If you are like me you never heard of Ceuta until a week or so ago when many migrants – some report over 60,000 – went from Morocco to the Spanish exclave. Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain but it’s not in Europe. It’s on the North African coast and is bordered by Morocco. It lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.
You are probably more familiar with its neighbor across the sea, Gibraltar. The Strait of Gibraltar, which connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Europe from Africa, measures about 8.8 miles at its narrowest point, between Tarifa in Spain and Ceuta on the African coast near Morocco. Ferries cross between the two continents every day in as little as 35 minutes. The strait spans a total length of approximately 36 miles. Its narrow width has made it a critical maritime passage for trade, military movement, and human migration for thousands of years, serving as a natural gateway between Europe and Africa. The strait lies in the territorial waters of Morocco, Spain, and the British overseas territory of Gibraltar.
In this special episode we will focus mostly on Ceuta and a similar Spanish neighbor Melilla. And we will see how the Labors of Hercules are important to the geography.
