Morocco Travel Guide

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5    Museo  de  Arqueologia e   Historia
6 Museo Militar
7 Palacia de la Asamblea
8 Playa de la Ensanada de los Galápagos
9 Puerta de la Marina
10 Trasmediterránea

    Sleeping
11 Hostal La Rosa Blanca
12 Hostal Residencia Cazaza
13 Hotel Anfora
14 Hotel Nacional
15 Hotel Rusadir

    Eating
16 Antony Pizza Factory
17 Café Rossy
18 Casa Marta
19 La Cervecería
20 La Pérgola
21 La Vinacoteca
22 Real Club Marítimo

Information
23 Oficina del Turismo Kiosk
24 Tourist Office
25 Viajes Melilla

Transport
26 Buses to Border
27 Estación Marítima

Melilla is very easy on the traveller, and tourist infrastructure is excellent. While ferry-loads of
visitors pour in during summer, in the low season you’ll have plenty of breathing room.


Melilla oozes with history, but it is neither as broad nor as deep as you might expect. While
the area has been inhabited for more than 2000 years, the old city wasn’t begun until after
Spanish conquest in 1496, then built up in four stages. Up until the end of the 19th century,
virtually all of Melilla was contained within a single impregnable fortress. Current borders were
fixed by several treaties with Morocco between 1859 and 1894, the last following an
unsuccessful siege by rebellious Rif Berbers. The method involved shooting a cannonball and
seeing how far it went. More fighting with rebel Berbers broke out several times in the ensuing
years, until the Spanish protectorate consolidated its grip in 1927. In 1936, Franco flew here
from the Canary Islands to launch the Spanish Civil War. Local politics still tip to the right.


Melilla is a semicircle of 12 sq km carved out of the Moroccan coastline. The old town,
Melilla la Vieja, is a highly complex, multilevel fortress that juts out into the sea. It contains
numerous museums, as well as some small residential areas. The port and major beaches lie
to the south, with the ferry terminal directly east.

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