Arabs in Spain – Award-winning Documentary | الأَنْدَلُس

Mar 12, 2018 | Fascinating and beautifully shot documentary which examines the spread of Islam and how its crusaders [Sic! Misnomer] finally took most of Spain, arriving from Morocco in 711. In one summer the "Arabs had taken half of the peninsular and in five years controlled almost all of the country".

‘The Country Is Becoming a Desert’: Drought-struck Spain Is Running Out of Water

FRANCE 24: Spain is running out of water. After a long and painful drought, the country has been hit by an unusually early heat wave, evaporating even more of the "blue gold" it still has left in its reservoirs. While farmers fear for their survival, environmentalists say it is time for “Europe’s back garden” to rethink how it uses and manages its increasingly scarce water supply.

There’s an expression in Spain: “En Abril, aguas mil” – April will bring the rains. Only this year, it didn't. The month of April was the driest month on record, and several Spanish cities registered their highest April temperatures yet. In Cordoba, the mercury rose to 38.7°C (almost 102°F) at one point, and in the province of Seville in Andalusia to 37.8°C.

Coming on the heels of a long-term drought and an unusually warm and dry winter, the latest heat wave has sparked a real fear of shortages. » | Cyrielle CABOT | Saturday, May 13, 2023

Spain Braced for Record April Temperature of 39C as Extreme Heat Causes Misery

THE GUARDIAN: Government warns people to take precautions amid drought and heat 7C-11C above average for time of year

The Spanish government has advised people to take extra care as the drought-stricken country experiences record-breaking temperatures that could result in an unprecedented April temperature of 39C (102F) in parts of Andalucía on Friday.

This week’s abnormally high spring temperatures – caused as a mass of very hot air from north Africa travels across the Iberian peninsula and the Balearic islands – have already led the regional government of Madrid to approve a plan to help hospitals, health centres and schools cope, and to order the opening of public swimming pools a month earlier than usual.

In Seville, where temperatures were expected to hit 36C on Thursday, police were trying to establish whether a horse pulling a carriage of tourists had died of heatstroke. » | Sam Jones in Madrid | Thursday, April 27, 2023

A Guide to Spain's Famous Snack Culture

Apr 8, 2023 | Spain without tapas? Simply inconceivable! These little appetizers are found in seemingly endless varieties across Spain. But what do you need to know about Spanish tapas? Let’s find out.

CREDITS:
Report: Diana Piñeros Camera: Jochen Bartelt
Edit: Nora Rehn

Spaniards Turn Against Bullfighting | ARTE.tv Documentary

Apr 16, 2023 | Bullfighting is one of Spain's most emblematic traditions, but it has been losing ground for several years now due to environmental movements and a society increasingly sensitive to animal welfare.

Spaniards Turn Against Bullfighting | ARTE.tv Documentary
Available until the 24/02/2026

Spain: Gang Violence on the Rise | Focus on Europe

Oct 26, 2022 | Violent youth gangs are a major problem in Spain's capital. Two former members talk about how they managed to get out.

L’écrivain espagnol Javier Marias est mort

LE MONDE : Figure de proue de la littérature espagnole, l’auteur avait 70 ans. Il est mort dimanche à Madrid des suites d’une pneumonie.

Javier Marias dans son appartement, à Madrid, en Espagne, le 19 décembre 2017. QUIM LLENAS / GETTY IMAGES
L’écrivain espagnol Javier Marias, dont l’œuvre a été traduite dans plus de quarante langues et dans près de soixante pays, est mort, dimanche 11 septembre, à Madrid à l’âge de 70 ans, a annoncé sa maison d’édition, Alfaguara, dans un communiqué. « Avec une énorme tristesse, en notre nom et au nom de la famille, nous avons le regret d’annoncer que notre grand auteur et ami Javier Marias est décédé cet après-midi à Madrid », écrit Alfaguara. Le communiqué précise qu’il souffrait « depuis quelques semaines d’une pneumonie qui s’est aggravée ces dernières heures ». Selon le quotidien El Mundo, il s’agissait d’une pneumonie « provoquée par le Covid » et qui a entraîné son hospitalisation pendant de longs mois. » | Le Monde avec AFP | dimanche 11 septembre 2022

Spanish novelist Javier Marías dies in Madrid hospital aged 70: Marías, also a translator and columnist, was described as ‘one of Spain’s greatest contemporary writers’ »

Javier Marías: a life in writing: Falling in love has a very good reputation. But I have seen kind and noble people behave very badly because they are in love' »

The Infatuations by Javier Marías – review: Javier Marías's haunting murder mystery, embracing all the big questions about life, love and death, is an instant Spanish classic »

The Enduring Echoes of Moorish Spain

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Exploring the country’s Arab influence is an impossibly romantic journey, involving palaces with intricate geometric designs, castles and grand mosques reconfigured by Christians into cathedrals.

Córdoba’s Mosque-Cathedral, or La Mezquita, was one of the first and grandest mosques in Europe. | Emilio Parra Doiztua for The New York Times
There is a way through Spain that is all horseshoe arches, keyhole windows and bronze doors carved in Arabic script. It meanders into crenelated forts, Moorish castles overlooking the Mediterranean and grand mosques reconfigured by Christians into cathedrals.

As the child of an Iraqi woman and a Swedish-American man, I have always been drawn to places where West and East converge and dissolve into each other. The southern edge of Spain, where North Africa is just an hour away by water, is one of these places.

One midsummer week, my husband and I immersed ourselves in what remains of Moorish Spain, places that brought to mind the sights, sounds and scents of childhood visits to my mother’s homeland. We took an impossibly romantic path through Seville, Córdoba, Granada, Málaga, the port city of Tarifa and, finally, by ferry across the Strait of Gibraltar, to Tangier, Morocco.

Arab influence in Spain dates to the early 700s, not long after the founding of Islam, when Muslims from North Africa crossed the Strait of Gibraltar (from the Arabic for “Tariq’s rock”). The Europeans called the invaders Moors, after Mauretania, the Roman name for North Africa. Over the centuries, the Moors left a legacy in Spanish architecture, music, food and language in the region they then called al-Andalus. The name of Spain’s greatest hero, El Cid, comes from the Arabic honorific, Sayid. The 16th-century novelist Miguel de Cervantes framed his fictional story of the knight-errant Don Quixote as the translation of a recovered Arabic manuscript. Where cultures meet, and endure » | Nina Burleigh | Tuesday, August 30, 2022

After 350 Years, Sea Gives Up Lost Jewels of Spanish Shipwreck

THE OBSERVER: Marine archaeologists stunned by priceless cache long hidden beneath the Bahamas’ shark-infested waters

Gold, jewellery and coins from the debris trail of the Maravillas. Photograph: Brendan Chavez
It was a Spanish galleon laden with treasures so sumptuous that its sinking in the Bahamas in 1656 sparked repeated salvage attempts over the next 350 years. So when another expedition was launched recently, few thought that there could be anything left – but exquisite, jewel-encrusted pendants and gold chains are among spectacular finds that have now been recovered, having lain untouched on the seabed for hundreds of years.

The Nuestra Señora de las Maravillas (Our Lady of Wonders) went down on the western side of the Little Bahama Bank, over 70km offshore, but the newly discovered treasures were found across a vast debris trail spanning more than 13km. » | Dalya Alberge | Sunday, July 31, 2022

Spain Reports First Death in Europe Related to Monkeypox Outbreak

THE GUARDIAN: Announcement on Friday follows report hours earlier from Brazil of first such death outside Africa

Spain has reported what is thought to be Europe’s first monkeypox-related death in the current outbreak of the disease.

Brazil reported earlier on Friday the first monkeypox-related death outside Africa in the current wave.

According to a World Health Organization report from 22 July, only five deaths had been reported worldwide, all in Africa. » | Reuters in Madrid | Friday, July 29, 2022

Paella Valenciana: The Secrets behind Spain’s Most Famous Dish | Food Secrets Ep.1 | DW Food

Mar 21, 2020 Paella is – next to tortilla and tapas – Spain’s internationally most well-known dish. The original recipe comes from Valencia, which is located at the Spanish east coast. While paella is eaten all over the world, many people don’t know about its origins and the secrets that come with it.

For example, paella takes its name from the large, flat pan which is also known as paella. Then, there’s the special rice that Valencians use to cook paella. And most important: never mix fish and meat if you want to eat an authentic paella!

Europe Heatwave: Deadly Wildfires Spread in Mediterranean

Baiao, Portugal: The fires in the north are Portugal's worst since 2017 | EPA
BBC: Thousands of firefighters are battling wildfires in Portugal, Spain and southwestern France, in the grip of a heatwave that shows no sign of easing.

In northern Portugal, a pilot died when his waterbombing plane crashed in the Foz Coa area, near the Spanish border.

Fires are ravaging areas of France's Gironde region, where more than 12,000 people have been evacuated.

In southern Spain, near the Costa del Sol, about 2,300 people had to flee a wildfire spreading in the Mijas hills.

Holidaymakers on the beach in Torremolinos saw big plumes of smoke rising in the hills, where several aircraft were tackling the blaze. » | Laurence Peter, BBC News | Saturday, July 16, 2022

NZZ LIVE BLOG: Hitzewelle: Grossbritannien bereitet sich auf Rekordtemperaturen vor +++ Hunderte von Hitzetoten in Spanien und Portugal: Hitzewellen in der Schweiz und Deutschland, Dürre in Norditalien und Waldbrände in Südeuropa: Der Sommer 2022 geizt nicht mit Extremen. »

DW Food: Jamón Ibérico - How the Most Expensive Ham in the World Is Made | Food Secrets Ep. 6

Jan 9, 2021 Did you know that a single leg of ham can cost up to $13,000? That’s the world record for the highest price ever paid for one Jamón Ibérico. Iberian ham is one of the most expensive meats in the world. On average, one ham of the highest quality costs around $500,00. It takes three to 14 years for the ham to mature perfectly. But the taste is worth the effort put into it: It’s said that one leg alone of the Spanish delicacy has seven different flavors.

Europe Heatwave Fuels Wildfires in Portugal, France and Spain - BBC News

Jul 14, 2022 A heatwave is fuelling wildfires in Portugal, France and Spain.

Around 3,500 firefighters in Portugal are battling dozens of blazes, as temperatures break records in various parts of the country.

Heatwaves have become more frequent, more intense, and longer-lasting because of climate change.

Europe Sees Earliest Summer Heatwave in Decades | DW News

Jun 17, 2022 • A pre-summer heatwave in Europe has temperatures rising above 40 degrees celsius. Spain has already been sweltering under severe temperatures for almost a week, the earliest summer heat wave in over 40 years. Now other regions in Europe are bracing for soaring temperatures. Fires have already broken out in Spain.

Liens connexes ici

Spain Heatwave Brings Record Temperatures - BBC News

Jun 14, 2022 • Temperatures in some areas of Spain are expected to hit or remain around 43 degrees celsius this week, as a sweltering heatwave continues to hang over the country. The soaring temperatures have caused the authorities to put many areas of the country on alert due to the risk of wildfires.

Article associé.

Spain Braces for Heatwave of ‘Extraordinary Intensity’

THE GUARDIAN: Country warned of risk of orange dust storms as forecasters predict France will see hottest May on record

Temperatures in parts of southern Spain are forecast to exceed 42C on Saturday as a heatwave of “extraordinary intensity” brings dusty skies, a heightened risk of forest fires and blistering conditions more usually seen in high summer than mid-May.

The Spanish government activated its national plan for excess temperatures on Thursday evening after the state meteorological agency, Aemet, warned that Spain was facing “one of the hottest Mays in this country in recent years”.

Aemet said a mass of hot, dry air is blowing in from Africa, carrying with it dust from the Sahara and “exceptionally high” daily temperatures that are between 10C and 15C above the seasonal average.

“The last updates to the meteorological models confirm the extraordinary intensity of this heatwave,” said Rubén del Campo, a spokesperson for Aemet. » | Sam Jones in Madrid and Jon Henley in Paris | Friday, May 20, 2022

La majorité de la France menacée de sécheresse cet été »

Severe Flooding Hits Spain's East Coast after Record Rainfall - BBC News

Ukrainian Sailor Arrested for Trying to Sink Oligarch’s Superyacht

THE GUARDIAN: Mechanic on Lady Anastasia, owned by Russian arms exporter, sought revenge for attacks on Kyiv

Lady Anastasia, pictured in Palamos harbour in Catalonia, is owned by Alexander Mikheev, head of Rosoboronexport. Photograph: Dieter Wanke/Alamy
A Ukrainian sailor has been arrested in Mallorca and faces charges of attempting to sink a yacht owned by Alexander Mikheev, the CEO of the Russian arms exporter Rosoboronexport and former head of the Russian helicopter federation. The boat is moored in the harbour of Port Adriano.

The unnamed man, who has been employed for the past 10 years as a mechanic on the Lady Anastasia, Mikheev’s 48-metre, £5m yacht, said he felt he had to do something after seeing footage of a Russian rocket attack on a block of flats in Kyiv, his home town. The defendant told the judge that he believed the rocket had been manufactured by Mikheev’s company.

Once on board the vessel he told the crew members, most of whom are also Ukrainians, to abandon ship. He allegedly then went to the engine room and opened a large valve in an attempt to sink the yacht. The crew members, aided by port staff, intervened to prevent the sinking. » | Stephen Burgen in Barcelona | Monday, February 28, 2022

The History of Balenciaga

Nov 8, 2021 • Balenciaga is one of the most prolific brands in fashion, and in this video we look at its history dating back to the very beginning. We learn how Cristóbal Balenciaga defied the odds to start his own couture house, the Nicolas Ghesquière years, the Alexander Wang years, and of course the arrival of Demna Gvasalia. In talking about Demna, we’ll discuss how he founded Vetements and went on to revolutionize Balenciaga, which is now one of the most popular brands in world (even among major stars like Kanye West).