Melilla Attractions

The port, garrison town and free-trade zone of Melilla (Arabic Mlilya or Ras el-Querk, Berber Tamlilt) is a Spanish enclave (plaza de soberanía) of 12.3 sq.km/4.75 sq.mi on the Mediterranean coast of Morocco. It is strategically situated on the east side of a small bay on the peninsula of Beni Sicar or Gelaia, 25km/15mi south of Cabo Tres Forcas and 14km/9mi north of the Moroccan town of Nador. For administrative purposes Melilla is part of the province of Málaga. Most of the inhabitants have Spanish nationality; some 10% are Muslims. Melilla is a town of purely Andalusian character. The old part of the town, surrounded by stout defensive walls, lies at an altitude of 30m/100ft on a small peninsula and has remained almost unchanged since the 16th Century. The newer part, with its wide, straight streets and beautiful parks and gardens, grew up around 70 years ago. Melilla is almost totally dependent on Spain for its supplies. Most goods come in by sea; air transport - in spite of the town's new airport - plays a relatively minor role. The port, which during the Spanish protectorate over Morocco shipped iron and lead ore from the eastern foothills of the Atlas Mountains, is now again a port of transshipment for iron ore and steel, which comes from and via Nador by rail. More important for the port of Melilla, however, are the sardine fisheries, much of the catch being processed in canning factories in Melilla. The ferry services to and from Málaga, Ceuta and Almería also make some contribution to the economy. The local craft industries, which cover a remarkably wide range, are also of considerable importance.

The town extends in a semicircle round the harbor and the bay. It is a place of typically Spanish aspect, with wide streets intersecting at right angles, large squares and parks. In the past the population was almost exclusively Spanish, but more recently numbers of Moroccans have come in, legally or illegally, and settled on the outskirts of the town.

History

Melilla was originally a Phoenician foundation under the name of Rusadir - the oldest Phoenician settlement in Morocco after Lixius. It suffered the same fate as other Phoenician settlements, becoming successively Carthaginian, Roman, Vandal, Byzantine and finally Arab. In 705, during their second campaign of conquest, the Arabs completely destroyed the town. They rebuilt it in the 10th century, and from the 13th century onwards, during the period of Merinid rule, developed it into one of the leading ports on the North African coast. Spain conquered Melilla in 1497. Thereafter it was frequently attacked - most recently by Abd el- Krim in 1921 - but always remained in Spanish hands, and became an important port, protected by strong fortifications. After becoming a customs-free zone in 1887, and during the Spanish protectorate over Morocco (1914-56), Melilla enjoyed a second economic heyday; but when Morocco became independent it lost its hinterland, and when Algeria also became independent in 1962 it lost the customers for duty-free goods who had previously come from there, and decline set in, as evidenced by a fall in population from 100,000 to around 60,000.