Andalusia is as close as Europe gets to Africa, and the region’s capital, Seville, embodies Spain’s rich blend of Latin and Moorish traditions. Its name originated as Al-Andalus, Arabic for “land of the West.” From 711 to 1492, Andalusia was part of the Moorish world. Situated on the Guadalquivir River, Seville is Spain’s fourth-largest city, with a population of 700,000 people. A compact low-rise metropolis, it is a place of vibrant plazas, whitewashed residences festooned with scarlet geraniums and a pedestrian culture that invites exploration. (Although some parts of the city — I’m thinking of the barrios, with their narrow, winding streets — require good map-reading skills and attention to where you are going.)