Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Ceuta (Sebta)
POP 84,000
Ceuta is one of a handful of Spanish possessions on the coastline of Morocco, and a real
gem. Located on a peninsula jutting out into the Mediterranean, it offers a compact dose
of fantastic architecture, interesting museums, excellent food, a relaxing maritime park
and bracing nature walks, with A-plus traveller support at every turn. The city is particu-
larly beautiful at night, a skyline of artfully lit buildings and bursting palms.
Ceuta served as one of the Roman Empire's coastal bases (its Arabic name, Sebta,
stems from the Latin
Septem
). After a brief stint under the control of the Byzantine Em-
pire, the city was taken in AD 931 by the Arab rulers of Muslim Spain - the basis for
Spain's claim of historical rights to the land. For the next 500 years, however, this city at
the tip of Africa was a prized possession, fought over and ruled successively by Spanish
princes, Moroccan sultans and Portuguese kings. Things began to settle down when Por-
tugal and Spain united under one crown in 1580, and Ceuta passed to Spain by default.
When the two countries split in 1640, Ceuta remained Spanish, and has been ever since.
If entering from Morocco, Ceuta is also an eye-opener. Like the former West Berlin, it
comes across as a grand social experiment concocted by rival political systems. Leaving
the beggars and street hustlers behind, you cross over a grim border zone, a 400m no-
man's-land of haphazardly placed barricades (part of a €30 million fence erected by the
EU to prevent illegal immigration), to find yourself blinking in the light of Spanish cul-
ture, a relaxed world of well-kept plazas, beautiful buildings and tapas bars bubbling over
until the wee hours. This experience alone is worth the trip and lingers thereafter.
This cultural-island phenomenon is the essence of Ceuta. It explains the heavy Spanish
military presence, the Moroccan immigrants, the duty-free shopping, the shady cross-bor-
der commerce and the tourism. It makes a perfect weekend getaway.
