Copyright © 2010 by "JJK THomson" · All Rights reserved · E-Mail: julian@ruralspain.info
Spain Travel insurance
the best insurance cover for your needs from one of
the UK's leading direct sell travel insurance providers.
All claims dealt with quickly, fairly and efficiently.
the best insurance cover for your needs from one of
the UK's leading direct sell travel insurance providers.
All claims dealt with quickly, fairly and efficiently.
Your Advert Here
Get your business seen contact us and get you advert placed in the sidebar of this Website today
Get your business seen contact us and get you advert placed in the sidebar of this Website today
The Home Page
Visit HP today the ideal home page for you, with links to all your favorite sites.
Visit HP today the ideal home page for you, with links to all your favorite sites.
EU-Properties
Buy or sell your Spanish home without the agents fees. Visit eu-properties.com today and save money or find a bargain property in Spain.
Buy or sell your Spanish home without the agents fees. Visit eu-properties.com today and save money or find a bargain property in Spain.
Swapsey.com
Swap your unused or unwanted items with swapsey.com or if your in Spain visit swapsey.eu
Swap your unused or unwanted items with swapsey.com or if your in Spain visit swapsey.eu
The website For everyone thinking of Relocating or Having a Holiday in Southern Spain
Search this website
Ceuta
The 2nd of September is the official day of the Ceuta
The 1st of November is the day of All Saints.
Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain located on the North African side of the Strait of Gibraltar, on the Mediterranean, which separates it from the Spanish mainland. The area of Ceuta is approximately 28 km².
Ceuta is dominated by a hill called Monte Hacho, on which there is a fort used by the Spanish Army. Monte Hacho is one of the possible locations for the southern Pillars of Hercules of Greek Legend, the other possibility being Jebel Musa.
Ceuta s strategic location has made it the crucial waypoint of many cultures trade and military ventures — beginning with the Carthaginians in the 5th century BC, who called the city Abyla. It was not until the Romans took control in about A.D. 42 that the port city (then named Septem) assumed an almost exclusive military purpose. Approximately 400 years later, the Vandals ousted the Romans from control, and later it fell to the Visigoths of Hispania and the Byzantines.
In 710, as Muslim armies approached the city, its Byzantine governor Julian (also described as "king of the Ghomara") changed sides and urged them to invade the Iberian Peninsula. Under the leadership of Berber general Tariq ibn Ziyad, Ceuta was used as a prime staging ground for an assault on Visigothic Hispania soon after.
After Julian s death the Arabs took direct control of the city; this was resented by the surrounding indigenous Berber tribes, who destroyed it in a Kharijite rebellion led by Maysara al-Haqir in 740. It lay in waste until refounded in the 9th century by Majakas, chief of the Majkasa Berber tribe, who started the short-lived dynasty of the Banu Isam. Under his great-grandson they briefly paid allegiance to the Idrisids; the dynasty finally ended when he abdicated in favour of the Umayyad Caliph of Cordoba Abd ar-Rahman III in 931, so the city returned to the Hispanic Andalusian rule like Melilla in 927 and Tanger in 951. Chaos ensued with the fall of the Umayyad caliphate in 1031, but eventually Ceuta, together with the rest of Muslim Spain were taken over by the Almoravids in 1084. The Almoravids were succeeded by the Almohads who conquered Ceuta in 1147 ruling it, apart from Ibn Hud s rebellion of 1232, until the Hafsids of Tunisia took it in 1242. The Hafsids influence in the west rapidly waned, and the city expelled them in 1249; after this, it went through a period of political instability during which the city was disputed between the Kingdom of Fez and the Kingdom of Granada.
In 1387, Ceuta was conquered for the last time by the Kingdom of Fez, with Aragonese help.
In 1415, Ceuta was occupied by the Portuguese during the reign of John I of Portugal. (Battle of Ceuta)
After Portugal lost its independence to Spain in 1580, the majority of the population of Ceuta became of Spanish origin. This went to the extent of Ceuta being the only city of the Portuguese Empire that sided with Spain when Portugal regained its independence in 1640 and war broke out between the two countries.
The formal allegiance of Ceuta to Spain was recognized by the Treaty of Lisbon by which, on January 1, 1668, King Afonso VI of Portugal formally ceded Ceuta to Carlos II of Spain. However, the originally Portuguese flag and coat of arms of Ceuta remained unchanged and modern day Ceuta flag features the configuration of the Portuguese shield. The flag s background is also the same as that of the flag of Lisbon.
When Spain recognized the independence of Spanish Morocco in 1956, Ceuta and the other plazas de soberanía remained under Spanish rule as they were considered integral parts of the Spanish state.
Culturally, modern Ceuta is considered part of the Spanish region of Andalusia. Indeed, it was until recently attached to the province of Cádiz - the Spanish coast being only 20 km away. It is a very cosmopolitan city, with a large ethnic Berber Muslim minority as well as a Sephardic Jewish minority.
On November 5, 2007, King Juan Carlos I visited the city, sparking great enthusiasm from the local population and protests from the Moroccan government . It was the first time a Spanish head of state had visited Ceuta in 80 years
The 2nd of September is the official day of the Ceuta
The 1st of November is the day of All Saints.
Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain located on the North African side of the Strait of Gibraltar, on the Mediterranean, which separates it from the Spanish mainland. The area of Ceuta is approximately 28 km².
Ceuta is dominated by a hill called Monte Hacho, on which there is a fort used by the Spanish Army. Monte Hacho is one of the possible locations for the southern Pillars of Hercules of Greek Legend, the other possibility being Jebel Musa.
Ceuta s strategic location has made it the crucial waypoint of many cultures trade and military ventures — beginning with the Carthaginians in the 5th century BC, who called the city Abyla. It was not until the Romans took control in about A.D. 42 that the port city (then named Septem) assumed an almost exclusive military purpose. Approximately 400 years later, the Vandals ousted the Romans from control, and later it fell to the Visigoths of Hispania and the Byzantines.
In 710, as Muslim armies approached the city, its Byzantine governor Julian (also described as "king of the Ghomara") changed sides and urged them to invade the Iberian Peninsula. Under the leadership of Berber general Tariq ibn Ziyad, Ceuta was used as a prime staging ground for an assault on Visigothic Hispania soon after.
After Julian s death the Arabs took direct control of the city; this was resented by the surrounding indigenous Berber tribes, who destroyed it in a Kharijite rebellion led by Maysara al-Haqir in 740. It lay in waste until refounded in the 9th century by Majakas, chief of the Majkasa Berber tribe, who started the short-lived dynasty of the Banu Isam. Under his great-grandson they briefly paid allegiance to the Idrisids; the dynasty finally ended when he abdicated in favour of the Umayyad Caliph of Cordoba Abd ar-Rahman III in 931, so the city returned to the Hispanic Andalusian rule like Melilla in 927 and Tanger in 951. Chaos ensued with the fall of the Umayyad caliphate in 1031, but eventually Ceuta, together with the rest of Muslim Spain were taken over by the Almoravids in 1084. The Almoravids were succeeded by the Almohads who conquered Ceuta in 1147 ruling it, apart from Ibn Hud s rebellion of 1232, until the Hafsids of Tunisia took it in 1242. The Hafsids influence in the west rapidly waned, and the city expelled them in 1249; after this, it went through a period of political instability during which the city was disputed between the Kingdom of Fez and the Kingdom of Granada.
In 1387, Ceuta was conquered for the last time by the Kingdom of Fez, with Aragonese help.
In 1415, Ceuta was occupied by the Portuguese during the reign of John I of Portugal. (Battle of Ceuta)
After Portugal lost its independence to Spain in 1580, the majority of the population of Ceuta became of Spanish origin. This went to the extent of Ceuta being the only city of the Portuguese Empire that sided with Spain when Portugal regained its independence in 1640 and war broke out between the two countries.
The formal allegiance of Ceuta to Spain was recognized by the Treaty of Lisbon by which, on January 1, 1668, King Afonso VI of Portugal formally ceded Ceuta to Carlos II of Spain. However, the originally Portuguese flag and coat of arms of Ceuta remained unchanged and modern day Ceuta flag features the configuration of the Portuguese shield. The flag s background is also the same as that of the flag of Lisbon.
When Spain recognized the independence of Spanish Morocco in 1956, Ceuta and the other plazas de soberanía remained under Spanish rule as they were considered integral parts of the Spanish state.
Culturally, modern Ceuta is considered part of the Spanish region of Andalusia. Indeed, it was until recently attached to the province of Cádiz - the Spanish coast being only 20 km away. It is a very cosmopolitan city, with a large ethnic Berber Muslim minority as well as a Sephardic Jewish minority.
On November 5, 2007, King Juan Carlos I visited the city, sparking great enthusiasm from the local population and protests from the Moroccan government . It was the first time a Spanish head of state had visited Ceuta in 80 years
