Carlos Perez Marin

   As we have already mentioned, one of the main arguments that UNESCO uses to determine the exceptionality of the proposed tangible heritage is the existence, or not, of places with similar characteristics. In fact, it is one of the most important, and many candidates usually make a cursory analysis due to the fear that their proposal could be devalued when compared with potential competitors. If we stick to our environment, there are cities with which we have shared moments in history, something logical as they belong to the same geographical (maritime) region, the Strait of Gibraltar. In principle, Gibraltar (6.70 km²), Algeciras (85.84 km²), Tarifa (419.93 km²) and Tangier (124 km²) would be the cities with which we would have to carry out the comparison but it will not be in this text in which we delve to analyse the differences and similarities, however we are going to outline these comparisons according to the different periods of history.

5.01 Prehistory

   The geology of the region and its climatological conditions have facilitated the existence of numerous rockshelters and caves on both sides of the Strait, used during prehistory by hunter-gatherer (fisher) societies, if we add to this the proximity that is assumed between both continents as the sea level was much lower than today (it is estimated at 110 m), it is not strange to think that these societies could have carried out exchanges, which could modify the theories about the passage of the hominid from Africa to Europe through Asia. If the various excavations and studies underway are confirmed, it would be a great change in the history of humanity, but it would also imply not considering the Strait as a natural border between two continents but as a region (an aspect that we will mention later). With current data, can it be said that there were more important places than others on both shores? Let's see what archaeological remains have appeared in the different areas.

   In Tarifa, more than 60 caves and rockshelters have been located, used between the Palaeolithic and the Bronze Age. In 2000 and 2001 there were several initiatives for the remains of rock art from the provinces of Cádiz and Málaga (called southern Andalusian art) to be included in the Tentative List as part of the Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula that is already declared World Heritage. Among the most important places there is the Moorish Cave with numerous paintings and rock engravings from the Upper Paleolithic dating back to 20,000 years (before Altamira).

   In Algeciras there are several sites found and studied; Embarcadero del río Palmones, Algetares, La Menacha, Getares, Torre Almirante... and which shows the existence of hunter-gatherer societies that inhabited the bay of Algeciras in a period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. These sites so far show an absence of caves and rockshelters, at least with the density that appear in North Africa, in Tarifa and, as we will see below, in Gibraltar, which is explained by the geology of this part of the bay.

   The small size of Gibraltar does not prevent this place from playing a fundamental role in the prehistory of the region. The Gorham, Vanguard, Hyane and Bennett caves were discovered in the 18th century by naturalists, although it was not until the end of the 19th century that the first bones belonging to a Neanderthal were found. Since then Gibraltar became a reference in terms of geological, paleontological, archaeological research... The numerous studies carried out have documented the existence of a Neanderthal population for more than 100,000 years, but they also indicate that they may have possibly been one of the last populations of this hominid in Europe before its extinction. They were later occupied by Homo sapiens, practically until the Bronze Age, in which the caves were no longer used as habitat. The cave complex was registered as World Heritage in 2016 after a 6-year process.

   In the Mugharet el Aliya cave in Tangier (in the area known as Cape Spartel) remains were found initially attributed to Neanderthals, but later studies (Mugharet el'Aliya: Affinities of an enigmatic north African Aterian maxillary fragment. Röding, Stringer, Lacruz, Harvati), seem to indicate that they are actually from Homo sapiens. If this study is confirmed, it would provide an advance regarding the results of the work carried out in Benzú, where so far only utensils have appeared but no human remains. This fact would be relevant when explaining a possible exceptionality of the Cabililla but it would only reinforce the importance of the southern shore of the Strait during prehistory, which would have to include the prehistoric sites that appeared in the bays between Tangier and Ceuta (Belyounech, Marsa, Dalia...) and at the mouths of the rivers (Alian, Ksar es-Seghir...); excavations and surveys carried out in the middle of the last century (mainly by Tarradell) and during the most recent work, between 2008 and 2012, of the Archaeological Charter of Northern Morocco (directed by Raissouni, Bernal, El Khayari, Ramos and Zouak).

   If we look at the importance attributed to the prehistoric sites in the municipalities of the Strait, it is evident that Gibraltar would be the most relevant location, followed by Tangier. Now, perhaps we should not subject ourselves to a relatively recent administrative delimitation (even if it is a few centuries ago). Perhaps we would have to first consider each of the shores separately, analyse the types of humans that inhabited them and their ways of life, taking into account what has been accepted until now, that is, that they had no relations between them and that therefore they were separated by a natural border. However, at the moment in which it can be affirmed that there were contacts between hominids, then we will not be able to speak of two regions but of one, and it would no longer be necessary to study the importance of each of the municipalities but of the entire group, with the particularity that this region could be the first point of migration from Africa to Europe by hominids. This should lead to a declaration by UNESCO of Cultural Landscape.

5.02 Antiquity

5.02.01 Phoenicia

   It is not very clear which was the first location that the Phoenicians reached in the Strait (at least in the 8th century BC), however, that is not the important thing but the fact of occupying and controlling a maritime territory, for which it was necessary the establishment of “naval bases” on both shores, therefore, we find ourselves in a similar situation during prehistory, the most pertinent thing would be to treat the Strait as a single region, instead of municipal terms, but once again we will have to submit to the current administrative limits.

   The presence of the Phoenician-Punic civilisation in Tarifa is limited, for now, to the necropolises of the island of Las Palomas and the Algarbes (El mundo funerario fenicio-púnico en el Campo de Gibraltar. Prados, García y Castañeda), and to the Silla del Papa in the Sierra de la Plata (El oppidum de la Silla del Papa, Tarifa, Cádiz, y los orígenes de Baelo Claudia. Prados, Callegarin, García, Muñoz y Moret), where an oppidum type construction was discovered which corresponds to a Punic settlement and which remained at least until the change of era with Emperor Augustus, although it was later occupied again by the Visigoths until the 6th or 7th century.

   In the bay of Algeciras the main Phoenician-Punic settlement was first the Cerro del Prado (Cerro del Prado, un asentamiento fenicio en la bahía. Antonio Torremocha) and then Carteia (both in the municipality of San Roque). The existence of the mouths of the Palmones and Guadarranque rivers made Cerro del Prado an ideal place for maritime logistics thanks to the protection against winds and tides, as well as the existence of salt flats whose product was essential for the transportation of food and production of salting. These natural characteristics made this part of the bay of Algeciras an essential stopover for the ships that made the Malaka-Gades route, hence no other city or port was necessary. However, in Cala Arenas what appears to be a small port with a tower to control maritime traffic was found. Also in the city of Algeciras itself, ceramics have been found that could signify the existence of a city or port, but at the moment no structures have been found that allow such a statement.

   If the Cerro del Prado was the main port of the bay, Gibraltar was considered since the arrival of the first Phoenicians a symbolic place and sanctuary of the genius loci (protecting spirits of the place), as attested to by the remains found in Gorham's cave. If we add to this the mention, along with other places of the Strait, in Greek mythology, the importance transcends the materiality of what was found in the archaeological sites, and even the region, forming part of a culture like that of Greece ancient, considered the basis of our civilisation, and one of the first works of literature.

   In Tangier the Phoenician-Punic sites are more numerous, perhaps due to the geomorphological characteristics of its coast and its length. Thus, remains have been discovered in Magogha es-Sghira, Cape Spartel, Ras Achakar, Gandori, Djebila, Malabata, Marshan, Mries, Mers and Granja Petit Bois (El sistema colonial fenicio y púnico en Marruecos: Nuevas perspectivas a la luz de las investigaciones arqueológicas. Mohamed El Mhassani). We must not forget that it is in this period, and especially when Carthage became the capital of the Punic State, when a true colonisation of the coasts of the Strait took place, at least on the African shore.

   By density of sites, Tangier may be the most important city, followed by Algeciras, Tarifa and Ceuta, but as with Prehistory, what is relevant would be in the occupation of the Strait, as a whole, and not so much in independent places.

5.02.02 Rome

   The Third Punic War led to the fall of Carthage and the establishment of the Roman Empire in the main coastal cities (not without encountering resistance from the kingdom of Mauretania), establishing in Tangier the capital of the Mauretania Tingitana province, which in turn was part of the diocese of Hispana and did not take into account the Strait as a border. During this period the city achieved colony status, reinforcing its importance within the empire. Despite the importance that the city had, not as a port city but as a place of penetration into the interior of the new Roman province, no large structures have been found, although certain findings presuppose that the necropolis was located in the Marshan neighbourhood and in The lower part of the medina could be located both the forum and the two main axes of the city, the Decumanus Maximus and the Cardo Maximus, in addition, elements of the salting industry (Cotta) are preserved on the Atlantic coast.

   These evidences in Tangier contrast with the materials that have been discovered in Ceuta; part of the castellum in the Royal Wall; the necropolis on which the late Roman basilica was built; the burial place of Puertas del Campo; the Arcos Quebrados aqueduct; the cult building dedicated to Isis; the salting pools and amphorae on the isthmus... It is true that an opportunity to learn more about the Roman period was lost when the works on the Parador hotel, the underground parking on Gran Vía and even the rehabilitation of San Ignacio ravelin and San Pablo lunette. Comparing the written sources and what appeared in the excavations we see that Tingis was clearly more relevant than Septem Frates, not in vain it was the capital of a vast province and the city that dominated the Strait of Gibraltar and therefore the economy related to salting.

   The sites that appeared around the land occupied by the Reina Victoria hotel in Algeciras have served to locate the ancient Roman city of Iulia Traducta. In addition, different industrial structures, associated with tuna fishing (almadraba) and the salting and garum trade, appear in Getares, the ancient Cetaria. However, it is Carteia (in the municipality of San Roque) that stands as the main city of the bay of Algeciras, continuing the settlement created during the Phoenician-Punic period and which was inhabited until the Middle Ages, although with much less relevance.

   Despite the importance that Gibraltar had until Phoenician times, the geological and topographic conditions did not favor the founding of a Roman city (absence of drinking water and proper anchorages). However, Gibraltar’s shape and geography is decisive in both Greek and Roman iconography, considering the end of the world, this being delimited by the Steles of Heracles or Columnae Herculis, identified by the mountains Calpe and Abyla, that is, by Gibraltar and either Mount Hacho or Mount Musa; Although it is true that from many points of view it seems evident that Abyla is Mount Musa in Morocco, we must not forget that in times of coastal navigation, when reaching the Strait from the Mediterranean coast, the mountain that is seen next to Gibraltar as geographical elements that determine that end of the world, would be Mount Hacho. This image of the columns of Hercules were not exclusive to the Greek and Roman period; since the 16th century they have been integrated as heraldic symbols in the successive coats of arms of Spain as well as of numerous Spanish (and foreign) cities and regions.

   If we take into account places with a Roman past in the main (contemporary) cities of the Strait, (in addition to Carteia in San Roque) possibly the only one that could rival Tingis would be Baelo Claudia (Tarifa). Founded in the 2nd century BC. and which also reached the status of a Roman municipality. Another city mentioned in Roman sources would be Mellaria but its location remains imprecise, at least that of the city with its public buildings; some researchers place it in the Valdevaqueros cove and others in Tarifa, but there are no structures that allow this to be confirmed. The importance of Baelo Claudia was linked to the Strait, the fishing industry and its association, fundamentally, with Tangier. In fact, Miguel Tarradell proposed in the last century the term Círculo del Estrecho to define a maritime territory in which cities and coastal settlements of the northern and southern shores constituted a legal association to coordinate, develop, promote and defend the interests derived from the prolific fishing industry of the Strait. This fact makes it somewhat more difficult to choose a single place as a point of reference in Roman times, but rather it would have to be, as in previous centuries during the Punic-Phoenician period, a common maritime space. In any case, if we have to base it on the remains that have come down to us, Baelo Claudia would be the most important city of that time.

5.02.03 Byzantium

   From the Vandal period (from the 5th century) there are no remains to report in the cities of the Strait, mainly due to the fact that there were attacks but there were no constant occupations, however the entire salting industry in the Strait area continued to operate, as well as its ports, at least until the 6th century. According to some written sources, the vandals used the ports of Mellaria and Iulia Traducta as naval bases for attacks on the North African coast (Novedades de la Traducta paleobizantina. La secuencia del siglo VII de la calle Doctor Flemimg 6. Jiménez Camino, Casasola).

   In the 6th century, the Byzantine emperor, Justinian I, ordered Ceuta to be conquered and fortified to use it as a bridgehead in his project to reconquer the Western Roman Empire; Recuperatio Imperii. Until the Caliphal Gate was discovered, there was no news of the existence of the Byzantine fortification. Today it is known that, at least, Justinian I's wall runs from the Caliphal Gate to the Bandera bastion, but it most likely also continues to the Coraza bastion. Although the taking of Tangier by the Byzantine army is also mentioned in some sources, no archaeological evidence of a constant occupation or the execution of fortification works has been found, in fact, the latest investigations (Archaeological Charter of Northern Morocco) indicate a complete absence of Byzantine remains beyond the city of Ceuta on the African side.

   The Byzantines used Ceuta as a bridgehead in their reconquest of the Peninsula, for which control of the Strait was essential, so they occupied from Baelo Claudia to Carteia. In Mellaria the remains found are scarce, but the fact that they appear in the castle of Guzmán el Bueno suggests that, on the one hand, the current construction was built on an already existing one and, what is more significant, that Mellaria could be located in Tarifa.

   The clearest signs of Byzantine settlements appear in Carteia (municipal district of San Roque) and in Traducta (Algeciras). In the first, it is a necropolis but in the second, the remains correspond to commercial buildings that would show intense trade in this port.

   In Gibraltar, as previously indicated, it was not a relevant place in the Byzantine era either given the absence of drinking water, anchorages and land for the construction of a city.

   Until a few years ago, the Byzantine evidence in Ceuta were limited to ceramics that appeared in some excavations and in the late Roman basilica that began in the 4th century and was successively expanded until it was abandoned in the 6th or 7th century but in which there are also signs of having been used during the 7th century. However, the works on the Royal Wall, first with the Caliphal Gate and later with the Bandera bastion, have revealed the existence of a Byzantine fortification consolidating another Roman, but we are talking about a wall that in some points exceeds 7m high and which possibly (in the absence of confirmation in the Coraza bastion) could exceed 200m in length, making it the most important Byzantine construction existing in the area of the Strait (Del istmo a las murallas reales: Un desafío para la arqueología preislámica de Septem (ss. I-VII d.C.). Villada, Casasola).

5.03 Middle Ages

   The Visigoth presence did not mean the founding of new cities but rather the use of existing cities and buildings, although in the case of Algeciras and Carteia it meant the opposite, the abandonment of the cities after the continuous clashes between vandals and Visigoths, however, in Algeciras have left a cemetery from that time as a testimony. With the arrival of Muslim troops to the Strait, important infrastructures will be built on both shores, in addition to refoundations or new occupations of abandoned urban spaces.

5.03.01 Umayyad Caliphate

   To guarantee military logistics, it was necessary not only to ensure navigation in the Strait, but also to control bays, inlets and build ports with the capacity to accommodate the intense maritime traffic between the two continents. On the European coast it was decided to build a city, Villa Vieja or Medina, next to the ruins of the ancient Iulia Traducta (Algeciras) but leaving the mouth of the Miel River as a separation between the two. Numerous archaeological excavations scattered throughout what is now the center of Algeciras have brought to light graves, garbage dumps and some residential walls. Of all these remains, a trace of the caliphal wall stands out, 18.50 m long, 3 m thick and 2.20 m deep in the corner formed by the river and the sea. Archaeologists believe that it is the foundation of a public building that, given its location, could be the shipyards (Resultados de la actividad arqueológica preventiva en avenida de la Marina, esquina calles Segismundo Moret y Teniente Riera de Algeciras. Bravo, Vila, Trinidad y Dorado). Although sources indicate the existence of a fortified port in the area of the current central market to which ships entered through an arch called Ojo del Muelle, and which was preserved, even with the port already filled, until the beginning of the 2oth century (Las atarazanas musulmanas de Algeciras, siglos X-XIV. Antonio Torremocha Silva).

   In Tarifa, the Caliphate of Córdoba decides to build the castle of Guzmán el Bueno on a rocky mound next to the coast with the purpose of housing a garrison to visually control traffic in the Strait. (Fortificaciones omeyas en el estrecho de Gibraltar. Pedro Gurriarán Daza). Nothing else is known about the existence of other buildings in its surroundings.

   The abandonment of Gibraltar continued during the first centuries of Muslim domination, although a change of name occurred, going from Mount Calpe to the current one, which is nothing more than a transcription of Jebel Tarek (the mountain of Tariq), referring to to Tariq Ibn Ziyad, the general who commanded the troops that landed in the bay in 711.

   In an attempt to prevent the arrival of the Fatimid troops to the coasts of the Peninsula, the Umayyad Caliphate decided to take the main ports on the southern shore, starting with Ceuta and Asilah, and 20 years later Tangier. In this city, the only constructive testimony from the 10th century that has come down to us has been parts of different sections of the walls that originally delimited the kasbah, sections that in some places are superimposed on others that already exist but that have not been able to be studied and therefore, its dating is unknown. However these remains allow us to establish a perimeter and the area that the kasbah occupied in the 10th century, even if the chronicles of the time indicate that upon the arrival of the Umayyad troops there were already walls in that part of the city.

   From this caliphal era, both the castle of Tarifa and the caliphal wall of Ceuta stand out, but due to the size and characteristics of the walls of Ceuta, with one of the two gates of the city and its adaptation to the Roman and Byzantine fortifications, they make the complex stand out as the most important in the Strait.

5.03.02 Almoravid Dynasty

   After the disintegration of the Córdoba caliphate into taifa kingdoms, the Almoravid Dynasty arrived to occupy a good part of the western area of the Sahel, the Maghreb and the Iberian Peninsula. If until then the different dynasties, kingdoms and civilisations reached the Strait from the Peninsula itself and from the eastern Mediterranean (both by sea and by land), on this occasion the new flows came from the south, from the Sahara desert and the Sahel. By introducing a new geographic region, it also involved the influence of new cultures and a new economy; If before Islam the regional economy depended on fishing, now it was going to depend on the Saharan caravans trade (mainly gold), maintaining its strategic importance to ensure the passage of goods (and troops) from Africa to Europe and vice versa.

   Despite the importance of this dynasty, endorsed by the founding of cities and the construction of communications, hydraulic and defensive infrastructures on a continental level from the Sahel to southern Europe, it so happens that practically no notable construction elements have been found in any of the surrounding cities, despite the fact that ,in some cases, the sources speak of new walls and buildings, as is the case in Algeciras. However, numerous ceramics have appeared in various excavations in the city center that confirm the heyday that Algeciras had, used as the main base for the subsequent expansion of the Almoravids throughout the Iberian Peninsula.

   In Tarifa, renovation works are also being carried out in the Guzmán el Bueno castle, but at the same time there is an expansion of the medina with a new wall, of which stretches from that period are still preserved on the land front, although there are no studies that corroborate that they belong to the 11th century (they could be later constructions). If they were from the Almoravid Dynasty, they would be practically the most important testimony that has reached us so far in the entire Strait.

   The absence of archaeological studies does not allow us to identify visible or buried construction elements from the Almoravid era in Tangier, however it is very likely that renovation and consolidation works were carried out on the walls as well as new buildings in the city but, at the moment, the existence of an Almoravid material heritage cannot be asserted.

   Despite the chronicles of al-Bakri and the native al-Idrisi about Ceuta, there are no buildings from this period. Some archaeological excavations have shown that the Ajama mosque was indeed expanded (under the current cathedral), that the medina was densified and that the outskirts of the city were expanded, mainly on the Almina sector.

   According to historical sources, Ceuta would be the main city of the Strait, but if we base ourselves on the existing historical heritage, then it would be Tarifa, as long as it was confirmed that the walls of the first expansion were really from the 11th century.

5.03.03 Almohad Dynasty

   After the conquest of Marrakesh by the Almohads, they headed north and once established on the southern shore of the Strait, they proceeded to take al-Andalus. If until now the main route was chosen for maritime traffic, both commercial and military, the Almohads are going to favor a new route for the logistics of their army, improving the capacities of the ports of Alcazarseguer and Tarifa. This led to an extension of the city of Tarifa that saw its population increase considerably, with the construction of the Arrabal, which was limited by the castle and the medina on its southeast side and by a new wall with its respective towers and gates, some of them which are still visible.

   For the first time since Phoenician times, Gibraltar is occupied with the construction of Medinat al-Fath (the City of Victory). From this project it is not known what has been preserved, there is not even archaeological evidence of where it was built exactly, however it is considered that some elements of the entrance gate could have been modified and included in new constructions, as well as some stretches of rammed earth that would now form part of the north wall and the citadel. Nevertheless, all this has not been ratified by archaeological excavations.

   The port of Algeciras maintains its activity and the Almohad authorities dedicate resources to the maintenance of port and defensive infrastructures since the greatest investment goes to Tarifa and Gibraltar, as we have seen, but this does not mean that the city loses importance, at least from the religious, educational and cultural point of view, becoming the reference of the Strait. Nonetheless, archaeological excavations have only brought to light several 12th century housing structures and their corresponding ceramics, but no buildings or defensive elements have been preserved.

   In Tangier, the defensive structures of the citadel were renovated, but the rise of Ksar es-Seghir diminished the prominence and importance of the Tangier port. However, it is very likely that renovation and consolidation works were carried out on the walls of the citadel.

   In Ceuta, the Umayyad wall continues to perform its functions and reforms are carried out without knowing the reasons very well, as is the case of the dome of the tower next to the Caliphal Gate. Even if written sources describe another gate in the Umayyad wall by the Almohads, so far nothing has been found, but it is assumed that it is still inside the Royal Wall, in a section between the Caliphal Gate and the Coraza bastion, as explained by Fernando Villada analysing Zurara's Chronicle of the Taking of Ceuta (La Puerta Califal de Ceuta, génesis y evolución de la Muralla Real, pages 790-793). The only isolated building that remains are the Arab Baths in the Paz square, a construction begun in the 12th-13th centuries and which were renovated, reducing their dimensions, until they were abandoned at the beginning of the 15th century (Desvelar la Ceuta medieval: La aportación de la arqueología. Fernando Villada). In the Fernández alley, a part of the neighbourhood also appeared, built at the beginning of the 12th century (although graves with ceramic elements from the 9th and 10th centuries were found), with several streets, homes and a mosque or oratory (Una mezquita de barrio de la Ceuta mariní, Fernando Villada y José Manuel Hita Ruiz). In the Brull barracks, wall structures from the Almohad period were also excavated and allow us to affirm the occupation of Península de Almina at least from that time.

   As occurred in the Almoravid era, if the Almohad construction of the Arrabal walls in Tarifa is confirmed, these would be the most important testimony of our geographical area, but without disdaining the remains that appeared in Ceuta.

5.03.04 Merinid (and Nasrid) Caliphate

   The Nasrid kingdom of Granada was forced to ask for help from the Merinids, whose capital was Fez, to be able to confront the Castilian troops. They landed in Algeciras and used it as a base for their operations, becoming a kind of capital of the dynasty in European soil. This explains the works that were carried out to fortify the city and whose remains are visible on the northern walls, next to the María Cristina park. Furthermore, the Castilian siege revealed the difficulties in defending the city given the existence of higher positions next to the medina, so when it ended, it was decided to occupy the hill on the other side of the Miel River to build Villa Nueva with its walls, mosque, fortress... Of all this you can still see sections of walls and its towers around what was once Iulia Traducta, on the hill where the Reina Cristina hotel is located (Al-Bunayya, la Mansura de Algeciras, la fortificación de una ciudad meriní durante la batalla del Estrecho, 1275-1350. Rafael Jiménez-Camino).

   The Merinid Dynasty not only continued to use the site of Gibraltar but also restructured the defensive system with reforms, extensions and new constructions, as demonstrated by the archaeological excavations at the Puerta de Granada, the new tower of the citadel (which remains as is), the shipyards (the dry docks of said naval infrastructure have been found in Casemates square), the expansion of the urban fabric in the Tierras Bermejas area, the construction of the Turba wall (1859 plan and 1799 plan) (still existing), they also carried out hydraulic works such as cisterns that can be seen in Punta Europa. In short, this is the period in which the Islamic heritage is most present, although it should be clarified that it was the Merinid and Nasrid dynasties that disputed dominance interchangeably during the 13th and 14th centuries.

   La población de Tarifa, al igual que el resto de ciudades del Estrecho, aumentaba paulativamente y necesitaba nuevas extensiones de su trama urbana. Tras las ampliaciones al este del castillo de Guzmán el Bueno, con la Medina y la Aljaranda, se decidió construir el Arrabal, protegido por un recinto amurallado cuyos límites conforman el casco antiguo de la ciudad contemporánea. Ahora bien, por falta de estudios no se puede aseverar científicamente que los lienzos y torres existentes sean los originales meriníes pues se sabe que en épocas posteriores se ejecutaron numerosas obras de reforma y consolidación.

   The population of Tarifa, like the rest of the cities in the Strait, was gradually increasing and needed new extensions of its urban fabric. After the extensions to the east of the castle of Guzmán el Bueno, with the Medina and the Aljaranda, it was decided to build the Arrabal, protected by a walled enclosure whose limits make up the old town of the contemporary city. Now, due to lack of studies, it cannot be scientifically asserted that the existing wall stretches and towers are the original Merinid ones since it is known that in later times numerous reform and consolidation works were carried out.

   While the dynasty expanded throughout the south of the Peninsula and fought against the Castilian armies, it also had to face other enemies; the Ottomans to the east and the Saadi Dynasty arriving from the Drâa valley in Zagora to the south. Precisely with the latter, a kind of competition began to achieve not only military but also cultural primacy, which translated into the construction of religious and educational complexes. Of this educational legacy in Ceuta, only the foundations of the al-Jadida madrasa and its construction elements remain, although the Huerta Rufino site has made it possible to reconstruct, down to the smallest detail, the life of the inhabitants of Ceuta between the 13th and 13th centuries. XV, remains that corroborate the description of the city made by one of its inhabitants, al-Ansari. Other elements to highlight would be the Arab baths on Paz square. During the Merinid rule, an urban expansion occurred with the construction of a new city, al-Mansura, whose testimony is represented by the walls, doors and towers that made up its perimeter and that are found in the neighbourhoods of Villajovita and Zurrón (Al-Mansura, la ciudad olvidada. Fernando Villada y Pedro Gurriarán, coords).

   In addition to the works inside the medina of Tangier and the repairs of its defences, the Merinids also built infrastructure on the outskirts, such as the dockyards, known today as the Ghaylan citadel, 4 km from the city, and of which a perimeter of 200 m remains with its towers and access gates. Although these elements have been dated to the 14th century, it seems that the arsenal already existed in that location, at least, since the 11th century, but no construction elements have been identified. In any case, the researchers seem to be clear (even without having carried out archaeological studies) that the current walls of the kasbah present sections from the Umayyad period and other indeterminate ones that the Portuguese found when they took the city, therefore they must have been built between the 11th and 15th centuries.

   It is very likely that the most important Merinid footprint in our environment is that of Ceuta as it is more complete and varied; with dwellings, educational and cultural centers, leisure spaces and fortifications. In second place we would have the fortifications of Gibraltar.

5.04 Modern age

5.04.01 15th century

   The Christian advance towards the south of the Peninsula will lead them, at the end of the 13th century and the first half of the 14th, to a series of confrontations with the Merinids and Nasrids, with alternating recoveries and losses, both in Tarifa and Algeciras and Gibraltar. These sieges and conquests prevent new buildings from being built and efforts are focused on reinforcing and repairing the existing fortifications in these three cities. However, since Tarifa was definitively taken by the Castilians in 1292, they did later create some new elements, such as the coracha, parallel to the medieval one to connect the castle with the albarrana tower.

   In Algeciras, the aforementioned alternation ended in 1379 with the abandonment and destruction by the Nasrids after finding themselves defenceless and isolated by land and sea, taking refuge in Gibraltar, where they remained until its capture by Castilian troops in 1462. Although the kingdom Nasrid continued to hold Granada, the northern shore of the Strait became controlled exclusively by the Crown of Castile. Once reestablished in control over the northern shore of the Strait, Gibraltar entered a period of decline as it was no longer so vital to maintaining maritime supremacy.

   In 1415 an unprecedented event occurred, the attack on Ceuta from the Atlantic. If since the arrival of the Phoenicians the occupation of the city had been carried out from the Mediterranean, from African territories or from the southern coasts of the Peninsula, in the 15th century the kingdom of Portugal began an expansion that started in Ceuta and that a century later would take it to the coasts of China and South America. The arrival of this new actor will mean a sudden change in the appearance of the main cities and ports on the southern shore of the Strait.

   Before the arrival of the Portuguese fleet, the city of Ceuta had achieved a notable urban development with the densification of the Almina, the construction of new cities, citadels and neighbourhoods (al-Mansura, Hacho, Belyounech...), but the Portuguese irruption and its small number of soldiers meant that only the City Enclosure was occupied, leaving the Almina and the Hacho completely abandoned (this fact has made it possible for archaeological sites such as Huerta Rufino, from the Merinid period, to have survived until the 90s of the past century intact although covered by earth). It should be noted that for a century the Umayyad wall (slightly transformed by the Almohads) continued to fulfil its defensive function. The sources also speak of buildings built in the City Enclosure, of which there is only confirmation through archaeological remains, mainly ceramics and metal elements. However, in the Almina, an old mosque is reused as a church and has come down to us as the parish of Nuestra Señora del Valle. Already in the 16th century, references appear to a building on Mount Hacho used by hermitages and which today we know as the hermitage of San Antonio.

   The Portuguese arrived in Tangier in 1471, after the conquest of Ceuta and Ksar es-Seghir, and as we have previously indicated, they found a kasbah of considerable size, delimited by walls that underwent numerous reforms and modifications since the 10th century. There is no information reliable about the existence of a wall around the Islamic medina, among other things because it is not known exactly where that city could have been; Some researchers propose it to the south of the decumanus (Siaghine Street that goes from the large souk to the small souk), others to the south of the wall of Portugal Street and others to the west of the current medina.

   In a complex moment in history, with alternation of power in different cities and the use of pre-existing fortifications, there does not seem to be one that stands out, beyond the Merinid heritage that remained in use until the beginning of the 15th century but that we have included in the previous section.

5.04.02 16th century

   After having used the Umayyad wall of Ceuta for a century (also renovated by the Almohads), in this century the Portuguese military engineers began the construction of the Royal Wall with its two bastions and barbican, and the navigable moat that are still preserved (works started in 1543 and finished in 1549). In addition to the Royal Wall, the reforms of the north and south walls of the City Enclosure are also visible with the construction of some bastions and extensions of towers to house artillery (elements that are still visible), later, they were altered by the successive maintenance works.

   In Tangier, during the first years of the century, defensive efforts were concentrated on the construction of the New Castle, next to the sea front and on the shells to protect the port. At the end of the 16th century, the construction of the bastions was completed to make the kasbah impassable, in which both the medieval kasbah and the governor's palace or new castle built in the first years of the Portuguese presence were located. ((Re)claiming Walls: The Fortified Médina of Tangier under Portuguese Rule (1471-1662) and as a Modern Heritage Artefact, Martin Malcolm Elbl).

   On the other side of the Strait, a series of beacon towers are built between Gibraltar and Ayamonte, some of which are in Tarifa, now converted into lighthouses such as the Caraminal one (also called the Cabo de Enmedio tower) or the Tarifa one in the Isla de las Palomas (La Isla de Tarifa. Una fortaleza en el Parque Natural del Estrecho, Juan Antonio Patrón Sandoval) or incorporated into homes (Valdevaqueros tower), the rest are isolated and unused (de la Peña, Cabo de la Plata, del Rayo and Río Guadalmedina), all of them registered as BIC.

   Algeciras is also part of this regional coastal defence project; The Fraile's tower and the Almirante's tower still remain (Almenaras en el estrecho de Gibraltar. Las torres de la costa de la Comandancia General del Campo de Gibraltar. Ángel Sáez Rodriguez).

   In addition to the beacon towers, in Tarifa the urban fabric is completed with new dwellings or by renovating existing ones, some of which continue to maintain this use (and are protected by the PGOU). Churches are also built, such as the Iglesia Mayor de San Mateo, begun in the 16th century (with renovations and extensions carried out until the 19th century), the church of San Francisco (16th-18th century), (Plan Especial de Protección y Reforma Interior del Conjunto Histórico de Tarifa).

   Despite the abandonment by the authorities, Gibraltar maintained a population, but was unable to preserve its defences, quite battered after centuries of conflict. This situation is taken advantage of by pirates from North Africa who carry out looting and take hostages. To prevent pirate incursions during the 16th century, the construction of the wall of Charles V was ordered, which protects the southern front of the city in a zigzag route, from west to east, from the port to the top of the mountain and which is still standing intact. They were also built the north and south docks, Grand Battery, the Line Wall that joined North Bastion and South Bastion and to which they added new gun platforms; Orange Bastion, King's Bastion, Wellington Front North Demi-Bastion and Wellington Front South Demi-Bastion. All these fortified elements are still visible (The people of Gibraltar. Neville Chipulina).

   It is difficult to choose a city that stands out for its 16th century heritage. Tangier would be because of its dimensions, Gibraltar because it established the bases of the fortifications practically until the Second World War, but perhaps the most complex, richest and that had a greater impact are those of Ceuta, due to the execution of the navigable moat (a technical issue difficult to solve, especially because they were carried out at the same time as attacks were taking place) and because they relied on the existing walls (Umayyad, Byzantine and Roman).

5.04.03 17th century

   Although the reconquest had allowed a pacification of hostilities in the Strait, from the 17th century onwards, pirate raids intensified, which were also reinforced by the alliances with the navies of the Netherlands and Denmark that attacked Gibraltar. Faced with this situation, Spain allows the use of Gibraltar as a naval base by the British fleet, which also wanted to eradicate piracy (as they were beginning to reach its own islands) and oppose the French and Dutch navies. In reality, what they intended was to take a point on the peninsular coast to establish a garrison. The instability caused a new dock and new batteries to be run. The development of navigation and its warships had expanded the area of interest and action of countries far from this geographical space.

   In 1661, after the marriage between Charles II and Catherine Henrietta, Portugal ceded Tangier to the British crown. For a short period of time the British built the city's first dock but in 1684 they decided to abandon it, due to the cost it entailed for London and the attacks to which Mouley Ismail's troops subjected them. During the evacuation, the main fortifications were demolished using explosives, a fact that has greatly hindered the understanding of Tangier's heritage until practically the 18th century (Tangier England’s Lost Atlantic Outpost, E.M.G. Routh). Shortly after, the British were going to achieve their goals of exercising control over the Strait with the capture of Gibraltar in 1704.

   After the separation of the kingdoms of Spain and Portugal in 1640, the citizens of Ceuta decided, by referendum, to remain under the designs of the Spanish crown. In addition to the reinforcements in the existing walls, buildings began to be built, among which the supply warehouse (1699) stands out.

5.04.04 18th century

   The beginning of the 18th century was marked in Ceuta by the siege of Mouley Ismail (1694-1727), which revealed the need to reinforce and improve the defensive system carried out by the Portuguese on the land front, but also by the taking of Gibraltar by the English in 1704. The threat of the British fleet was going to force fortification works to be carried out throughout the city. Ceuta continued to have a strategic importance from which to control the Strait and thus monitor the movements of the English and corsairs, which is why it suffered land sieges (by the Moroccans) and naval blockades (by the English and French) throughout the century. Faced with this situation, the decision was made to apply Vauban's theories and proceed to build 3 advanced lines with respect to the navigable moat with ravelins, lunettes and a whole network of underground galleries. Most of these elements still exist except those in the third line. To the east of the Royal Wall, bomb-proof vaults were built that became, a century later, artillery barracks (today used as rooms at the Parador La Muralla). Polygonal bastions were also built in the Almina and Mount Hacho (San Juan de Dios, San Sebastián, San Francisco, San José, de la Pólvora, San Carlos...), batteries along the entire coastal perimeter to house artillery pieces and thus maintain away from enemy fleets (Fuente Caballos, San Pedro Bajo, Abastos, Pino Gordo, Sauciño, Punta Almina, de la Palmera, del Molino, del Espino...), powder magazines... At the top of the mountain the existing wall is reinforced with polygonal bastions on each corner (Tenaza, San Amaro, San Antonio, Málaga and Fuente Cubierta). But not only fortifications were built, also convents and churches, some of which still stand (San Francisco, Los Remedios and Santa María de África).

   Once the city of Tangier was recovered, throughout the 18th century, Mouley Ismail undertook the arduous task of rebuilding the city and also repopulating it. Among the most important works, and which has partially survived to this day, is the great mosque, built on the same plot on which the Portuguese had built their cathedral, but it is unknown if anything remains of it. In the kasbah, a palace was built for the governor's residence (today the kasbah museum) and a mosque, both in use.

   The War of the Spanish Succession, at the beginning of the 18th century, gave rise to a European conflict in which England, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, the Duchy of Savoy and some German states wanted to prevent at all costs Spain and France from allying themselves, or even unifying, exercising unprecedented power over Europe, the Mediterranean and the Americas. One of the consequences of this historical event was the capture of Gibraltar by the English and Dutch fleets in 1704, after which the population (about 4,000 people) abandoned the city and settled around Algeciras and in a camp that was later became the city of San Roque.

   For a long period of time, Algeciras remained abandoned, practically until the beginning of the 18th century, which did not prevent some farming families from settling in its surroundings since the 17th century and reusing some buildings, such as the hermitage on which it would later be built. the current chapel of Nuestra Señora de Europa or the church of Nuestra Señora de la Palma (1723-1804). After the loss of Gibraltar (1704), the authorities became convinced of the need to fortify Tarifa and the bay of Algeciras because both the British, the Dutch and the French were threatening their conquest with their fleets and thus being able to control the Strait. Although numerous projects were carried out in Tarifa, in this century only the forts of Isla Verde (1734), San García (1730), El Tolmo (1741-1810) and the Punta Carnero tower were built, all of them in Algeciras. Given the impossibility of recovering Gibraltar, it was decided to rebuild the city following the plans of the military engineer Jorge Próspero de Verboom, urban planning of which a part that corresponds to the urban center has been maintained.

   Throughout the 18th century, Spain and its ally France tried to recover Gibraltar since London had not undertaken any extensive plan to fortify it, not considering it a strategic enclave, just a maritime post. However, during this century the first sections of tunnels excavated in rock were built to cover blind spots in the defensive line, bastions (King's Bastion), walls, batteries on the upper levels of the mountain (Middle Hill, Green's Lodge, Rock Gun, Princess Royal's, Princess Anne's, Princess Amelia's...) and powder magazines (Willis' Magazine) with the aim of stopping the sieges to which the city was subjected and which, although they were not successful, caused the destruction of a large area of the city. As part of the reconstruction, the Royal Victually Yard was built, whose Italian engineer-builder (Giovanni Maria Boschetti) was subsequently responsible for numerous buildings from the same period, imprinting an architectural style on the buildings in the city center (The Rock of the Gibraltarians. William Jackson).   

   It seems clear that the works on the land front in Ceuta applying Vauban's theories make the complex the most important in the Strait, perhaps followed by the works carried out by the British in the Rock.

5.05 Contemporary Age

5.05.01 19th century

   At the end of the 18th century and during the next, coinciding with the opening of Morocco to the international market, Tangier began work on its port and new official buildings (such as the palace for Sultan Moulay Hafid, today the Palace of Italian Institutions) and it welcomes the diplomatic representation of numerous countries thanks to its position on the Strait of Gibraltar, which involves the construction of buildings by the different foreign communities that settle in the city; consulates (American, Spanish, Portuguese, French...), churches, synagogues, hospitals, schools, cultural buildings, dwellings... These constructions are carried out, first, on land reclaimed from the sea (where the Kursaal is located today) along to the port, in the axis of the Souk Chico and to the west of the citadel, already outside the medina. Buildings that can still be seen although most have changed use.

   The weakness of the Sultan of Morocco made it possible for the land near the land front to be taken in the mid-19th century, thus expanding the limits of the city of Ceuta, although it marked the beginning of a war with Morocco (1859-1860), after which 9 forts were built (of which 7 remain) to exercise control over the new border (the neomedieval forts mentioned above). The need to quarter troops led to the construction of new barracks such as the Cuartel de la Reina, now known as the Cuartel de Ingenieros and headquarters of the University of Granada.

   After years of carrying out projects on paper, work began to protect Tarifa with the fortifications of the land front (access gate, curtains, batteries) of the Isla de las Palomas (1818) (La Isla de Tarifa. Una fortaleza en el Parque Natural del Estrecho, Juan Antonio Patrón Sandoval) and its connection with the continent. A contradictory event occurred in these years, when the War of Independence was declared, the United Kingdom allied itself with Spain to prevent French expansion, whose plans included the capture of Tarifa and thus be able to control the Strait. To avoid this, the British decided to plan and execute the works on the island's fortifications, which, after the construction of the canal, could allow an assault on the city from it. The historic center of Tarifa is also consolidated, building both houses and public buildings; warehouses, churches (Sanctuary of Our Lady of Light), fountains, the food market... that still remain standing.

   On the other hand, Algeciras is once again consolidating its position in the bay, establishing itself as a base from which to carry out actions against Gibraltar (without success), while the city develops urban planning, with buildings but also with green spaces such as María Cristina park (1834) declared BIC. At the end of the 19th century, the most important work in Algeciras was the railway, which in some way was going to reveal the need to build a port since the existing wooden dock was not enough for the traffic that was beginning to develop, hence the construction of the port of Algeciras began at the beginning of the 20th century.

   At the beginning of the 19th century, the Napoleonic Wars provided an impetus for the development of Gibraltar, becoming a base for the Royal Navy from which to carry out actions and participate in conflicts, such as the Battle of Trafalgar, port blockades or the Crimean War. The port was complemented by infrastructures carried out by the British Empire in its African and Indian colonies, such as the Suez Canal, since the arrival of the steamship made it possible to establish a maritime route between the British Isles and India, making stops at the ports of Suez, Valletta and Gibraltar. Greater relevance necessarily implied the improvement of public services, such as St Bernard's hospital (now a school), the cathedral of the Holy Trinity, libraries…

   The development of fortifications and that of the cities themselves, considering their civil character, begins to be similar in each of the localities. If we had to choose based on civil architecture, Tangier and Gibraltar would be equal; In relation to the fortifications, they would be Tarifa and Ceuta, but perhaps the latter would stand out for the uniqueness of the neomedieval forts.

5.05.02 20th century

   The colonial expansionism initiated by European countries on the African continent at the end of the 19th century led to the establishment of a Spanish protectorate in the north of Morocco (1912-1956), having a great impact on the development of Ceuta, both infrastructure level, with the construction of the port and the railway that linked the city with Tetouan (whose railway station has recently been rehabilitated), as well as architectural, with the construction of dwellings and civil public buildings (town hall, central market, maritime station) and military (military hospital, bunkers on the coastal perimeter). Since the 10s of the 20th century, the city has become an architectural laboratory with regionalist, rationalist, modern, naval buildings... some of them truly avant-garde for their time if we compare them with those built in Europe in that same period (like the dwellings “Portaaviones” by Gaspar and José Blein from 1928).

   Tangier also intensified its urban development starting in 1912 with the establishment of the French and Spanish protectorates in Moroccan territory, and especially starting in 1923 with the status imposed on the city, the International Zone of Tangier, by which control of the it was divided between various countries, Spain, France and the United Kingdom in the first instance and later Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy. The appearance of neighbourhoods associated with each of the countries forces the development of urban plans to bring order to the construction frenzy in which a kind of competition is established to see who imposes their influence (cultural, architectural...). A century after the declaration of the International Zone of Tangier, we find ourselves facing an architectural heritage that reflects diverse styles and that refers not only to different historical moments, but also to various European cultures, with the corresponding impact on the city's population, even today.

   In a certain way, Algeciras regains its importance as a port city, on the one hand serving as a maritime connection with the Spanish protectorate of Morocco, through the port of Ceuta, on the other hand, providing logistical support with the landing of troops arriving from the north of Africa and who rose up in 1936 against the government of the Republic. Later, in the 60s and 70s, it was developed industrially along with other locations in the bay, until it became what it is today, the second industrial complex in Spain and the first port in freight traffic in the Mediterranean. In fact, the port has been the great economic engine of the city and the region and although it has not meant quality urban and architectural development, it is true that in the 20th century buildings that are now declared BIC have been built, such as the Central Market or Mercado Ingeniero Torroja (1934-1935), Kursaal Secondary Education Institute (1935) and the School of Arts and Crafts (1968); or protected by the PGOU, the  Acacias park and Smith garden (1975), Florida cinema (1944), the fire station (1950) and the bus station and hotel (1961-1973).

   With the outbreak of the Second World War, the Strait became another theatre of war, in which Tangier and Gibraltar played a key role in serving as a bridgehead for the Allies' operations in North Africa and which they meant the beginning of the end of the conflict. In the first years of the war a program was launched in Gibraltar for the construction of 50 kilometres of tunnels, reinforcement of the existing fortifications, expansion of the batteries to locate anti-aircraft artillery, construction of the airport, of bunkers on the east side to avoid landings, expansion of the port, barracks, warehouses... After the war, the military presence of the United Kingdom in the region was decreasing in favor of NATO and the United States, although work on the tunnels continued (completed in 1968). From 1969 to 1982, Gibraltar's land border remained closed but its opening, together with the entry of Spain into the European Economic Community and NATO, caused Gibraltar to emerge from a certain isolation, beginning a new economic period and urban development, with land reclaimed from the sea.

   On the other hand, the regime established in Spain after the Civil War feared an action by the British, so it launched a plan to fortify the bay of Algeciras through different defensive lines in which concrete bunkers were built to house artillery pieces and machine guns, paying special attention to the isthmus that separated Gibraltar from La Línea. Many of these fortifications are today abandoned (España ante la Segunda Guerra Mundial. El sistema defensivo contemporáneo del Campo de Gibraltar. Ángel Sáez Rodríguez).

   In addition to the fortifications, the Franco regime launched a plan throughout the country to consolidate the rural population through the construction of colonisation towns. Very close to Tarifa is Tahivilla, built in 1944 and with numerous elements of popular Andalusian architecture.

   At the level of fortifications, and given Gibraltar's involvement in the conflict, the works undertaken of this type are the most important. However, if we look at civil architecture, its variety of styles and typologies, then we would highlight Tangier and Ceuta.

Credits texts, photos and drawings: Carlos Pérez Marín