Inside the tiny corner of Spain that lies in the middle of North Africa
In ancient Greek and Roman legend, the Pillars of Hercules –marking the edge of the known world – were mighty columns that once stood either side of the strait where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic.
One was on the Rock of Gibraltar, a pocket of British territory next to mainland Spain, and the other was Ceuta, a prominent outcrop on the North African coastline.
Today, Ceuta is a Spanish exclave, a piece of a country entirely surrounded by another, in this case Morocco. And while it may only be 18 miles from the Spanish mainland, this tiny pocket of Europe in Africa is one of the most unusual places on either continent.
Surrounded on three sides by water, Ceuta is protected by high medieval walls, stone citadels and barbed wire that all hint at its tumultuous history.
With an area of just seven square miles and a population of around 85,000 people, this peninsula jutting abruptly into the Mediterranean Sea has been in the possession of Spain since 1580.
But the exclave is more than just a colonial hangover; with architecture, culture and cuisine blending influences from both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar, this could be Spain’s most multicultural city.
“Ceuta was given the title of the most loyal city in Spain,” Mila Bernal, a local tourism office representative, told CNN Travel. “Because the citizens decided they wanted to be Spanish, not Portuguese.”
