SPAIN

   GEOGRAPHY

SPAIN MAP

MADRID CAPITAL OF SPAIN

BARCELONA IN SPAIN

Spain is a sovereign state and a member state of the European Union. It is located on the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe. Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with Gibraltar; to the north and north east by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the west and northwest by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of three countries (Morocco, France) to have both Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines. Spain's 1,214 km (754 mi) border with Portugal is the longest uninterrupted border within the European Union.


Spanish territory also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast, and two autonomous cities in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla .Spain is the second largest country in Western Europe and the European Union, and the fifth largest country in Europe.
Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian peninsula around 35,000 years ago. It came under Roman rule around 200 B CE, after which the region was named Hispania. In the Middle Ages it was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors to the south. Spain emerged as a unified country in the 15th century, following the marriage of the Catholic Monarchs and the completion of the centuries-long reconquest, or Reconquista, of the peninsula from the Moors in 1492. Spain became an influential global empire in the early modern period, being one of the first countries to colonize the New World and leaving a legacy of over 500 million Spanish speakers today, making it the world's second most spoken first language.

                                                           FOOD

Food is as integral to Spain as its rich history, with each of Spain's regions home to a range of unique cuisines and flavours. Here's a selection of the top 10 foods to try in Spain.


You can find Spanish a plate of croquetas in almost any restaurant or bar.croquettes filled with a mixture of béchamel and Spanish cured ham (jamon), or the local sweet-spiced black sausage .
A great starter or meal for breakfast, lunch or dinner, no doubt you'll come across a Spanish potato omelette during your time in Spain. Like croquetas, you can find them in almost any bar and to varying degrees of quality and flavour. The best ones are from slow-cooked potato in olive oil, which make a soft centre once egg is added to create an omelette cake;

                                    SPORT HOBBIES AND INTERESTS
A hobby is a regular activity that one undertakes during their leisure time. Many of the hobbies in Spain are quite similar to those across the world. Among these include football, rallying, rugby, cycling, sailing and music among other things.
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SPAIN SPORTS
Sport in Spain in the second half of 20th century has always been dominated by football. Other popular sport activities includebasketball, tennis, cycling, handball, motorcycling, Formula One, water sports, golf, and skiing. Spain has also hosted a number of international events such as the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona and the 1982 FIFA World Cup. With Rafael Nadal'sWimbledon championships in 2008 and 2010, the tennis team winning the Davis Cup five times (2000, 2004, 2008, 2009 and2011), the basketball team winning the 2006 World Basketball Championship, the 2009 EuroBasket, and the 2011 EuroBasket,Fernando Alonso's back-to-back (2005 and 2006 championships in the prestigious Formula One, Atlético Madrid's Europa Leaguewin in 2010 and 2012, FC Barcelona's European success in 2006, 2009 and 2011, the football team bringing home Euro 2008, the2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 trophies and Óscar Pereiro, Alberto Contador and Carlos Sastre's 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009triumphs in Tour de France more recently, several papers have looked beyond Sastre's win to claim that Spain is enjoying something of a sporting "Golden Age"-similar to the Spanish 17th century domination in painting and literature).

FOOTBALL TEAM SPAIN

SPAIN

RAFAEL NADAL THE BEST SPAIN TENNIS PLAYER 

SIGHTS

Spain's National art museum, located in Madrid. The museum has collections of some of Europe's most finest art dating back from the 12th century. The museum holds about 7,600 paintings, 1,000 sculptures, 4,800 prints and 8,200 drawings. A must see when visiting Madrid.

PALACIO REAL

The Palacio Real (Royal Palace) of Madrid is the official residence of the King of Spain although it is only used for state ceremonies. The Royal Palace was built between 1738 to 1755 and King Carlos III took up residence in the palace in 1764.

Sagrada Familia

The Sagrada Familia is a large Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, and one of Spain’s most visited tourist attractions. It’s a design by Antoni Gaudí, a Catalan architect who worked on this project for almost 40 years until his death in 1926. The construction of the basilica began in 1882 and still as yet not finished.

El Escorial

Nestled in the foothills of the Sierra de Guadarrama, El Escorial was the political center of the Spanish empire under King Philip II. Philip appointed Juan Bautista de Toledo as the architect in 1559 and together they designed El Escorial as a monument to Spain’s role as a center of the Christian world. Today it functions as a monastery, royal palace, museum, and school.




Mezquita of Cordoba

The Mezquita (Spanish for “Mosque”) of Cordoba is a fascinating building famous for the forest of pillars and arches inside the main hall. The site was originally a Roman temple, then a Visigothic church, before the Umayyad Moors built the Mezquita. After the Spanish Reconquista a cathedral was built into the center of the large Moorish building

Music

The music of Spain has a long history and has played an important part in the development of western music, and a particularly strong influence upon Latin American music. Outside of Spain, the country is often associated with traditional styles such as flamenco and classical guitar, but Spanish music is in fact very diverse, reflecting the large cultural differences between regions. The flamenco style, for example, originated in Andalusia in the south of the country, whereas the music traditions in the north-western regions such as Galicia are centered around bagpipes as a result of the Celtic history of the region. Spain played an notable role in the history of westernclassical music

SPAIN TRADITIONS





Festivals in spain

The Spanish eating, drinking and dancing culture steps up a gear (if that's possible), when there's a festival on. Every town or village has a local fiesta, at which point the locals don't just eat and drink because it's fun, they do so because it would be un-Spanish not to.

Nightlife in Spain

Going out and partying is in the Spanish blood. Spanish nightlife, especially in Madrid, is legendary. What's more, it isn't a preserve of the young - there is a part of town for every age group and every taste.



Bullfighting in Spain



Bullfighting, the most controversial of Spanish traditions, is a mixed blessing for Spain. Many tourists are very curious to see it and view it as a fascinating insight into Spanish culture, but it is also a stain on the country's reputation for others. Bullfighting is nowhere near as popular as it used to be, but it still features prominently in the country's self-image.


 References :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain
http://www.spain.info/
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http://wikitravel.org/en/Spain
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http://www.touropia.com/tourist-attractions-in-spain/
http://gospain.about.com/od/thingstodo/u/what_to_do.htm
http://www.spainted.com/spain-guide/top-places-to-visit-and-see-in-spain.asp
http://gospain.about.com/od/spanishlife/tp/spanish_customs_traditions_spain.htm
http://www.donquijote.org/culture/spain/society/customs/
http://globerove.com/spain/traditions-in-spain/1013
http://www.red2000.com/spain/primer/fest.html
http://www.idealspain.com/pages/information/culture.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_cuisine
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http://traveltips.usatoday.com/common-foods-spain-14445.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Spain
http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Music_of_Spain.html
http://www.donquijote.org/culture/spain/music/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport_in_Spain