The Southern Pilar…Ceuta and the Maranid Wall

Gaze across the blue Mediterranean at Europe while feeling the vast African continent breathing down your neck, and then remember, you’re in Spain. Confused? You wouldn’t be the first. Hidden behind the southernmost of the two pillars Hercules dropped at the entrance to this civilization-cradling sea lies this tiny Spanish enclave you never learned about in geography class. Homer wrote about Ceuta. Ibn Battutah set off from it. The Moroccan government sometimes complains about it (just as the Spanish government complains about Gibraltar), and if you’re on your way to or from Morocco, you’ll probably pass right through it. But rather than dash for the hideous border crossing, take a break, relax, and remember that the ferries leave every hour. After all, it’s not everyday you can say you’ve been in Europe in Africa.

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