel, Guadalajara, Soria, La Rioja, Navarre, and Huesca. The southern and western side of the province is in the mountainous Sistema Ibérico area and includes its highest point, the Ebro River crosses the province from west to east. Comarcas in the Zaragoza province, The following comarcas having their capital in Huesca Province include municipal terms within Zaragoza Province, Bajo Cinca, hoya de Huesca, Murillo de Gállego and Santa Eulalia de Gállego. Jacetania, Artieda, Mianos, Salvatierra de Esca and Sigüés, monegros, La Almolda, Bujaraloz, Farlete, Leciñena, Monegrillo and Perdiguera. List of municipalities in Zaragoza Official website
10.
Province of Lleida
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The Province of Lleida is one of the four provinces of Catalonia. It is often referred to as Ponent. It is the province within Catalonia that is landlocked. Of the population of 414,015, about 30% live in the capital, some other towns in Lleida province are La Seu dUrgell, Mollerussa, Cervera, Tàrrega, Balaguer. There are 231 municipalities in Lleida, located in the Pyrenees, the Aran Valley is a special comarca with greater autonomy and with Aranese, a variety of Occitan, as its official language. The Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park is located in this province, the province enjoys a thriving fruit-growing industry, including pears and peaches. The plan is on hold for the time being, one example of the pronunciation is the a at the end of the word that is pronounced like an e. The local dialect, properly known as North-Western Catalan is part of the Western Catalan block, the Province of Lleida is the only one in Catalonia where a language other than Catalan is native, Occitan, in the Aran Valley. In terms of its environment, Lleida offers a wide variety of landscapes. In the high area of the Pyrenees, visitors will find nature in its purest form. Special mention should be made of, the Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park, which is the only National Park in Catalonia, and the Alt Pirineu and Cadí-Moixeró natural parks. In the Pre-Pyrenees, amongst other places of interest, visitors find the Collegats-Terradets Territorial Park, the Boumort Natural Hunting Reserve. In contrast, the Lleida Plain offers more peaceful landscapes, in some cases, these are rather sober, while in others, visitors will find fertile land with century-old olive trees, fruit trees, meadows and crop fields. In this area, it is relevant to highlight such spectacular settings as the Estany dIvars i Vila-sana pool. This area is also Spains leading ski destination, Lleida has 11 different ski resorts which are marketed under the brand Neu de Lleida and offer over 450 km of ski slopes. Their 81 ski lifts have the capacity to carry 115,000 skiers per hour and it is also important to pick out some of the many new initiatives that have helped to extend the seasonal offer of Lleidas tourism sector. These buildings coexist with equally interesting modern constructions such as La Llotja, in recent years, improved communications have also helped to strengthen Lleidas position as one of the Spains leading tourist destinations. The Patronat de Turisme of the Diputació de Lleida created the Ara Lleida tourism brand back in 1990 with the aim of promoting the whole of this territory, llista de monuments de Lleida Patronat de Turisme Diputació de Lleida Xanascat the National Network of Youth Hostels of Catalonia
11.
Province of Barcelona
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Barcelona is a province of eastern Spain, in the center of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The province is bordered by the provinces of Tarragona, Lleida, and Girona, the capital of the province is the city of Barcelona, and the provincial council is based in the Casa Serra on the Rambla de Catalunya in that city. See also List of municipalities in Barcelona, since the division by provinces in Spain and the division by comarques in Catalonia do not completely agree, the term comarques of the province of Barcelona would not be entirely correct
12.
Mediterranean Sea
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The sea is sometimes considered a part of the Atlantic Ocean, although it is usually identified as a separate body of water. The name Mediterranean is derived from the Latin mediterraneus, meaning inland or in the middle of land and it covers an approximate area of 2.5 million km2, but its connection to the Atlantic is only 14 km wide. The Strait of Gibraltar is a strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Gibraltar. In oceanography, it is called the Eurafrican Mediterranean Sea or the European Mediterranean Sea to distinguish it from mediterranean seas elsewhere. The Mediterranean Sea has a depth of 1,500 m. The sea is bordered on the north by Europe, the east by Asia and it is located between latitudes 30° and 46° N and longitudes 6° W and 36° E. Its west-east length, from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Gulf of Iskenderun, the seas average north-south length, from Croatia’s southern shore to Libya, is approximately 800 km. The Mediterranean Sea, including the Sea of Marmara, has an area of approximately 2,510,000 square km. The sea was an important route for merchants and travelers of ancient times that allowed for trade, the history of the Mediterranean region is crucial to understanding the origins and development of many modern societies. In addition, the Gaza Strip and the British Overseas Territories of Gibraltar and Akrotiri, the term Mediterranean derives from the Latin word mediterraneus, meaning amid the earth or between land, as it is between the continents of Africa, Asia and Europe. The Ancient Greek name Mesogeios, is similarly from μέσο, between + γη, land, earth) and it can be compared with the Ancient Greek name Mesopotamia, meaning between rivers. The Mediterranean Sea has historically had several names, for example, the Carthaginians called it the Syrian Sea and latter Romans commonly called it Mare Nostrum, and occasionally Mare Internum. Another name was the Sea of the Philistines, from the people inhabiting a large portion of its shores near the Israelites, the sea is also called the Great Sea in the General Prologue by Geoffrey Chaucer. In Ottoman Turkish, it has also been called Bahr-i Sefid, in Modern Hebrew, it has been called HaYam HaTikhon, the Middle Sea, reflecting the Seas name in ancient Greek, Latin, and modern languages in both Europe and the Middle East. Similarly, in Modern Arabic, it is known as al-Baḥr al-Mutawassiṭ, in Turkish, it is known as Akdeniz, the White Sea since among Turks the white colour represents the west. Several ancient civilisations were located around the Mediterranean shores, and were influenced by their proximity to the sea. It provided routes for trade, colonisation, and war, as well as food for numerous communities throughout the ages, due to the shared climate, geology, and access to the sea, cultures centered on the Mediterranean tended to have some extent of intertwined culture and history. Two of the most notable Mediterranean civilisations in classical antiquity were the Greek city states, later, when Augustus founded the Roman Empire, the Romans referred to the Mediterranean as Mare Nostrum
13.
Reus
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Reus is the capital of Baix Camp, in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. The area has always been an important producer of wines and spirits, nowadays it is known by its commercial activity, for being a centre for rock-climbing and as the birthplace of architect Antoni Gaudí. The origin of the name is a source of discussion, one of the theories is that Reus comes from the Latin word used to describe convict prisoners, and as such, it would be a Roman penitentiary. Around 1150 Robert dAguiló repopulated the region of Reus, after receiving it on 3 June 1154, on 5 June 1154 the archbishop of Tarragona gave two-thirds of Reus to Bertran de Castellet, as a castellan, with the order to build a church. On 29 June 1159, the distribution of income from ecclesiastical goods, the camerlengo has the third of Reus parish. At this time the city was known as Redis or Reddis, on 2 June 1186 the camerlengo Joan de Santboi confirmed the rights given by the castellan Bernard de Bell-lloc. In 1305 Reus revolted against the Archbishop Rodrigo Tello, who wanted that the citizens of Reus pay for rebuilding the walls of Tarragona, in 1309 the king of Aragon gave to Reus the right to do market on Mondays. The dynasty of Bell-lloc castellans became extinct in 1327 and then Bernard de Cabrera became the new castellan, but in 1335 the castellan was sold to Pere Mulet, Pere Mulet heirs sold their rights to Bernat dOlzinelles in 1349. The camerlengo Pere Roger de Belfort disputed domain to the Archbishop López de Ayerbe, a third attack led military occupation of the town and Reus was sacked. At the beginning of the Catalan Revolt war the town had 1200 houses, on 16 December 1640 was declared an enemy of the fatherland by the Parliament and confiscated the goods of the inhabitants, as a response to the inactive participation in the war. In 1641 it was occupied by the French general La Mothe, Reus was loyal to Philip V until 1705, but this year, under the direction of Joan Nebot, revolted in favor of the Archduke Charles. On 3 July 1706 the Archduke Charles came to the town, in 1707 fell shortly to the Bourbons, but in 1709 Reus surrendered to the Spanish and French Bourbons. In 1710 Reus returned again to the field of Archduke Charles, on 5 June 1712 the wife of the Archduke, Elisabeth Christine, gave the title of imperial city to Reus. In 1713 Reus was occupied finally by the Bourbon, in the eighteenth century Reus had phenomenal growth and became the second city of the principality of Catalonia. The walls were demolished in 1766. The town developed the trade and the liquor trade. In this last contribution was the first center, the others were London, from this time it’s the popular sentence Reus, Paris and London”, because Reus was one of the centers of the liquor marquet. The construction of a canal between Reus and Salou, proposed by Pere Sunyer was granted in 1805, but it was stopped because of the French War
14.
Salou
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Salou is a municipality of the comarca of Tarragonès, in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. The city is approximately 10 km from Tarragona and Reus on the Costa Daurada and 112 km from Barcelona, aside from its string of beaches interrupted by rocky coves, and its landscaped promenade, one of its main attractions is the PortAventura resort. The Dutch movie Costa. and the series with the same title were both filmed in Salou. In 1286 Alfons III of Aragon also departed from this port to conquer Minorca, later, Salou became a nest of pirates. After that it was considered a place, so in 1530 Archbishop of Tarragona decided to erect a new defence tower. In 1865 the railway began to operate, opening a new development time. Salou was separated from the adjacent municipality of Vila-seca on 30 October 1989 by a decision of the Supreme Court of Spain, in the summer of 2001, Salou suffered a terrorist attack by ETA, through a car bomb near a hotel. 13 people were injured, including two civil guards, the resort includes luxury four-star accommodation, a major theme park, Costa Caribe Aquatic Park and a convention centre. In 2012 a new roller coaster called Shambhala, Expedición al Himalaya opened adjacent to the Dragon Khan. The park also has a grand show, called the FiestaAventura. Ferrari Land, with the highest and fastest vertical accelerator in Europe, is opening in 2017, Salou is also home to the Lumine Golf Club. There are three courses, labeled as north, south, and central, north and central were designed by Greg Norman and the south course was designed by Green Project. The facilities consist of two clubhouses, a club, Lumine restaurant, Hoyo 19 restaurant, a pro shop, rental services. The Auditorium Theatre of Salou is an important part of the community in terms of cultural. The theatre plays local events such as political, school and cultural events and has also welcomed famous musicians to the such as Sergio Dalma. Salous main promenade is the Passeig Jaume I, which runs along the coast adjacent to the Llevant Beach, other beaches include Platja de Ponent, Platja dels Capellans, Platja Llarga and Platja Cala Crancs. Salou has 34 Blue Flag beaches, water-sports, rentals and trips can be arranged on the Llevant Beach. Salou is used since 2005 as the base for Rally Catalunya, Salou has also held volleyball championships, football tournaments, a triathlon and many other competitive sports
15.
El Vendrell
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El Vendrell is a Spanish town located in Tarragona, Catalonia, in the wine-growing region of Penedès. It is wedged between the Mediterranean and the coastal range, El Vendrell is the capital of the Baix Penedès comarca and a tourist spot, with the beaches of Comarruga, Sant Salvador and El Vendrell. It gives name to the Catalan family name Vendrell, pau Casals Àngel Guimerà Andreu Nin Josep Nin i Tudó Manuel Nin The city has a roller hockey team, Club dEsports Vendrell, one of the most important in Spain, and dispute the main League OK Liga. Panareda Clopés, Josep Maria, Rios Calvet, Jaume, Rabella Vives, guia de Catalunya, Barcelona, Caixa de Catalunya
16.
Tortosa
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Tortosa is the capital of the comarca of Baix Ebre, in Catalonia, Spain. Before Tortosa, across the river, rise the massive Ports de Tortosa-Beseit mountains, the area around Mont Caro and other high summits are often covered with snow in the winter. Bítem,1.139, includes Santa Rosa Campredó,1.168, Jesús,3.755 Els Reguers,679 Tortosa,27.131 Vinallop,363, Tortosa is probably identical to the ancient Hibera, capital of Ilercavonia. This may be the ancient settlement the remains of which have found on the hill named Castillo de la Zuda. In Roman times, the town adopted the name Dertosa, after more than 400 years of Muslim rule, the city was conquered by the Count Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona in 1148, as part of the Second Crusade. The siege of Tortosa was narrated by the Genovese chronicler and diplomat Caffaro, after its conquest, the city and its territory were divided among the victors, with multiple lands being granted to foreign crusaders and to the military and religious orders. Formerly there was a line between Tortosa and Alcañiz, opening a communication gate between this region and Aragon. Construction work began in 1891, but it was haphazard and the first trains between Alcañiz and Tortosa began only in 1942, the last stretch between Tortosa and Sant Carles de la Ràpita was never completed before the line was terminated by RENFE in 1973. Castle of Sant Joan, or Suda, commanding the city from a 59-metre-high hill, though the Romans were the first to fortify the place, the current structure dates to Muslim Caliph Abd ar-Rahman III. After the conquest by Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona, in 1148, it became a residence of the Montcada and the Knights Templar, the Cathedral, begun in 1347 and consecrated in 1597. Bishop Palace Convent of Santa Clara, founded in 1283, montagut Palace Despuig Palace Oliver de Boteller Palace Tortosa is twinned with, Avignon, France Tortosa has a mediterranean climate in the Köppen climate classification. The precipitation pattern differs from the norm for this type in that winter months have less precipitation than autumn. Felip Pedrell, composer and musicologist, was born in Tortosa, bishop of Tortosa Disputation of Tortosa Battle of Dertosa Antoni Virgili, Angli cum multis aliis alienigenis, crusade settlers in Tortosa, Journal of Medieval History,35,3, 297-312
17.
Valls
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Valls is the capital of the comarca of Alt Camp, in Catalonia, Spain. According to the 2014 census it has a population of 24,570, Valls is known for its calçots – a type of scallion or green onion – and the human towers tradition known as the castells. The town is the birthplace of the composer Robert Gerhard, Valls is a city and municipality in the province of Tarragona in Catalonia in northeastern Spain. It is the capital of the county of Alt Camp, with a population of 24,570 inhabitants in 2014, it represents more than half of the population of the county. It is located in the known as Camp de Tarragona next to the River Francolí, near Reus and Tarragona. Valls is known for its tradition, the feasting on calçots at what is known as a calçotada. The calçots are a type of sweet-flavoured spring onion, barbecued over a pit of flaming vines. The calçotada continues with a course of meats and sausages grilled over the same glowing coals. The calçots are only available between December and May and draw diners from as far away as Barcelona, the calçot is grown locally and has a PGI status in the same way that champagne does. The composer Roberto Gerhard was born in Valls in 1896 and he studied under Charles Koechlin in Paris and under Arnold Schoenberg in Vienna and Berlin before returning to Barcelona in 1928. His works were banned from performance in Spain under Francisco Franco. His output included symphonies, stage works, chamber music, choral music and electronic music, the project was initially launched in 2015, and is supported by the Catalan government. Tomàs Caylà, publisher and carlist politician, ignacio F. Iquino, film director, producer, actor, cinematographer. Pedro Lazaga, film director and screenwriter, andrea Fuentes, retaired synchronised swimmer, four Olympic medals. Aleix Vidal, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for FC Barcelona, Andorra la Vella, Andorra Settimo Torinese, Italy Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire, France Chahal, Guatemala Panareda Clopés, Josep Maria, Rios Calvet, Jaume, Rabella Vives, Josep Maria. Guia de Catalunya, Barcelona, Caixa de Catalunya
18.
World Heritage Site
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A World Heritage Site is a landmark which has been officially recognized by the United Nations, specifically by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Sites are selected on the basis of having cultural, historical, scientific or some form of significance. UNESCO regards these sites as being important to the interests of humanity. The programme catalogues, names, and conserves sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common culture, under certain conditions, listed sites can obtain funds from the World Heritage Fund. The program was founded with the Convention Concerning the Protection of the Worlds Cultural and Natural Heritage, since then,192 state parties have ratified the convention, making it one of the most adhered to international instruments. As of July 2016,1052 sites are listed,814 cultural,203 natural, in 1959, the governments of Egypt and Sudan requested UNESCO to assist their countries to protect and rescue the endangered monuments and sites. In 1960, the Director-General of UNESCO launched an appeal to the Member States for an International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, the campaign, which ended in 1980, was considered a success. The project cost $80 million, about $40 million of which was collected from 50 countries, the projects success led to other safeguarding campaigns, saving Venice and its lagoon in Italy, the ruins of Mohenjo-daro in Pakistan, and the Borobodur Temple Compounds in Indonesia. UNESCO then initiated, with the International Council on Monuments and Sites, the United States initiated the idea of cultural conservation with nature conservation. The International Union for Conservation of Nature developed similar proposals in 1968, the Convention came into force on 17 December 1975. As of June 2016, it has been ratified by 192 states, including 188 UN member states plus the Cook Islands, the Holy See, Niue, a country must first list its significant cultural and natural sites, the result is called the Tentative List. A country may not nominate sites that have not been first included on the Tentative List, next, it can place sites selected from that list into a Nomination File. The Nomination File is evaluated by the International Council on Monuments and Sites and these bodies then make their recommendations to the World Heritage Committee. There are ten selection criteria – a site must meet at least one of them to be included on the list, up to 2004, there were six criteria for cultural heritage and four criteria for natural heritage. In 2005, this was modified so there is now only one set of ten criteria. Nominated sites must be of outstanding value and meet at least one of the ten criteria. Thus, the Geneva Convention treaty promulgates, Article 53, PROTECTION OF CULTURAL OBJECTS AND OF PLACES OF WORSHIP. There are 1,052 World Heritage Sites located in 165 States Party, of these,814 are cultural,203 are natural and 35 are mixed properties
19.
Umayyad conquest of Hispania
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The Umayyad conquest of Hispania was the initial expansion of the Umayyad Caliphate over Hispania, largely extending from 711 to 788. The conquest marks the westernmost expansion of both the Umayyad Caliphate and Muslim rule into Europe, forces commanded by Tariq ibn Ziyad disembarked in early 711 at Gibraltar at the head of an army consisting of Berbers. He campaigned his way northward after the decisive Battle of Guadalete against the usurper Roderic, by 717, the combined force had crossed the Pyrenees into Septimania and Provence. Precisely what happened in Iberia in the early 8th century is uncertain, there is one contemporary Christian source, the Chronicle of 754, regarded as reliable but often vague. There are no contemporary Muslim accounts, what Muslim information there is comes from later compilations subject to contemporary ideological influence. The most prominent such compilation is that of Al-Maqqari, which dates from the 17th century and this paucity of sources means that any specific or detailed claims need to be regarded with caution. Numismatic evidence suggests a division of authority, with several coinages being struck. There is also a story of one Julian, count of Ceuta, whose wife or daughter was raped by Roderic, however, these stories are not included in the earliest accounts of the conquest. According to the later chronicler Ibn Abd-el-Hakem, in 711, Tariq Ibn Ziyad led an approximately 1, however,12,000 seems a more accurate figure. They defeated the Visigothic army, led by King Roderic, in a battle at Guadalete in 712. Tariqs forces were reinforced by those of his superior, the wali Musa ibn Nusair. According to the Muslim historian Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Iberia was first invaded some sixty years earlier during the caliphate of Uthman, however, this putative invasion is not accepted by modern historians. The conquering army was made up mainly of Berbers who had only recently come under Muslim influence. Both the Chronicle of 754 and later Muslim sources speak of raiding activity in previous years, the Chronicle of 754 stated that the entire army of the Goths, which had come with him fraudulently and in rivalry out of hopes of the Kingship, fled. This is the contemporary account of the battle and the paucity of detail led many later historians to invent their own. The location of the battle is not totally clear but was probably the Guadalete River, Roderic was believed to have been killed and a crushing defeat would have left the Visigoths largely leaderless and disorganized. The resulting power vacuum, which may have indeed caught Tariq completely by surprise, in 714, Musa ibn Nusayr headed north-west up the Ebro river to overrun the western Basque regions and the Cantabrian mountains all the way to Gallaecia, with no relevant or attested opposition. During the period of the second Arab governor Abd al-Aziz ibn Musa, the northern areas of Iberia drew little attention to the conquerors and were hard to defend when taken
20.
Umayyad Caliphate
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The Umayyad Caliphate, also spelled Omayyad, was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. This caliphate was centred on the Umayyad dynasty, hailing from Mecca, Syria remained the Umayyads main power base thereafter, and Damascus was their capital. The Umayyads continued the Muslim conquests, incorporating the Caucasus, Transoxiana, Sindh, the Maghreb and the Iberian Peninsula into the Muslim world. At its greatest extent, the Umayyad Caliphate covered 11,100,000 km2 and 62 million people, the Umayyad Caliphate was secular by nature. At the time, the Umayyad taxation and administrative practice were perceived as unjust by some Muslims, Muhammad had stated explicitly during his lifetime that Abrahamic religious groups, should be allowed to practice their own religion, provided that they paid the jizya taxation. The welfare state of both the Muslim and the poor started by Umar ibn al Khattab had also continued, financed by the zakat tax levied only on Muslims. Muawiyas wife Maysum was also a Christian, the relations between the Muslims and the Christians in the state were stable in this time. Prominent positions were held by Christians, some of whom belonged to families that had served in Byzantine governments, the employment of Christians was part of a broader policy of religious assimilation that was necessitated by the presence of large Christian populations in the conquered provinces, as in Syria. This policy also boosted Muawiyas popularity and solidified Syria as his power base, the rivalries between the Arab tribes had caused unrest in the provinces outside Syria, most notably in the Second Muslim Civil War of AD 680–692 and the Berber Revolt of 740–743. During the Second Civil War, leadership of the Umayyad clan shifted from the Sufyanid branch of the family to the Marwanid branch. A branch of the family fled across North Africa to Al-Andalus, where they established the Caliphate of Córdoba, according to tradition, the Umayyad family and Muhammad both descended from a common ancestor, Abd Manaf ibn Qusai, and they originally came from the city of Mecca. Muhammad descended from Abd Manāf via his son Hashim, while the Umayyads descended from Abd Manaf via a different son, Abd-Shams, the two families are therefore considered to be different clans of the same tribe. However Muslim Shia historians suspect that Umayya was a son of Abd Shams so he was not a blood relative of Abd Manaf ibn Qusai. Umayya was later discarded from the noble family, Sunni historians disagree with this and view Shia claims as nothing more than outright polemics due to their hostility to the Umayyad family in general. While the Umayyads and the Hashimites may have had bitterness between the two clans before Muhammad, the rivalry turned into a case of tribal animosity after the Battle of Badr. The battle saw three top leaders of the Umayyad clan killed by Hashimites in a three-on-three melee and this fueled the opposition of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, the grandson of Umayya, to Muhammad and to Islam. Abu Sufyan sought to exterminate the adherents of the new religion by waging another battle with Muslims based in Medina only a year after the Battle of Badr and he did this to avenge the defeat at Badr. The Battle of Uhud is generally believed by scholars to be the first defeat for the Muslims, as they had incurred greater losses than the Meccans
21.
Al-Andalus
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Al-Andalus, also known as Muslim Spain or Islamic Iberia, was a medieval Muslim territory and cultural domain occupying at its peak most of what are today Spain and Portugal. At its greatest geographical extent in the century, southern France—Septimania—was briefly under its control. Rule under these kingdoms led to a rise in cultural exchange, a number of achievements that advanced Islamic and Western science came from al-Andalus including major advances in trigonometry, astronomy, surgery, pharmacology, and other fields. Al-Andalus became an educational center for Europe and the lands around the Mediterranean Sea as well as a conduit for culture. For much of its history, al-Andalus existed in conflict with Christian kingdoms to the north, after the fall of the Umayyad caliphate, al-Andalus was fragmented into a number of minor states and principalities. Attacks from the Christians intensified, led by the Castilians under Alfonso VI, the Almoravid empire intervened and repelled the Christian attacks on the region, deposing the weak Andalusi Muslim princes and included al-Andalus under direct Berber rule. In the next century and a half, al-Andalus became a province of the Berber Muslim empires of the Almoravids and Almohads, ultimately, the Christian kingdoms in the north of the Iberian Peninsula overpowered the Muslim states to the south. In 1085, Alfonso VI captured Toledo, starting a gradual decline of Muslim power, with the fall of Córdoba in 1236, most of the south quickly fell under Christian rule and the Emirate of Granada became a tributary state of the Kingdom of Castile two years later. In 1249, the Portuguese Reconquista culminated with the conquest of the Algarve by Afonso III, finally, on January 2,1492, Emir Muhammad XII surrendered the Emirate of Granada to Queen Isabella I of Castile, completing the Christian Reconquista of the peninsula. The toponym al-Andalus is first attested to by inscriptions on coins minted by the new Muslim government in Iberia, the etymology of the name has traditionally been derived from the name of the Vandals. A number of proposals since the 1980s have contested this, Vallvé proposed a corruption of the name Atlantis, halm derives the name from a Gothic term *landahlauts. Bossong suggests derivation from a pre-Roman substrate and they crossed the Pyrenees and occupied Visigothic Septimania in southern France. Most of the Iberian peninsula became part of the expanding Umayyad Empire and it was organized as a province subordinate to Ifriqiya, so, for the first few decades, the governors of al-Andalus were appointed by the emir of Kairouan, rather than the Caliph in Damascus. Visigothic lords who agreed to recognize Muslim suzerainty were allowed to retain their fiefs, resistant Visigoths took refuge in the Cantabrian highlands, where they carved out a rump state, the Kingdom of Asturias. In the 720s, the al-Andalus governors launched several raids into Aquitaine. At the Battle of Poitiers in 732, the al-Andalus raiding army was defeated by Charles Martel, in 734, the Andalusi launched raids to the east, capturing Avignon and Arles and overran much of Provence. In 737, they climbed up the Rhône valley, reached as far as Burgundy, Charles Martel of the Franks, with the assistance of Liutprand of the Lombards, invaded Burgundy and Provence and expelled the raiders by 739. Relations between Arabs and Berbers in al-Andalus had been tense in the years after the conquest
22.
Abd al-Rahman I
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Abd al-Rahman I, more fully Abd al-Rahman ibn Muawiya ibn Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, was the founder of a Muslim dynasty that ruled the greater part of Iberia for nearly three centuries. At the time it was known by the Arabs as al-Andalus and he was also known by the surnames al-Dakhil, Saqr Quraish and the Falcon of Andalus. Variations of the spelling of his name include Abd ar-Rahman I, Abdul Rahman I, Abdar Rahman I, and Abderraman I. Born near Damascus in Syria, Abd al-Rahman was the son of the Umayyad prince Muawiya ibn Hisham and a Berber mother and he was twenty when his family, the ruling Umayyads, were overthrown by the Abbasid Revolution in 748–750. The family fled from Damascus to the River Euphrates, all along the way the path was filled with danger, as the Abbasids had dispatched horsemen across the region to try to find the Umayyad prince and kill him. The Abbasids were merciless with all Umayyads that they found, Abbasid agents closed in on Abd al-Rahman and his family while they were hiding in a small village. He left his son with his sisters and fled with Yahya. Accounts vary, but Bedr likely initially escaped with Abd ar-Rahman, some histories indicate that Bedr met up with Abd al-Rahman at a later date. Abd al-Rahman, Yahya and Bedr quit the village narrowly escaping the Abbasid assassins, later, on the way south, Abbasid horsemen again caught up with the trio, Abd al-Rahman and his companions then threw themselves into the River Euphrates. The horsemen begged the escapers to return, promising that no harm would come to them, the 17th-century historian Ahmed Mohammed al-Maqqari poignantly described Abd al-Rahmans reaction as he implored Yahya to keep going, O brother. Yahya returned to the shore, and was quickly dispatched by the horsemen. They cut the head off their prize, leaving Yahyas body to rot, al-Maqqari quotes prior Muslim historians as having recorded that Abd al-Rahman said he was so overcome with fear at that moment, that once he made the far shore he ran until exhaustion overcame him. Only he and Bedr were left to face the unknown, after barely escaping with their lives, Abd al-Rahman and Bedr continued south through Palestine, the Sinai, and then into Egypt. Abd al-Rahman had to keep a low profile as he traveled and it may be assumed that he intended to go at least as far as northwestern Africa, the land of his mother, which had been partly conquered by his Umayyad predecessors. The journey across Egypt would prove perilous, at the time, Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib al-Fihri was the semi-autonomous governor of Ifriqiya and a former Umayyad client. The ambitious Ibn Habib, a member of the illustrious Fihrid family, had sought to carve out Ifriqiya as a private dominion for himself. Abd al-Rahman was only one of several surviving Umayyad family members to make their way to Ifriqiya at this time, but Ibn Habib soon changed his mind. He feared the presence of prominent Umayyad exiles in Ifriqiya, a more illustrious than his own
23.
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tarragona
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The Archdiocese of Tarragona is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory located in north-eastern Spain, in the province of Tarragona, part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The archdiocese heads the ecclesiastical province of Tarragona, having Metropolitan authority over the dioceses of Girona, Lleida, Solsona, Tortosa, Urgell. The archdiocese, created in Roman times, was reestablished in 1118, Tarragona is one of the most ancient cities of Spain, probably of Iberian origin, as its coins and Cyclopean walls indicate. The Romans selected Tarragona as the centre of their government in Spain, in the division of the peninsula it was the capital first of Hispania Citerior and then of the Province of Hispania Tarraconensis. The Church of Tarragona is undoubtedly one of the most ancient in Spain, holding as it does the tradition of the coming of St. James, the first written testimony which we have concerning the bishops of Tarragona dates from the third century. This is in the Acts of the Martyrdom of the bishop St. Fructuosus, the list of the bishops of Tarragona, therefore, begins with St. Fructuosus, but it is supposed that other bishops, whose names have been lost to us, preceded him. The see of Tarragona, which was vacant at that time, was represented at the Council of Arles by two procurators, the priest Probatius and the deacon Castorius. Himerius, who sent the priest Basianus to Pope St. Damasus, and it is also conjectured that the Hilarius who was the subject of the Decretal issued by Pope Innocent I was also a Bishop of Tarragona. In the fifth century Tarragona was overrun by the Vandals, Suevi, the Visigothic king, Euric, took possession of Tarragona in 475 and totally demolished it. During the occupation of the Visigoths it flourished once more, in 517 he assembled another provincial council in Girona. Sergius, who was bishop from 535 to 546, held councils in Barcelona, St. Justus, Bishop of Urgel, dedicated to him his commentary on the Song of Solomon. Tranquillinus was bishop for many years previous to 560 and he had been a monk in the Monastery of Asana, under the direction of St. Victornus. Artemius, bishop prior to 589, was not able to attend the Third Council of Toledo and he called provincial councils at Zaragoza and Barcelona. Eusebius held the council of Egara to enforce the canons of the Council of Huesca, audax was present at the Fourth Council of Toledo, and Protasius at the Sixth and Seventh Councils of Toledo. Cyprianus sent representatives to the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth councils of Toledo, Vera assisted personally at the Sixteenth and Seventeenth. In time of Vera or in that of his successor, George, the Arabs destroyed Tarragona in 719. Louis the Pious appears to have taken possession of the city. A portion of its territory was bestowed on the Bishop of Barcelona, and the rank was given to the Bishop of Narbonne
24.
Ebro
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The Ebro or Ebre is one of the most important rivers on the Iberian Peninsula. It is the second longest river in the Iberian peninsula after the Tagus, the source of the river Ebro is in Fontibre, from the Latin words Fontes Iberis, source of the Ebro. Close by is the big artificial lake Embalse del Ebro created by the damming of the river, the upper Ebro rushes through rocky gorges in Burgos Province. Karst geological processes shaped the landscape of layers of carbonate rock of extensive limestone bedrock formed in an ancient seabed. Aragonite, a named for Aragon, attests to the fact that carbonates are abundant in the central Ebro Valley. The valley expands and the Ebros flow then becomes slower as its volume increases. There, larger tributaries flowing from the Central Pyrenees and the Iberian System discharge large amounts of water, as it flows through Zaragoza the Ebro, is already a sizeable river. There, the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar stands next to the Ebro, the soils in most of the valley are primarily poor soils, calcareous, pebbly, stony, and sometimes salted with saltwater endorheic lagoons. The semi-arid interior of the Ebro Valley has either drought summers and it is covered with chaparral vegetation. Summers are hot and winters are cold, the dry summer season has temperatures of more than 35 °C, occasionally reaching over 40 °C. In winter, the temperatures drop below 0 °C. In some areas the vegetation depends heavily on moisture produced by condensation fogs and it is a continental Mediterranean climate with extreme temperatures. There are many ground frosts on clear nights, and sporadic snowfalls, the biomes are diverse in these Mediterranean climate zones, Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub. Hinterlands are particularly distinctive on account of extensive sclerophyll shrublands known as maquis, the dominant species are Quercus coccifera and Quercus ilex. These trees form monospecific communities or communities integrated with Pinus, Mediterranean buckthorns, Myrtus, Chamaerops humilis, junipers, Pistacia, Rosmarinus, Thymus, etc. The mountain vegetation is mostly coniferous forests that are drought adapted and their presence is related to the marine origin of the Ebro valley and the extensive marine deposits in the same area. After reaching Catalonia, the Ebro Valley narrows, and the river becomes constrained by mountain ranges, massive dams have been built in this area, such as the dams at Mequinenza, Riba-roja, Flix. In the final section of its course the river bends southwards, the massive calcareous cliffs of the Serra de Cardó range constrain the river during this last stretch, separating the Ebro Valley from the Mediterranean coastal area
25.
Invasive species
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One study pointed out widely divergent perceptions of the criteria for invasive species among researchers and concerns with the subjectivity of the term invasive. Such invasive species may be either plants or animals and may disrupt by dominating a region, wilderness areas, particular habitats and this includes non-native invasive plant species labeled as exotic pest plants and invasive exotics growing in native plant communities. It has been used in this sense by government organizations as well as groups such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The European Union defines Invasive Alien Species as those that are, firstly, outside their natural distribution area and it is also used by land managers, botanists, researchers, horticulturalists, conservationists, and the public for noxious weeds. The kudzu vine, Andean Pampas grass, and yellow starthistle are examples, an alternate usage broadens the term to include indigenous or native species along with non-native species, that have colonized natural areas. Deer are an example, considered to be overpopulating their native zones and adjacent suburban gardens, by some in the Northeastern, sometimes the term is used to describe a non-native or introduced species that has become widespread. However, not every introduced species has adverse effects on the environment, a nonadverse example is the common goldfish, which is found throughout the United States, but rarely achieves high densities. Scientists include species and ecosystem factors among the mechanisms that when combined, while all species compete to survive, invasive species appear to have specific traits or specific combinations of traits that allow them to outcompete native species. In some cases, the competition is about rates of growth, in other cases, species interact with each other more directly. Researchers disagree about the usefulness of traits as invasiveness markers, one study found that of a list of invasive and noninvasive species, 86% of the invasive species could be identified from the traits alone. Another study found invasive species tended to have only a subset of the presumed traits. Repeated patterns of movement, such as ships sailing to and from ports or cars driving up. An introduced species might become if it can outcompete native species for resources such as nutrients, light, physical space, water. If these species evolved under great competition or predation, then the new environment may host fewer able competitors, allowing the invader to proliferate quickly. Ecosystems in which are being used to their fullest capacity by native species can be modeled as zero-sum systems in which any gain for the invader is a loss for the native, however, such unilateral competitive superiority is not the rule. For example, barbed goatgrass was introduced to California on serpentine soils, which have low water-retention, low nutrient levels, a high magnesium/calcium ratio, and possible heavy metal toxicity. Plant populations on these soils tend to low density, but goatgrass can form dense stands on these soils. Some species, like Kalanchoe daigremontana, produce allelopathic compounds, that might have an effect on competing species
26.
Zebra mussel
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The zebra mussel is a small freshwater mussel. This species was native to the lakes of southern Russia and Ukraine, being first described in 1769 by the German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas in the Ural, Volga. However, the mussel has been accidentally introduced to numerous other areas. Since the 1980s, they have invaded the Great Lakes and the Hudson River and they are commonly found on the bottom of ships and eat the algae that is food for fish. Inspectors check ships for the mussels before they leave port, scientists are trying to control the mussels. Zebra mussels get their name from a striped pattern seen on their shells. They are usually about the size of a fingernail, but can grow to a length of nearly 2 in. Shells are D-shaped, and attached to the substrate with strong byssal threads, Zebra mussel and the closely related and ecologically similar quagga mussels are filter-feeding organisms. They remove particles from the water column, the zebra mussels process up to one liter of water per day, per mussel. Some particles are consumed as food, and feces are deposited on the lake floor, nonfood particles are combined with mucus and other matter and deposited on lake floors as pseudofeces. Since the zebra mussel has established in Lake Erie, water clarity has increased from 6 inches to up to three feet in some areas. This improved water clarity allows sunlight to penetrate deeper, enabling growth of submerged macrophytes and these plants, when decaying, wash up on shorelines, fouling beaches and causing water quality problems. Lake floor food supplies are enriched by zebra mussels as they filter out of the water. This biomass becomes available to bottom-feeding species and to the fish feed on them. The catch of yellow perch increased 5 fold after the invasion of zebra mussels into Lake St. Clair, Zebra mussels attach to most substrates including sand, silt, and harder substrates, but usually, juvenile mussels prefer harder, rockier substrates to which to attach. Other mussel species frequently represent the most stable objects in silty substrates, and zebra mussels attach to and they build colonies on Native American unionid clams, reducing their ability to move, feed, and breed, eventually leading to their deaths. This has led to the extinction of the unionid clams in Lake St. Clair. This pattern is being repeated in Ireland, where mussels have eliminated the two freshwater mussels from several waterways, including some lakes along the River Shannon in 1997
27.
Riba-roja d'Ebre
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Riba-roja dEbre is a municipality in the comarca of the Ribera dEbre in southern Catalonia, Spain. It is the site of a hydroelectric power station, on the Ebro river. Once a year there was an international fishing championship at Riba-roja however the area was overfished. Fishing is still practised both in the reservoir and down the river, the river mouths of the Cinca, Segre and Matarraña rivers are surrounded by a forest and beautiful scenery. In the middle of the reservoir is the tower of the town of Fayón. Riba Roja is near to Ascó, and Vinebre both of which are becoming extremely well renowned for excellent fishing amongst the locals who often try to avoid the heavily fished areas. The race is run every 24 August around local landmarks, the prizes are placed in a cage at the top of a pole. Puntal dels Escambrons Panareda Clopés, Josep Maria, Rios Calvet, Jaume, Rabella Vives, guia de Catalunya, Barcelona, Caixa de Catalunya
28.
Gambusia
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Gambusia is a large genus of fish in family Poeciliidae. Gambusia contains over 40 species, most of which are found in freshwater habitats. The type species is the Cuban gambusia, G. punctata, the greatest species richness is in Mexico, Texas, and the Greater Antilles, but species are also found elsewhere in eastern and southern United States, The Bahamas, Central America, and Colombia. Gambusia species are often called topminnows or simply gambusias, they are known as mosquitofish. These can be introduced into ponds to eat mosquito larvae, as a consequence, they have been introduced widely outside their native range, and sometimes become invasive, threatening the local species. They are very important in trade, desired for small size, ease of breeding. They are viviparous—they have live young, the 45 currently recognized species in this genus are, Gambusia affinis Gambusia alvarezi C. Hubbs & C. L. Hubbs,1957 †Gambusia georgei C, Hubbs & Peden,1969 Gambusia heterochir C. Hubbs,1957 Gambusia hispaniolae W. L. Fink,1971 Gambusia holbrooki Girard,1859 Gambusia hurtadoi C
29.
Flix
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Flix is a town in the comarca of Ribera dEbre, Catalonia, Spain. Situated on a promontory by the Ebro river, the town occupied an important strategic position, situated on the Madrid–Barcelona railway line, it expanded in the early twentieth century with the construction of a hydroelectric power station and a large chemical plant, Electroquímica de Flix. There is excellent fishing in the bend in the river. Every year there is an international fishing competition at Flix. Flix was the site of a battle in the Spanish Civil War in 1938, the Battle of the Iron Bridge was fought between the International Brigades and the Fascists as part of the Battle of the Ebro. The operation was initially a success for the republicans with the construction of the bridge nearly complete by the 3rd Division. However at the end they had lost 3,000 soldiers, today there is a memorial to this battle at Flix. In 2005 the existence of a vast polluted area on the shores of the Flix Reservoir was disclosed, the environmental disaster involving large quantities of toxic waste was caused by the Ercros chemical factory, located by the shore of the artificial lake. Following this disclosure an ambitious plan to clean up the area has been drawn and this plan involves the building of containment barriers and the removal and treatment of the hazardous chemical waste. The population of Flix has grown since 1900 and peaked in the 1980s
30.
Les Ferreres Aqueduct
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Les Ferreres Aqueduct, also known as Pont del Diable, is an ancient bridge, part of the Roman aqueduct built to supply water to the ancient city of Tarraco, today Tarragona in Catalonia, Spain. The bridge is located 4 kilometers north of the city and it is part of the Archaeological Ensemble of Tarraco, the Tarraco aqueduct took water from the Francolí river,15 kilometers north of Tarragona. It probably dates from the time of the emperor Augustus, les Ferreres Aqueduct is composed of two levels of arches, the upper section has 25 arches, and the lower one has 11. All arches have the diameter of 20 Roman feet with a variation of 15 cm. The distance between centres of the pillars is 26 Roman feet and it has a maximum height of 27 metres and a length of 249 metres, including the ends where the specus runs atop a wall
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Phoenicia
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The enterprising, sea-based Phoenician civilization spread across the Mediterranean between 1500 BC and 300 BC. Their civilization was organized in city-states, similar to those of Ancient Greece, perhaps the most notable of which were Tyre, Sidon, Arvad, Berytus and Carthage. Each city-state was an independent unit, and it is uncertain to what extent the Phoenicians viewed themselves as a single nationality. In terms of archaeology, language, lifestyle, and religion there was little to set the Phoenicians apart as markedly different from other Semitic Canaanites. The Phoenicians were the first state-level society to make use of alphabets. By their maritime trade, the Phoenicians spread the use of the alphabet to Anatolia, North Africa, and Europe, where it was adopted by the Greeks, the name Phoenicians, like Latin Poenī, comes from Greek Φοίνικες. The word φοῖνιξ phoînix meant variably Phoenician person, Tyrian purple, the word may be derived from φοινός phoinós blood red, itself possibly related to φόνος phónos murder. Beekes has suggested a Pre-Greek origin of the ethnonym, the oldest attested form of the word in Greek may be the Mycenaean po-ni-ki-jo, po-ni-ki, possibly borrowed from Ancient Egyptian fnḫw Asiatics, Semites, although this derivation is disputed. The folk-etymological association of Φοινίκη with φοῖνιξ mirrors that in Akkadian which tied kinaḫni, the land was natively known as knʿn and its people as the knʿny. In the Amarna tablets of the 14th century BC, people from the region called themselves Kenaani or Kinaani, the ethnonym survived in North Africa until the 4th century AD. Herodotus account refers to the myths of Io and Europa, according to the Persians best informed in history, the Phoenicians began the quarrel. The Greek historian Strabo believed that the Phoenicians originated from Bahrain, Herodotus also believed that the homeland of the Phoenicians was Bahrain. The people of Tyre in South Lebanon in particular have long maintained Persian Gulf origins, however, there is little evidence of occupation at all in Bahrain during the time when such migration had supposedly taken place. Canaanite culture apparently developed in situ from the earlier Ghassulian chalcolithic culture, Byblos is attested as an archaeological site from the Early Bronze Age. The Late Bronze Age state of Ugarit is considered quintessentially Canaanite archaeologically, fernand Braudel remarked in The Perspective of the World that Phoenicia was an early example of a world-economy surrounded by empires. The high point of Phoenician culture and sea power is usually placed c, archaeological evidence consistent with this understanding has been difficult to identify. A unique concentration in Phoenicia of silver hoards dated between 1200 and 800 BC, however, contains hacksilver with lead isotope ratios matching ores in Sardinia and Spain. This metallic evidence agrees with the memory of a western Mediterranean Tarshish that supplied Solomon with silver via Phoenicia
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Tarraco
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Tarraco is the ancient name of the current city of Tarragona. In 2000, the ensemble of Tarraco was declared a World heritage site by UNESCO. The municipality was inhabited in pre-Roman times by Iberians who had contacts with the Greeks. The Iberian colonies were located in the Ebro Valley. Evidence of Iberian colonies in the municipality of Tarragona has been dated to the 5th century BC, references in the literature to the presence of Iberians in Tarraco are ambiguous. Livy mentions an oppidum parvum called Cissis and Polybius talks about a polis called Kissa, Tarraco is mentioned for first time shortly after the arrival of Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus at Empúries in 218 BC at the start of the Second Punic War which began the Roman conquest of Hispania. Livy writes that the Romans conquered a field of Punic supplies for Hannibals troops near Cissis, a short time later, the Romans were attacked not far from Tarraco. But it remains unclear whether Cissis and Tarraco were the same city, a coin found in Empúries bears the inscription Tarakon-salir. The coin, engraved in keeping with other Empúries models at a location, is generally dated to 250 BC. The name Kesse appears on coins of Iberian origin from the 1st, Kesse may be equated with Cissis, the place of origin of the Cissisians mentioned by Pliny. The Roman city wall was constructed on top of the more ancient wall characteristic of the Iberian stonemason. After the death of the Scipio brothers, Tarraco was 25-year-old Scipio Africanuss winter base between 211 and 210, and where he met the tribes of Hispania in conventus, the population was largely loyal to the Romans during the war. Livy called them allies and friends of the Roman people and the fishermen of Tarraco served with their boats during the siege of Carthago Nova, the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula by the Romans took over 200 years. During the following two centuries Tarraco remained a supply and winter camp during the wars against the Celtiberians. There was therefore a military presence during this period, possibly in the highest area of what is currently the citys historic quarter. In 197 BC, all of the areas, even narrow strips along the coast of Spain, were divided between the new provinces of Hispania Ulterior and Hispania Citerior. The capital of Hispania Citerior was principally Carthago Nova but Strabo says that the governors resided in Tarraco. The legal status of Tarraco is not entirely clear and it was probably organized as conventus civium Romanorum during the Republic, with two magistri at its head
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Tarragona Amphitheatre
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Tarragona Amphitheatre is an amphitheatre from the Roman city of Tarraco, now Tarragona, in the Catalonia region of north-east Spain. It was built in the 2nd century AD, sited close to the forum of this provincial capital, the amphitheatre could house up to 15,000 spectators, and measured 130 by 102 metres. It was built at the end of 1st century BC and the start of 2nd century BC, down from the walls, there are remains of a large inscription dating to the reign of Elagabalus and located in the podium. In 259, during the persecution of Christians by Emperor Valerian, the bishop, Fructuosus. After Christianity became the religion of the empire, the amphitheatre lost its original functions. The following years some of the stones were used to build a basilica to commemorate the three martyrs. Tombs were excavated in the arena and funerary mausoleums were annexed to the church. The Islamic invasion of Spain started a period of abandonment of the area, which lasted until the 12th century, in 1576, it became the convent for the order of the Trinity until 1780 when it became a prison for prisoners who were constructing the port. After closing the prison, it was abandoned up to the century when work was started to recover the theatre
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Western Roman Empire
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Theodosius I divided the Empire upon his death between his two sons. As the Roman Republic expanded, it reached a point where the government in Rome could not effectively rule the distant provinces. Communications and transportation were especially problematic given the vast extent of the Empire, for this reason, provincial governors had de facto rule in the name of the Roman Republic. Antony received the provinces in the East, Achaea, Macedonia and Epirus, Bithynia, Pontus and Asia, Syria, Cyprus and these lands had previously been conquered by Alexander the Great, thus, much of the aristocracy was of Greek origin. The whole region, especially the cities, had been largely assimilated into Greek culture. Octavian obtained the Roman provinces of the West, Italia, Gaul, Gallia Belgica and these lands also included Greek and Carthaginian colonies in the coastal areas, though Celtic tribes such as Gauls and Celtiberians were culturally dominant. Lepidus received the province of Africa. Octavian soon took Africa from Lepidus, while adding Sicilia to his holdings, upon the defeat of Mark Antony, a victorious Octavian controlled a united Roman Empire. While the Roman Empire featured many distinct cultures, all were often said to experience gradual Romanization, minor rebellions and uprisings were fairly common events throughout the Empire. Conquered tribes or cities would revolt, and the legions would be detached to crush the rebellion, while this process was simple in peacetime, it could be considerably more complicated in wartime, as for example in the Great Jewish Revolt. In a full-blown military campaign, the legions, under such as Vespasian, were far more numerous. To ensure a commanders loyalty, an emperor might hold some members of the generals family hostage. To this end, Nero effectively held Domitian and Quintus Petillius Cerialis, governor of Ostia, the rule of Nero ended only with the revolt of the Praetorian Guard, who had been bribed in the name of Galba. The Praetorian Guard, a sword of Damocles, were often perceived as being of dubious loyalty. Following their example, the legions at the increased participation in the civil wars. The main enemy in the West was arguably the Germanic tribes behind the rivers Rhine, Augustus had tried to conquer them but ultimately pulled back after the Teutoburg reversal. The Parthian Empire, in the East, on the hand, was too remote. Those distant territories were forsaken to prevent unrest and also to ensure a more healthy, the Parthians were followed by the Sasanian Empire, which continued hostilities with the Roman Empire
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Tarragona Cathedral
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The Cathedral of Tarragona is a Roman Catholic church in Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. The edifice is located in a site occupied by a Roman temple dating to the time of Tiberius, a Visigothic cathedral. It was declared a monument in 1905. There is little information about the origins of the church, the original, early-12th-century cathedral had perhaps a single nave and a large apse, and was in Romanesque style. At the time attention was posed to defensive elements, such as the bell tower. A new project was launched in 1195, changing the plan to a basilica one. The construction benefited of donations from bishops and kings Alfonso II, part of the new edifice was opened to worship under bishop Aspàreg de la Barca. In 1250 Pedro de Albalat ordered the construction of a tower-dome over the transept, the tympanum and the apostles figures of the latter are however were executed by Jaume Cascalls and his workshop around 1375. The new cathedral was consecrated by archbishop Juan of Aragon and Anjou, son of king James II, works of restorations of the cathedral were carried on in 1999–2001. During them, traces of a dedicated to the Roman emperor Augustus were found. The cathedral is in style from the Romanesque to the Gothic one. It has a plan with a nave and two aisles, a transept with unequal arms, three semicircular apses with deep presbyteries. The apse has three windows in the part, and other seven in the upper one, of ogival shape. The nave has a height of 26 metres at the dome, a length, the length of the main axle is 101 metres. The nave and the aisles are covered by cross vaults whose ribs are supported by cruciform pilasters annexed to columns, the windows are of two main type, Romanesque, with archivolts, and Gothic, with stained glasses. The octagonal tower-dome was built in the century, and is cross-vaulted. The presbytery and the apse have kept a notable Romanesque pavement, formed by plaques of stone, the stalls of the choir were made by the Zaragozan artist Francisco Gomar in the 15th century, in oak wood. The western side was dismantled and is now in a museum, the organ is from the late 16th century, designed by the architect Jaume Amigó
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Cambrils
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Cambrils is a coastal town in the comarca of Baix Camp, province of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. The town is nearby the tourist town, Salou and is visited by those travelling by air using Reus Airport and major transport links such as the Bus Plana. The town of Cambrils can trace its origins back to prehistoric times, by the mediaeval period there was already a permanent settlement on the right bank of the Alforja Torrent. From 1152 the kingdom of Aragon, having driven the Moors out of Catalonia, the area also had good maritime connections, indeed, the troops of Jaume I sailed from these beaches in 1229 to re-conquer Majorca from the Moors. Due to this position, the Crown kept title over the town by establishing a feudal lord—vassal to the king-count—and a detachment of soldiers here. In addition, they built defensive walls and towers that served to protect other nearby villages such as Els Tegells, Les Planes. Faced with a far superior army, the population of Cambrils withstood a siege that lasted three days, before they finally capitulated, contrary to the agreed terms of surrender, the occupying troops killed a large number of the defenders and destroyed most of the town walls. This is one of the most important events in the history and it is commemorated every year by a ceremony held in the Plaça del Setge. From the 18th century the population began to increase, as can be seen from the establishment of workers’ neighbourhoods outside the walled area. At the same time, the area, now the port quarter of Cambrils, was also occupied. For centuries living on the seashore had been fraught with danger, fishermen and others who did not have time to flee to the shelter of the walled town were often killed or kidnapped. In addition to the production of flour in the town’s numerous water-driven mills and these included liqueur producers, brick and building material factories, and boatyards building increasingly large vessels. The 20th century brought with it the beginning of an increase in population that would be multiplied in the 1950s with the arrival of waves of immigration from other parts of Spain. At the beginning of the 1960s the potential of tourism to the town was realized, large estates were built to house these new arrivals, who mainly came to enjoy the Mediterranean sun, beach and cuisine. The city, along with the rest of the region around Tarragona, has enjoyed very rapid development over the last two decades, the towns fishing and agriculture background is being replaced by such emerging industries as chemical, petrochemical, services and tourism. These, in turn, have spurred large-scale development, leading to major investments in infrastructure, today, most of the tourists to this area are Spaniards, who have their summer house at this fishing village with high quality beaches. The Agriculture Cooperative of Cambrils was founded at 1902, nowadays it is the agriculture and food industry reference around Camp de Tarragona. The local farmers produce fruits, vegetables and arbequina olives which is made the well known Extra Virgin Olive Oil PDO Siurana, molí de les Tres Eres - The main building of the Cambrils Museum of History
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PortAventura World
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PortAventura World is an entertainment resort in the south of Catalonia, in Salou, Tarragona, Spain, on the Costa Daurada. It was built around the PortAventura theme park, which attracts around 4 million visitors per year making it the most visited park in Spain. PortAventura Park is also the 6th most visited park in Europe. The resort will include a theme park, Ferrari Land, from 2017 and also includes PortAventura Caribe Aquatic Park. It is the biggest resort in the south of Europe and it has two airports within 30 minutes of it, including Reus Airport. There is a station for PortAventura which has connections to Barcelona. It was conceived and built as a joint effort by a Spanish Consortium, when some of the Spanish Partners left the consortium the Tussauds Group replaced them as investors, finished the development and became the first operators. In 1997, Universal bought up most shares in the park, in 2000, two hotels and a water park were constructed, and the resort was further rebranded as Universal Mediterranea. In 2004, NBC Universal sold all interest in PortAventura, in December 2013 KKR picks up 49. 9% stake in PortAventura from Investindustrial that still owns 50. 1%. The second theme park, Ferrari Land, is planned to be inaugurated on April 7,2017, the park features five theme areas based on civilizations, and one theme area based on Sesame Street, which was opened for the 2011 season of the park. Mediterrània is the entrance area of the park it features three rides but there are several restaurants and shops reproducing a typical coastal town in Catalonia. Furius Baco, An Intamin Accelerator coaster with winged seating, which opened in June 2007 and it has a top speed of 83.9 mph. The ride is themed along a hay-wire grape collecting machine, launched by a pet monkey. Port de la Drassana, One of the ride station which takes visitors from the Mediterránia area to the Chinese area. Estació del Nord, One of the three stations of the 3 ft narrow gauge Ferrocarril Tour, PortAventuras railroad attraction, sésamo Parade Welcome FiestAventura, The lake becomes the site of a show featuring fireworks and floats representing PortAventuras zones of Polynesia, China, Far West and Mexico. Themed as an old wild west town, this area features many western buildings, the area boasts nine attractions which makes it the biggest area in the park. Other attractions in this area includes a wild west version of Break Dance ride, the area is also home to these thrill rides, Stampida – This dueling Wooden roller coaster is the third largest roller coaster in the park. Tomahawk – A junior version of Stampida and which runs parallel to it, silver River Flume – A traditional Water flume in the Far West
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Reus Airport
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Reus Airport is located by the beaches of Costa Daurada, equidistant in relation to the town of Constantí and the city of Reus and approximately 7.5 km from the city of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. The airport receives an amount of tourist traffic from passengers destined for the beach resorts of Salou and Cambrils as well as for Barcelona. It is also close to one of Europes largest theme parks, in addition, passengers travel to the Mountains of Prades, a Mediterranean forest in the comarca of Baix Camp. The airport was founded in 1935 as a venture by the Aeroclub de Reus and it served as a Republican base during the Spanish Civil War and after the fascist victory served as a Spanish Air Force base. The base was demilitarised in the early 1990s and became a civilian airport administered by AENA. The airport is a Ryanair base since October 2008 although for the winter 2009–2010 season Ryanair reduced the number of flights and this reduction was only temporary for the winter months and a full flight programme recommenced late March 2010. On 29 June 2011 Ryanair announced that their base would close on 30 October with the loss of 28 routes after failing to reach an agreement with the local Government, Ryanair resumed some flights in March 2012, but they are operated by aircraft not based at Reus. In order to adapt Reus Airport to future air traffic demand, Aena Aeropuertos has carried out a series of improvements and these include a new check-in building between the arrivals and departures buildings, integrating the three buildings into one. The departures building has also been remodelled for use as a boarding area, the new departures terminal has 23 check-in desks and 12 boarding gates spread over two rooms, gates 1 to 6 are intended for Non-Schengen flights, and 7 to 12 are dedicated to Schengen destinations. The public area and the only zone have cafeteria and restaurant services. In 1995, approximately 500,000 passengers passed through the airport, in 2004 this number more than doubled to 1.1 million and in 2009 the airport reached a peak of 1.7 million. By 2014 this had dropped to 850,492 passengers, in 2015 the drop continued to 705,067 passengers. On 20 July 1970, a Condor Boeing 737-100 which was approaching Reus Airport, collided with a privately owned Piper Cherokee light aircraft near Tarragona, the Piper subsequently crashed, resulting in the death of the three persons on board. The Condor Boeing suffered only minor damage, and there were no injuries amongst the 95 passengers and 5 crew members, in 1996, two powerful bombs placed by the Basque group Euskadi ta Askatasuna in the airport left more than 30 people injured. That same day two bombs exploded in two hotels located near the airport. In 2004 a Swearingen Metro aircraft was to be repositioned to Barcelona Airport for maintenance work, but during takeoff, while accelerating 80 knots, the aircraft sustained serious damage to the fuselage, engines and the propellers. Media related to Reus Airport at Wikimedia Commons Official website
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Ryanair
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Ryanair Ltd. is an Irish low-cost airline headquartered in Swords, a suburb of Dublin, Ireland, with its primary operational bases at Dublin and London Stansted Airports. In 2016, Ryanair was both the largest European airline by scheduled passengers carried, and the busiest international airline by passenger numbers. Ryanair operates over 370 Boeing 737-800 aircraft, with a single 737-700 used primarily as a charter aircraft, the airline has been characterised by its rapid expansion, a result of the deregulation of the aviation industry in Europe in 1997 and the success of its low-cost business model. Ryanairs route network serves 34 countries in Europe, Africa, since its establishment in 1984, Ryanair has grown from a small airline flying the short journey from Waterford to London into Europes largest carrier. As of 2013 including over 1,200 pilots, after the rapidly growing airline went public in 1997, the money raised was used to expand the airline into a pan-European carrier. Revenues have risen from €231 million in 1998, to €1,843 million in 2003, similarly net profits have increased from €48 million to €339 million over the same period. Ryanair was founded in 1984 as Danren Enterprises by Christopher Ryan, Liam Lonergan and Irish businessman Tony Ryan, in 1986, the company added a second route – flying Dublin–Luton in direct competition with the Aer Lingus / British Airways duopoly for the first time. Under partial EU deregulation, airlines could begin new international intra-EU services, the Irish government at the time refused its approval, to protect Aer Lingus, but Britain, under Margaret Thatchers deregulating Conservative government, approved the service. With two routes and two planes, the airline carried 82,000 passengers in one year. In 1986 the directors of Ryanair took an 85% stake in London European Airways, from 1987 this provided a connection with the Luton Ryanair service onward to Amsterdam, in 1988 London European operated as Ryanair Europe and later began to operate charter services. Ryanair passenger numbers continued to increase, but the airline generally ran at a loss and, Michael OLeary was charged with the task of making the airline profitable. OLeary quickly decided that the key to profitability was low fares, quick turn-around times for aircraft, no frills and no business class, in 1989, a Short Sandringham was operated with Ryanair sponsorship titles but never flew revenue-generating services for the airline. He competed with the airlines by providing a no-frills, low-cost service. Flights were scheduled into regional airports, which offered lower landing and handling charges than larger established international airports, OLeary as Chief Executive took part in a publicity stunt, where he helped out with baggage handling on Ryanair flights at Dublin Airport. By 1995, after the consistent pursuit of its low-cost business model, in 1998, flush with new capital, the airline placed a massive US$2 billion order for 45 new Boeing 737-800 series aircraft. The airline launched its website in 2000, with online booking initially said to be a small, increasingly the online booking contributed to the aim of cutting flight prices by selling directly to passengers and excluding the costs imposed by travel agents. Within a year, the website was handling three-quarters of all bookings, Ryanair launched a new base of operation in Charleroi Airport in 2001. Later that year, the airline ordered 155 new 737-800 aircraft from Boeing at what was believed to be a substantial discount, to be delivered over eight years from 2002 to 2010
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Valencia
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Its urban area extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of around 1. 5–1.6 million people. Valencia is Spains third largest metropolitan area, with a population ranging from 1.7 to 2.5 million, the Port of Valencia is the 5th busiest container port in Europe and the busiest container port on the Mediterranean Sea. The city is ranked at Gamma in the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, Valencia was founded as a Roman colony by the consul Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus in 138 BC, and called Valentia Edetanorum. In 1238 the Christian king James I of Aragon reconquered the city and divided the land among the nobles who helped him conquer it and he also created a new law for the city, the Furs of Valencia, which were extended to the rest of the Kingdom of Valencia. In the 18th century Philip V of Spain abolished the privileges as punishment to the kingdom of Valencia for aligning with the Habsburg side in the War of the Spanish Succession, Valencia was the capital of Spain when Joseph Bonaparte moved the Court there in the summer of 1812. It also served as capital between 1936 and 1937, during the Second Spanish Republic, the city is situated on the banks of the Turia, on the east coast of the Iberian Peninsula, fronting the Gulf of Valencia on the Mediterranean Sea. Valencia is integrated into an area on the Costa del Azahar. Valencias main festival is the Falles, the traditional Spanish dish, paella, originated in Valencia. The original Latin name of the city was Valentia, meaning strength, or valour, the Roman historian Livy explains that the founding of Valentia in the 2nd century BC was due to the settling of the Roman soldiers who fought against an Iberian rebel, Viriatus. It is not clear if the term Balansiyya was reserved for the entire Taifa of Valencia or also designated the city, by gradual sound changes, Valentia /waˈlentia/ has become Valencia or in Castilian and València in Valencian. In Valencian, the grave accent <è> /ɛ/ contrasts with the acute accent <é> /e/—but the word València is an exception to this rule and it is spelled according to Catalan etymology, though its pronunciation is closer to Vulgar Latin. Valencia stands on the banks of the Turia River, located on the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula, at its founding by the Romans, it stood on a river island in the Turia,6.4 km from the sea. The Albufera, a lagoon and estuary about 11 km south of the city, is one of the largest lakes in Spain. The City Council bought the lake from the Crown of Spain for 1,072,980 pesetas in 1911, in 1986, because of its cultural, historical, and ecological value, the Generalitat Valenciana declared it a natural park. Valencia has a Mediterranean climate with short, very mild winters and long, hot and its average annual temperature is 18.4 °C.23.0 °C during the day and 13.8 °C at night. In the coldest month – January, the temperature typically during the day ranges from 14 to 21 °C. In the warmest month – August, the temperature during the day typically ranges from 28–34 °C. Generally, similar temperatures to those experienced in the part of Europe in summer last about 8 months
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Murcia
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The population of the metropolitan area was 689,591 in 2010. It is located on the Segura River, in the Southeast of the Iberian Peninsula, noted by a climate with hot summers, mild winters, and relatively low precipitation. Murcia was founded by the emir of Cordoba Abd ar-Rahman II in 825 with the name Mursiyah مرسية and nowadays is mainly a services city and a university town. The city, as the capital of the comarca Huerta de Murcia is called Europes orchard due to its agricultural tradition and its fruit, vegetable. Murcia is located near the center of a fertile plain known as the huerta of Murcia. The Segura River and its tributary, the Guadalentín, run through the area. The city has an elevation of 43 metres above sea level, the best known and most dominant aspect of the municipal areas landscape is the orchard. A large regional park, the Parque Regional de Carrascoy y el Valle, the Segura River crosses an alluvial plain, part of a Mediterranean pluvial system. The river crosses the city from west to east and its volumetric flow is mostly small but the river is known to produce occasional flooding, like those that inundated the capital in 1946,1948,1973 or 1989. The Segura was recognized as one of the most polluted rivers in Europe, the Segura rivers Valley is surrounded by two mountain ranges, the hills of Guadalupe, Espinardo, Cabezo de Torres, Esparragal and Monteagudo in the north and the Cordillera Sur in the south. The municipality itself is divided into southern and northern zones by a series of mountain ranges and these two zones are known as Field of Murcia and Orchard of Murcia. Near the plains center, the hill of Monteagudo protrudes dramatically. The 881. 86-square-kilometre territory of Murcias municipality is made up of 54 pedanías and 28 barrios, the barrios make up the 12. 86-square-kilometre the main urban portion of the city. The historic city center is approximately 3 square kilometres of the downtown portion of Murcia. Murcia has a hot semi-arid climate, given its proximity to the Mediterranean Sea, it has mild winters and hot summers. It averages more than 320 days of sun per year, occasionally, Murcia has heavy rains where the precipitation for the entire year will fall over the course of a few days. In the coldest month, January, the temperature range is a high of 16.6 °C during the day. In the warmest month, August, the range goes from 34.2 °C during the day to 20.9 °C at night, temperatures almost always reach or exceed 40 °C on at least one or two days per year
42.
Andalusia
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Andalusia is an autonomous community in southern Spain. It is the most populated and the second largest in area of the communities in the country. The Andalusian autonomous community is recognised as historical nationality. The territory is divided into eight provinces, Almería, Cádiz, Córdoba, Granada, Huelva, Jaén, Málaga and its capital is the city of Seville. Andalusia is the only European region with both Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines, the small British overseas territory of Gibraltar shares a three-quarter-mile land border with the Andalusian province of Cádiz at the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar. The main mountain ranges of Andalusia are the Sierra Morena and the Baetic System, consisting of the Subbaetic and Penibaetic Mountains, in the north, the Sierra Morena separates Andalusia from the plains of Extremadura and Castile–La Mancha on Spains Meseta Central. To the south the geographic subregion of Upper Andalusia lies mostly within the Baetic System, the name Andalusia is derived from the Arabic word Al-Andalus. Including an intense relationship with Naples, Italy, Andalusia has been a traditionally agricultural region, compared to the rest of Spain and the rest of Europe. However, the growth of the community especially in the sectors of industry and services was above average in Spain, the region has, however, a rich culture and a strong cultural identity. Many cultural phenomena that are seen internationally as distinctively Spanish are largely or entirely Andalusian in origin and these include flamenco and, to a lesser extent, bullfighting and Hispano-Moorish architectural styles. Andalusias hinterland is the hottest area of Europe, with cities like Córdoba, Late evening temperatures can sometimes stay around 35 °C until close to midnight, with daytime highs of over 40 °C common. Seville also has the highest average temperature in mainland Spain and mainland Europe. Its present form is derived from the Arabic name for Muslim Iberia. However, the etymology of the name Al-Andalus is disputed, the Spanish place name Andalucía was introduced into the Spanish languages in the 13th century under the form el Andalucía. This was a Castilianization of Al-Andalusiya, the form of the Arabic language al-Andalus. The etymology of al-Andalus is itself somewhat debated, but in fact it entered the Arabic language before this came under Muslim rule. Like the Arabic term al-Andalus, in historical contexts the Spanish term Andalucía or the English term Andalusia do not necessarily refer to the territory designated by these terms today. To designate the territories the Christians had regained by that time in the Guadalquivir valley and in the Kingdoms of Granada, in a document from 1253, Alfonso X styled himself Rey de Castilla, León y de toda Andalucía
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High-speed rail
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High-speed rail is a type of rail transport that operates significantly faster than traditional rail traffic, using an integrated system of specialized rolling stock and dedicated tracks. The first such system began operations in Japan in 1964 and was known as the bullet train. High-speed trains normally operate on standard gauge tracks of continuously welded rail on grade-separated right-of-way that incorporates a large turning radius in its design, only in Europe does HSR cross international borders. China has 22,000 kilometres of HSR as of end December 2016, while high-speed rail is most often designed for passenger travel, some high-speed systems also offer freight service. Multiple definitions for high-speed rail are in use worldwide, the European Union Directive 96/48/EC, Annex 1 defines high-speed rail in terms of, Infrastructure, track built specially for high-speed travel or specially upgraded for high-speed travel. Minimum Speed Limit, Minimum speed of 250 km/h on lines built for high speed. This must apply to at least one section of the line, Rolling stock must be able to reach a speed of at least 200 km/h to be considered high speed. Operating conditions, Rolling stock must be designed alongside its infrastructure for complete compatibility, safety and quality of service, category II – Existing tracks specially upgraded for high speeds, allowing a maximum running speed of at least 200 km/h. Category III – Existing tracks specially upgraded for high speeds, allowing a maximum running speed of at least 200 km/h, the UIC prefers to use definitions because they consider that there is no single standard definition of high-speed rail, nor even standard usage of the terms. They make use of the European EC Directive 96/48, stating that high speed is a combination of all the elements which constitute the system, infrastructure, rolling stock and operating conditions. The International Union of Railways states that high-speed rail is a set of unique features, many conventionally hauled trains are able to reach 200 km/h in commercial service but are not considered to be high-speed trains. These include the French SNCF Intercités and German DB IC, National domestic standards may vary from the international ones. Railways were the first form of land transportation and had an effective monopoly on passenger traffic until the development of the motor car. Speed had always been an important factor for railroads and they tried to achieve higher speeds. The line used three-phase current at 10 kilovolts and 45 Hz, on 23 October 1903, the S&H-equipped railcar achieved a speed of 206.7 km/h and on 27 October the AEG-equipped railcar achieved 210.2 km/h. These trains demonstrated the feasibility of electric high-speed rail, however, after the breakthrough of electric railroads, it was clearly the infrastructure – especially the cost of it – which hampered the introduction of high-speed rail. Several disasters happened – derailments, head-on collisions on single-track lines, collisions with traffic at grade crossings. The physical laws were well-known, i. e. if the speed was doubled, the radius should be quadrupled
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