Ceuta Attractions

Ceuta (Arabic Sebta), the African port nearest to Europe, situated at the eastern entrance to the Straits of Gibraltar, is an enclave under Spanish sovereignty (plaza de soberanía) on the Moroccan coast, 75km/47mi east of Tangier and 38km/24mi north of Tetuan. It has an area of only 19.4 sq.km/7.5sq.mi. Also under Spanish sovereignty is the peninsula of El Hacho, which extends 8km/5mi northeast into the Mediterranean, flanked by long beaches and terminating in Punta Almina (lighthouse). The old town of Ceuta is built on the isthmus, only 350m/380yd across, leading to the point. The town and the peninsula form part of the Spanish province of Cádiz. There are passport and customs controls on the frontier with Morocco. Some 85% of the inhabitants are Spanish citizens; only 8% are Muslims. Ceuta has the air of an Andalusian town and shows very little North African influence. It consists of two parts: the walled old town, with a citadel (17th-18th century), and the new town, laid out on a regular grid plan, with taller buildings. The development of the new town began only in 1912, when northern Morocco became a Spanish protectorate and Ceuta acquired a hinterland which it had not previously possessed and enjoyed a great economic boom. After Morocco became independent in 1956 the town went into a decline and the population fell from 120,000 to 65,000. In recent years, thanks to the development of tourism and the popularity of excursions from Spain, there has been a slight rise in population. The port is still of importance as a fishing center, with fish processing industries and small shipyards, and a ferry port. In spite of tax concessions and its status as a free port the town has lost much of its industry and has long been overshadowed by Tangier. With its strategic situation, however, Ceuta is still an important military town.

History

Ceuta is likely to have been an important Phoenician settlement, though there are no traces of occupation earlier than the Romans, who called the town Septem Fratres - from which the Arabic name Sebta and the Spanish name Ceuta are derived. The Roman name (''Seven Brothers'') came from the seven hills of the Jebel Musa range, on the slopes of which the town was built. Monte Hacho features in Greek and Roman mythology, under the name of Mount Abyla, as one of the Pillars of Hercules. The town was captured by the Vandals in A.D. 429 and held by them until 534, when it was retaken by the East Roman Emperor Justinian. In 618 the Visigoths occupied the town, but were unable to hold on to it. In 711, after heavy fighting, Ceuta was taken by the Arabs, who thereafter beat off repeated Spanish attacks on the town, which became a place of great military importance with the Arab invasion of Spain. Thereafter, until 1415, Ceuta belonged to various Arab kingdoms in Morocco and mainland Spain. From the 12th century onwards Ceuta developed into an important port carrying on a lively trade with Italy, France and Spain. In the 13th and 14th centuries it enjoyed a period of prosperity as a customs station and the largest commercial town and port in Morocco. In 1415 Ceuta was captured by King John I of Portugal, with 50,000 men and 200 ships. As a result of the union of Spain and Portugal in 1580 under Philip II Ceuta became Spanish, and since then it has remained continuously in Spanish hands, in spite of repeated Arab attacks, including a 27 year siege (1674-1701) by the troops of Moulay Ismail; the last attack, also unsuccessful, was in 1860. In the 19th and early 20th centuries it was a Spanish penal colony with a sinister reputation. From 1912 onwards it was developed to become the principal port in the Spanish protectorate of northern Morocco and enjoyed a great economic boom. The Spanish war against the Kabyles of the Rif mountains was largely directed from Ceuta, and it was here that Franco made plans for his seizure of power in 1936.