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Brief History |
| Spain's history was
shaped by many forces. In the fifth Century, Spain was held by a
barbaric white tribe, the Visigoths who were taken over by the Moors
who ruled the Andalusia for more than 700 years. After a struggle
with Christian forces, the Moors were finally shut out in 1492. The
following century saw the culmination of Spain's power and influence
on a world scale. The Spanish army was formidable and had a
tradition of victory. But, by the late 1800s, the country nearly
lost all of its colonial possessions. The 20th Century saw the
Spanish Civil war, General Franco and democracy. |
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Fast Facts |
| Capital |
Madrid |
| Language |
Spanish. Regional
dialects exist such as Catalan in Catalonia, Gallego in Galicia and
Euskera in the Basque Country. English is the first foreign language
in Spanish. |
| Religion |
Majority is Roman
Catholic. |
| Government |
Parliamentary Monarchy |
| Currency |
Euro |
| Time Zone |
Spain Mainland &
Balearic Island is GMT +1. The Canary islands are 1 hour behind. |
| Electricity |
220 V |
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Getting There |
| Spain is very much
accessible by air, by sea, and by land from any part of the world.
There are 3 major airlines which operate international and domestic
flights, Iberia, Spanair and Air Europa. The main gateway cities are
Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Seville and Malaga. Spain is also served
by a number of sea liners between the mainland and into the islands,
as well as international routes connecting Spain with countries such
as Frnace, Morocco and Tunisia. Transmediterranean connects Valencia
and Ibiza and more cities, Umafisa connects Barcelona and Ibiza,
Balearia connect Denia in Alicante province and Ibiza, Fred Olsen
Lines plies between the Canary Islands, Ferrimaoc Agencies connects
Alemria and North Morocco and Romen y cia connects from Alicante to
Alger, Oran and Marseilles. Spian has a very efficient rail system
network for long and short distance trips. From any point in Europe,
Spain is accessible by the Eurorail network. There's one bullet
train, the AVE, from Madrid to Seville and high speed trains (Talgo)
are widely available all over Spain. Euromed is the train network
linking cities along the Mediterranean Coast. Coaches are
comfortable and efficient, with different lines covering long
distance routes. |
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