'Like Texas': Spain's arid south draws Western film shoots

Tabernas, 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...

Tabernas, 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 28,000 hectares, 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" and "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly", which starred Oscar-winning 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".