Desert areas and wild landscapes, such as those of Tabernas,
wide sierras with luxurious vegetation, coasts, cliffs and
the pristine beaches of Cabo de Gata-Nijar, few Spanish
provinces can boast of such a varied and strongly contrasted
geography.
Undoubtly, this feature is what caused Almería to
become one of the world's major film production centres,
with up to 200 films and series filmed as of 2001.
Beginning with Spanish films soon European and American
productions followed suit, bringing with them the brightest
international stars as well as making tourism a major source
of wealth and development in the province.
Under the direction of Sergio Leone, Western films became
landmark productions. The zone, however, did not wish to
focus on a single genre and wisely "marketed"
its charms to directors and actors working on other types
of filmes. Areas of the captial city such as the Alcazaba
were transformed to shoot Indiana Jones and The last Crusade
under Steven Spielberg and Battle of Guettar in Patton was
filmed on location at Rambla del Buho in Tabernas.
