Villa Ciscarejo Country house between orange groves in Gádor (Almería)

Due to its strategic location, the Poniente Almeriense, situated between the mountains and the Mediterranean Sea, has been inhabited by numerous peoples since prehistoric times.
The oldest finds in this area date back to the Neolithic period, and those of the neighboring Millares culture to the later Bronze Age. However, it was with the Phoenicians that the region experienced its first glorious era.
Literary sources such as Strabo and Pliny tell us of the founding of the Phoenician city of Abdera (Adra) in the 8th century BC, following the Phoenicians' arrival on the Iberian Peninsula. Phoenician finds have been found in Roquetas de Mar and on the Berja coast, which were inhabited from the 6th century BC onwards. AD, populated by the Carthaginians.
Throughout the area, there are also numerous traces from Roman times, a time when Adra became an important Mediterranean enclave due to the trade in salted fish and the highly prized garum. Vergi (Berja), Turaniana (Roquetas de Mar), and Murgi, in the municipality of El Ejido, were also Roman settlements.
After the fall of the Roman Empire and the domination of the Visigoths, a new people arrived in this area: the Muslims. Medina Barcha (Berja), Adra, Dalyat (Dalías), Felix, El Nix (Énix), etc., were ruled by the Muslims for almost eight centuries. They left their mark on the Poniente region forever.

The coasts of the Poniente, the easternmost part of the Nasserid Kingdom of Granada, witnessed the exile of the last monarch of Al-Andalus, Boabdil, who, like many other Andalusians, fled to the Moroccan city of Fez. Despite the exile of the Moors following the 1568 rebellion led by Abén Humeya and the subsequent repopulation by the so-called Old Christians, traces of Islamic culture are still present today in the old fortresses, baths, and cisterns scattered throughout the countryside, and above all in traditional folk architecture.
The beginnings of the modern era were ill-fated: in addition to the problem of demographic decline, there were frequent attacks by Barbary pirates, a reminder of which is still evident in the extensive coastal network of castles and watchtowers. It wasn't until the 19th century that Poniente Almeriense experienced a renewed period of prosperity, fueled by the important mining industry in the Gádor mountains, the export grape production of Ohanes, tuna fishing, and the salt industry.
But the area's ultimate economic boom came in the 20th century with the development of intensive agriculture, which even gave rise to a new municipality, La Mojonera. Somewhat later, tourism was added to agricultural activity; both of these factors have made this region one of the most popular tourist destinations in the province of Almería in the 21st century.