Melilla has always been linked to the sea, since the Phoenicians first established a trading post called Rusadir or Ryssadirum – on the trade routes to the Western Mediterranean – through the arrival of the Spaniards, who entrusted us with the task of monitoring the south of the Alboran Sea, the name of the maritime region between Spain and Morocco before the entrance to the Atlantic Ocean.
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This region is full of wonderful coves, islets, headlands and inlets that have given its people a seafaring character. In another era, this morphology allowed the area to be plagued by Barbary and Ottoman pirates’ ships, which struggled with the Spanish galleons’ supremacy in this part of the Mediterranean. Other territories linked to Melilla and Spain, such as Chafarinas, Alhucemas Island and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, were, in other times, famous privateer settlements. For this reason, they still maintain and are protected by Spanish garrisons.
Today, our region – especially our city – enjoys the results of a rich history. Midway between the Western and Eastern world, between the 20th and 21st centuries, we enjoy one of the Mediterranean’s most varied and vibrant cultures, from our gastronomy to our way of understanding life.
Our Port and our city have not been left behind. We are a modern Spanish and European city with the largest range of services on offer in this part of the Mediterranean. We are well connected with the rest of Spain through our airport, with more than 15 daily flights, and through our regular maritime passenger services, connected to the southern coast of Spain up to four times a day.
In addition, our city is the equal of any European city, with its first-rate public hospitals and private clinics, excellent university education, and shopping centres and downtown streets where you can lose yourself in a day of retail therapy
For your copy of the new Handbook or more details about the Port of Melilla or Melilla as a unique and exciting destination contact:
Jaime Bustillo Gálvez
Jefe de Planificación Estratégica
[email protected]
Autoridad Portuaria de Melilla
Avda. de la Marina Española, 4 (52001 – Melilla)
Telf.: 952 67 36 00
