ALHAMBRA - GEOMETRIC FIGURES
The most emblematic monument in the city of Granada, the Alhambra, contains in its geometrical drawings the seventeen flat structures possible in nature, making it a monument that is unique in the world.
After more than a year of complex study, the Granada University Professor, Rafael Pérez, has discovered that the Nazarene monument hides a complex mathematical problem in its geometric shapes and it is this which transmits the sensation of beauty and harmony. Perhaps this is part of the reason for the exceptional magic which has made it one of the most visited monuments in Europe.

SEVILLE - AUDIO GUIDE
Seville has become the first Spanish city to have its own audio guide. Thanks to the initiative, both tourists and locals can now visit the Andalucian city while listening to commentaries and anecdotes compiled by the historian José María de Mena. With a duration of four and a half hours, the Seville audio guide also includes a map of the city with two itineraries, 92 sites of interest described, 350 photographs and more than 200 anecdotes. Those interested in obtaining a copy can obtain one from hotels. The guide is translated into five languages and includes additional information which can be accessed by computer. It’s an original way to get to know the Andalucian capital.

ÚBEDA AND BAEZA - HERITAGE OF HUMANITY
The renaissance towns of Úbeda and Baeza in the province of Jaén have reached agreement on presenting a single candidature to UNESCO for the declaration to be heritage of humanity. Both towns have spent 12 years fighting for worldwide recognition. In the candidature they will put into effect their universal values, humanistic model, the influence they had in America and the fight for democratisation. To this end central government and the regional communities have agreed to base efforts only on these two towns at the next election expected in June 2003.

RECOMMENDATIONS - HUELVA FAIR
The city of Huelva is dressed for the fair. July 31 sees the start of the most popular fair in the province. They are the fiestas which commemorate the time of Columbus when the three caravels set out on the discovery of America. Since then this popular celebration has been held each year. Huelva fills with light and happiness and offers a whole host of activities. Exhibitions, dancing, music and fun into the small hours. More than 150 marquee casetas open their doors to all who want to join in the fun of the party. And of course, during the Columbus fiestas a bullfighting festival is also held - it starts on Thursday August 2 and this year consists of four bullfights, one of them on horseback, in which matadors as famous as Espartaco, José Tomás or El Juli can be seen. All part of the Columbus fiestas, a strange fair based in the tradition of celebrating a grand moment which changed the course of history.

RECOMMENDATIONS - GRANADA TOURIST GUIDE
Lovers of trekking have an unbeatable setting in the province of Granada. Now the Granada editors ‘Proyecto Sur’ have just published a new tourist guide for them called ‘de la costa tropical a la montaña’ in which the expert orienteer, originally from Valencia, Enrique Garín, collects together 25 walking routes to discover the surroundings of the Granada province town of Almuñecar. This area of Andalucía has a subtropical environment which is unique in Europe. In just a few kilometres you can travel from the heat of the beaches to the cold of the high peaks of the Sierra Nevada. In fact the land covered by the 25 routes, which have in addition 60 possible alternatives, covers some 50 kilometres both along the coast and towards the sierra. They are limited by the three nature parks in the zone - Maro-Cerro Gordo; Almijara and Tejeda; and the Sierra Nevada nature park.

RECOMMENDATIONS - ARCHEOLOGICAL ROUTE OF THE WHITE VILLAGES - CÁDIZ
Remains of settlements, townships, villages, forts, towns, roads and paths hundreds of years old - and all much closer than you might imagine. In the Cádiz Sierra we can discover the immense and rich cultural heritage of the province along the archeological route of the white villages. This historic footprint links a good number of archeological sites spread out across the length of the district. It’s a pioneering project in Andalucía designed to popularise, recover and conserve the archaeological heritage with the creation and development of a tourist infrastructure. There are very few regions of Europe which have been subject to so many peoples, and so many cultures of such different lifestyles and ways of thinking as in the Cádiz sierra. A place of dreams where you can enjoy a journey into the past.

AGENDA - JULY 31 - AUGUST 7
Friday August 10, the International Opera Company from Donetsk in the Ukraine perform Nabuco by Giuseppe Verdi in the Latin American Forum at La Rábida in Huelva

The Jaén village of Pozo Alcón celebrates the 15th edition of their Tourist Cycle Route between Monday July 30 and Saturday August 4

You can visit the show ‘Daniel Vázquez Díaz - My Contemporaries’ in the Seville fine arts museum until August 19.

Sunday August 5 sees the Fiesta of Moors and Christians in Benalauría, Málaga province - declared to be of national tourist interest.

The multimedia spectacular ‘Lorca-Granada I’ve not been born yet’ is held in the gardens of the Generalife in Granada everyday except Sunday until September 9.

With the summer month full moon, Priego de Córdoba holds a different trekking route which starts at midnight and ends at eight in the morning. It takes place on Saturday night 4-5 August.

Arcos de la Frontera in Cádiz holds its Velada in honour of Nuestra Señora de las Nieves the local patron saint from Friday 3 to Sunday 5 August.

The International Music Festival in the Huelva province town of Ayamonte takes place from Friday August 3 to Thursday 9 with the performances of the Andalucian Chamber and Jazz Orchestras and the Moscow Conservatory Symphony Orchestra among others.

The reservoir at Guadalmena in the Segura Sierra, in Chiclana de Segura, Jaén province, plays host to the National Jetbike Championship during the first week of August.

From Tuesday July 31 to Monday August 6 the Villa de Mijas Theatre festival is held. The Catalan group ‘Tricicle’ and other national and local companies perform in this Málaga province village.

The Andalucian Contemporary Dance Centre is organising Jazz Concerts and DJ Sessions in its headquarters in the Santa María de las Cuevas Monastery in Seville on the nights from Monday 6 to Thursday 9 of August.

The Blaz Infante square in the Huelva town of Punta Umbría hosts the third Latin American Craft Fair from August 1 to 15.

August 11, José Luis López Vázquez arrives at the Niebla Castle Festival of Theatre and Dance with ‘Caesar and Cleopatra’ by George Bernard Shaw

In the province of Jaén, the towns and villages of Escañuela, Lupión, Larva, Aldeaquemada, La Iruela, Bailén and Cárcheles all celebrate their fiestas and fairs in this first week of August.