English and the World · Spain · 10 · Almería · A1–C2 · A1–A2 free
A fortress on a hill above the sea, a port built by a caliph, a city of silk and ships, and the surrender of 1489. Choose your level.
The Alcazaba
Almería is a city by the sea in the south-east of Spain. Above the city there is a long, high fortress: the Alcazaba. It is very old: the Muslim ruler Abd al-Rahman III built it more than a thousand years ago, in the 10th century. Its walls are thick and strong, and they go down the hill and up the next one.
Inside, there are quiet gardens with water, the ruins of a palace and, at the top, a small Christian castle. The view is wonderful: you can see the blue sea, the port and the white houses of the city.
Almería, 955–1489
A thousand years ago Almería was a rich, busy port. Ships came from Africa and from the east, and the city made beautiful silk. In December 1489 the Muslim ruler gave Almería to the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, two years before Granada.
Today the Alcazaba is open to visitors, and it is free for people from the European Union. It is also famous on television: scenes of Game of Thrones were filmed here.
🦉 Want more? Sophia explains adjectives, and the order they go in, in A Beautiful Small Old Round Black Box (Philo & Sophia, Lesson 9).
Language: adjectives and their opposites
| Adjective | Opposite | Example |
|---|---|---|
| old | new (for things), young (for people) | an old fortress, a new museum |
| high / tall | low / short | high walls, a tall tower |
| thick, strong | thin, weak | The walls are thick and strong. |
| rich, busy | poor, quiet | a rich, busy port |
| open, famous | closed, unknown | It is open every day except Monday. |
⚠️ Adjectives go before the noun and never take -s: the old walls, not ✗ the walls olds. After be, they come after: The walls are old.
Read the texts first. Press “Check my answers” at the end.
Choose the best answer.
1. Where is Almería?
2. Who built the Alcazaba?
3. What did Almería make?
4. When did Almería become part of the Catholic Monarchs’ kingdom?
Write the opposite adjective.
5. The fortress is old. The museum is .
6. The walls are high, not .
7. The port was busy, but the gardens are .
8. Almería was a rich city, not a one.
Write the opposite adjective.
9. The walls are thick, not .
10. The Alcazaba is open on Sunday, but it is on Monday.
11. The fortress is big, but the castle at the top is .
12. Strong walls, not walls, protected the city.
Go there!
Visit: walk up to the Alcazaba in the morning, when it is cooler. Follow the long walls to the Cerro de San Cristóbal. Then go down to the Cathedral, which looks like a castle, and to the old port.
Your task: describe a building you like in six sentences, with at least eight adjectives: It is a big, old building…
It tells how a caliph built a port and a fortress on a hill above the sea, how Almería grew rich on silk and ships, why its cathedral looks like a castle, and how the city fell two years before Granada, with grammar, practice, etymology and a visit plan.
The A1–A2 version above is free for everyone.
It tells how a caliph built a port and a fortress on a hill above the sea, how Almería grew rich on silk and ships, why its cathedral looks like a castle, and how the city fell two years before Granada, with grammar, practice, etymology and a visit plan.
The A1–A2 version above is free for everyone.