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Home > Travel Spain > Spain Destinations > Melilla
Melilla
Spain, also known as Kingdom of Spain, is one of the oldest inhabited regions on the planet. It is a country which is located in Southern Europe, and politically organized as a parliamentary monarchy. It is the largest sovereign nation of the three nations that make up the Iberian Peninsula. Administratively, Spain is divided into 50 provinces, grouped into 17 autonomous communities and 2 autonomous cities with a high degree of autonomy. The name Spain comes from the Latin name Hispania whose capital is Madrid which is also the largest city of the Country.
Melilla was a Phoenician and later Punic establishment under the name of Rusadir. Later on it became a part of the Roman province of Mauretania Tingitana. As centuries passed, it went through Vandal, Byzantine and Hispano-Visigothic hands. Melilla was on the boundary of the Kingdom of Tlemcen and the Kingdom of Fez when Juan Alfonso Perez de Guzman and the 3rd Duke of Medina Sidonia.
Melilla is a city on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, neighbouring Morocco. It was settled by Spain in 1497. Conventionally considered part of Andalusia for historical reasons, it was administered as part of Malaga province prior to the March 14, 1995 Statute of Autonomy, and was a free port before Spain joined the European Union. As of 1994, it had a population of 63,670. Its populace consists of Christians, Muslims, Jews and a small minority of Hindus. Both Spanish and Tamazight language are spoken there.
The principal industry in the city is fishing and cross-border commerce and Spanish and European grants and wages are the other income sources. Melilla is greatly dependent on Morocco. All of its fruit, vegetables, and fish are imported across the border. About 36,000 Moroccans come into the city daily to work, shop, or sell goods.
Morocco has claimed Melilla, along with Ceuta and diverse small Spanish islands off the coast of Africa, drawing comparisons with Spain's territorial claim to Gibraltar. The Spanish government rejects these comparisons, on the grounds that both Ceuta and Melilla are essential parts of the Spanish state, whereas Gibraltar, an overseas territory, is not considered part of the United Kingdom. Melilla is an attractive city with natural beauty and historical places, while traveling in Spain.
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