A TASTE OF THE WILD WEST IN SPAIN

A cowboy collapses after gunshots ring out outside a saloon. This is not America's Wild West, but Spain's arid Almeria region, long a popular backdrop for western movies.

The Tabernas Desert, one of Europe's driest regions which extends over 28,000ha, attracted Italian director Sergio Leone to shoot his iconic western films from the 1960s, drawn by its barren landscape, abundant sunshine and low costs.

Among the movies he shot in the southern region are his masterpieces A Fistful Of Dollars (1964) and The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1966), which starred Oscar-winning American actor Clint Eastwood.

Other directors followed. Dozens of westerns were filmed in the region in the 1960s and the area soon became known as the "Hollywood of Europe".

Elaborate sets were built featuring dusty streets and saloons, now serving as western-themed amusement parks that draw tourists to one of Spain's less visited regions, which still features as a backdrop for big-name films.

Mock cowboys on horseback put on a show for visitors to one of the theme parks, Fort Bravo, that includes a fake duel.

Rafael Aparicio, one of the performers sporting cowboy boots and a sleeveless waistcoat, started out working on film shoots in Tabernas.