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Melilla and Gibraltar are not islands, but they share some features with islands in the Mediterranean:
Melilla is a Spanish town in Africa, six hours by ferry south of Malaga. Melilla is a harbour town with a territory of 3 x 4 kilometres and 86,000 inhabitants. Melilla and Ceuta are Spanish territories that have belonged to Spain for about 500 years.
Morocco maintains a formal claim on Melilla and Ceuta. The Spanish position is that the two territories have been parts of Spain since 1498, where Morocco only has been an independent state since 1956. Many Moroccans from Nador have access and work permits for Melilla. Morocco closed the border crossing to Melilla for several years "because of Covid".
More details here: A Visit to Melilla.
A view from the fort. The hill seen to the left is in Morocco.
The fort seen from north
Melilla is situated near the town Nador in Morocco. The two ports share common breakwaters. The cranes to the left are in Melilla's harbour, the cranes to the right are in Nador's harbour.
The fort seen from the south. There are nice cafés here and along the beach.
Melilla has a nice marina that is not afflicted with ostentatious yachts. But where do you want to go - apart from on a fishing trip? The distances are 150 kilometres to the Spanish mainland and 200 kilometres to Ceuta.
Gibraltar is a British overseas Territory with a territory of 7 km2 and 33,000 inhabitants. Britain and Holland captured Gibraltar from Spain in 1704, and since 1713 the territory has been British.
Spain claims the Gibraltar area and has done so for many years. General Franco closed the border to Gibraltar in 1969, and the border was closed until 1985.
Sadly, I couldn't find any cafés on the waterfront, but Gibraltar has many pubs!
For more details see the photo report "A Visit to Melilla", especially Comparison to the U.S.-Mexican border.
"Police Barracks 1909". A view to the Spanish town Algeciras.
Main Street
Gibraltar has many beautiful buildings, and far too many cars for a hillside town with narrow streets
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