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Royalty free stock photographs of many locations in Tenerife and La Gomera, in the Canary Islands. Stock images of the islands of Boa Vista and Sal in Cape Verde Islands are also included. Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, La Palma and El Hierro stock photos will soon feature as well.

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Tenerife and Cape Verde articles
Eternal Spring Teide National Park
Brief Tenerife History Puerto de la Cruz
Tenerife South Airport Aerial Photos
Tenerife Sport Carnaval
Golf Courses Abama Golf
Cape Verde Islands Abama Senior Cup
Tenerife Places El Medano

Candelaria
Candelaria is a coastal town to the southeast of the Tenerife within the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. It is located 20 km SSW of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. This important religious town is noted by Catholics in Spain and Latin America as the place where The Virgin of Candelaria patron of the Canary Islands first appeared. For the Tinerfeños and the Canaries in general, Candelaria is like Fátima (Portugal) or Guadalupe (Mexico). The most prominent and famous building is the Basilica which houses the sculpture of the Virgin Mary and the mural paintings of the temple. Equally famous are the statues of the nine Guanche kings of Tenerife. These magnificent copper green statues have their backs to the sea protecting the Basilica square.

The population in 2005 was 20,628 with its density of 416.per square kilometer. The land area is 48 square kilometers. El Rosario is linked with the old highway linking Abona and Santa Cruz de Tenerife and the TF1 Motorway which encircles the eastern and southern portions of the island.

Its economy is based on commerce, tourism and some agriculture. The urban area and some farmland dominate the coastline area. There are farmlands in the valley areas and in the mountains, grasslands and some forests to the west.

In the times of the Guanches, the region was part of the Menceyato kingdom of Güímar. A cave called Achbinico's cave, is situated near Candelaria. The famous Festival de la Canción de Candelaria is a festivity which is one of the most important on the island. People from all over the island focus on the town as a pilgrimage and often walk the journey with bare feet. The image of the Virgin is lead out in procession through the streets every February 2nd, Candelaria Day, and August 15th, the day of the Patron of the Canaries.

Basilica of the Candelaria.
The current basilica dates back to 1959 and was constructed on a former hermitage. Since the image of the Virgin appeared on the black sand beach of Chimisay around 1392, the first great sanctuary to the Virgin of Candelaria was constructed in 1668. Later, with the increase of people visiting the area, there was a need to construct a bigger church which is the basilica we know today. It has a capacity for 5.000 people. It has an impressive collection of wall paintings. Next to the basilica is the Dominican convent religious order in charge of the Basilica.

Achbinico's Cave.
Also known as the Cave of San Blas, it was the first Christian temple of the Canaries. In this place, the original inhabitants of the Canary Isles worshipped the Virgin of Candelaria. This cave is behind Candelaria's Basilica and is visited by many pilgrims. Inside the cave is a bronze replica of the Virgin of Candelaria. Achbinico's cave has a great importance not only in a religious sense, but also historical, since this was the place where guanches were originally baptized.

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