Melilla, the door of Africa

Where is Melilla?

Melilla is sited in the north coast of Africa in front of the city of Almeria. It is a spanish colony since 1497 but its strategic situation made of Melilla an important place to conquer for all the mediterranean civilizations

The History, cross of civilizations

The city of Melilla has its origins in the Phoenician colonization of the western Mediterranean. There he founded a large factory with the name of Rusadir. Since the sixth century was part of the Roman dominion. The emperor Claudius gives the place the status of Cologne.

In the year 429, after passing through the Iberian Peninsula, the Vandals went to the north of Africa, ravaging the provinces of Mauritania, in its march towards Carthage. It seems that Melilla was destroyed, and rebuilt later, probably by the Byzantines.

With the Muslim expansion, the area around Melilla was conquered by the end of the seventh century. Muslims gave the city the name of Melilla.

During the fifteenth century begun the expansion of Portugal to the kingdom of Fez. This expansion will join the Catholic Monarchs after the conquest of the kingdom of Granada in 1492 and In 1497, is the conquest of the city by Spanish troops.

Since 1982, Morocco claims the city of Ceuta, as part of its territory. For its part, the Government of Spain has never had any kind of negotiation in this regard.

The old Melilla. Footprints of times

Melilla la Vieja, or "The Village" as is called by the inhabitants, and also known as The Ciudadela, includes the fortified compound that was built in the XV century on the rock where was sited Rusadir . Destroyed and rebuilt several times throughout history, as a result of invasions by Vandals and Arabs, or the infighting of the Berber tribes. This set consists of four monumental enclosures separated by a ditch. The first three in the sea direction and the fourth to the continent.

The new melilla. The modernism style

After the agreements between Spain and Morocco that allowed the expansion of the territory of Melilla, the city begins in the twentieth century a new cycle in which civil society arrived from the Spain replacing the military troops













Modernism got to Melilla thanks to Enrique Nieto, a disciple of the Catalan architect Domenec i Montaner, who arrived to Melilla in 1909, finding the identity and place that was looking for to experiment and be a protagonist. So the new Melilla looks similar to the Eixample of Barcelona, what is amazing to see if you have been in both cities.

Gastronomy and Shopping in Melilla. Enjoy the best

The coexistence of cultures leads to a coexistence of gastronomies, which enhances the exquisite pleasure of eating out in Melilla. Stuns at the beginning the great variety of dishes and cuisines, but when one gets used, just enjoy it.


about shopping, only have to say that Melilla is tax free. and free port. wich means all kind of shopping centers with all the branches you may look for.