Why Spanish Cities in Africa are Fortified Like Prisons

Spain has a total land border of 1,191.7 miles long that is shared by five countries: Andorra, France, Portugal, and the United Kingdom make 4. To get a better picture of the fifth country we have to zoom in a little closer to reveal several specks of land that are actually Spanish territories across the Mediterranean sea in Africa. We almost never think of Africa and Europe as having a land border but these are only pieces of European territory on mainland Africa - a political and legal reality that has never been recognized by Morocco, which has continued to demand their return.

Despite being situated on a different continent, these parts represent Africa’s only land borders with Europe stretching a combined 11.8 miles, through enclaves of Melilla and Ceuta along with a bunch of four other unimportant rocky islands which are all Spanish soil and thus part of the European Union. The cities of Ceuta and Melilla feel just like the rest of Spain: the same language, food, architecture, and currency. You might as well be in mainland Europe. The two are separated from the rest of Europe by the Mediterranean, and separated from the rest of Africa by some of the most fortified border fences on the planet.

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