Where is Tarifa located?
Tarifa is located in the southern part of Spain. This small town is famous for having the southernmost point in Europe on the tiny island of Islas de las Palomas, which belongs to the town. It is officially recognized as Cape Marocchi, to which leads a narrow isthmus. It is a narrow isthmus that leads to a lighthouse.
In administrative terms, where Tarifa is located is in the province of Cadiz, in the Campo de Gibraltar district, which belongs to the autonomous region of Andalusia. It is at the shores of this city that the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. From the Spanish coast, the outlines of the coastal areas of North Africa are visible. The nearest Moroccan port, Tangier, is only 14 kilometers across the Strait of Gibraltar. It can be reached in just 35-40 minutes by ferry.
The municipality of the city covers 419 km². Tarifa has a population of 17,800 inhabitants and a density of 42.3 people/km². Malaga International Airport is 152 km from the city, and the administrative center of Cadiz is 101 km away.
A little bit of history Tariffs
It's hard to say exactly when Tarifa was founded. Traces of the first settlements date back to the end of the Paleolithic period. This is the earliest evidence of human presence in what is now Spain. In antiquity, the area was known as the colony of Julius Transductus.
But the city received its modern name in 710, when its lands were conquered by Moorish troops under the command of the advanced detachments of Tarif ibn Malik. The Arabs fortified the city, and in 960 Emir Abderraman III built a fortress there. The next years the city passed from hand to hand, then to the Christians, then to the Arabs. The Moors held the fortress for the last time in 1292.
In October, after a six-month siege that ended with the assassination of Emir Abu Yacoub Yusuf, they surrendered it to the Christians under the leadership of King Sancho IV of Castillo, nicknamed the Brave. 700 years after this event, a monument to Sancho IV the Brave was erected near the fortress.
The Arabs, however, were not willing to accept defeat, and that same year they tried to retake the fortress. Its defense was led by the governor Alonso Perez de Guzmán. To break the siege, the Arabs kidnapped his son and threatened to kill him if Alonso did not surrender the fortress. According to legend, he threw a knife to the Arabs with the words that he had raised his son to fear his enemies, not to be a weapon in their hands. The Arabs killed the son, the Christians preserved the fortress, and in time Guzmán was also given a monument.
Another remarkable event took place in 1811, when in late December the fortress was besieged by almost 13,000 French soldiers. They managed to break through the breach in the fortress wall, but then a hurricane wind came, which often happens in this area. The wind and torrential rain prevented the French from taking advantage, and the defenders managed to seal the breach. After a month of unsuccessful siege, the French retreated with heavy losses. And on the site of the breach today is an inscription: "This part of the wall was destroyed by the besieging French, rebuilt by the British defenders, 1812".
Today Tarifa is Spain's third port in terms of passenger traffic after Barcelona and Algeciras. From the time of Arab rule until today, it remains an important border post for the country. At one time, the Arabs charged merchants for the use of the harbor docks. That's where the economic term "tariff rate" came from.
