Carlos Perez Marin

   The original idea behind this text was to recount the shared historical heritage between Ceuta and Morocco to show everything we have in common, alongside how borders have shifted throughout history, as well as the connections and relationships Ceuta has maintained with other cities in neighbouring, nearby and distant regions. However, as I wrote, I realised that this was not enough for the reader to grasp the implications of that shared past and the differences stemming from it compared to other cities on the Peninsula that also belonged to Al-Andalus. But the most difficult part was explaining the consequences of this past for contemporary relations between Morocco and Spain, conditioned by prejudice and superficiality when applying terms whose meanings differ from one side of the border to the other. Some conclusions in this text will not be to the liking of those people (regardless of which side of the border they are on) who prefer to freeze history and generalise a single identity for all the societies that inhabit or have inhabited Ceuta. Even more disappointed will be those who use terms such as nation, religion or language to define one identity while excluding all others.

   The main conclusions we can draw from the history of Ceuta are linked to its geographical position in the Strait of Gibraltar, which endows it with what some would call an exception and others an anomaly—though the Strait itself is an exception (or anomaly). If we analyse its characteristics and its role in the history of civilisations, we would find only three comparable places on our planet: the Nile Delta in Egypt, the Bosphorus Strait in Turkey, and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait between Yemen, Djibouti and Eritrea. (Ceuta and Unesco, Carlos Pérez Marín). All of them remain strategic points today, and their control is essential to the global economy; one need look no further than the impact of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in this year of 2026. In reality, what would be abnormal is if Ceuta’s history had been irrelevant, if it had followed a set pattern, or if its inhabitants had remained the same since Antiquity, without mutations or cultural blending; therefore, we cannot limit ourselves to a specific period of history to define what Ceuta is, but must rather consider it in its entirety.

   If I had to describe Ceuta’s identity, I would do so through its defining characteristic: its cultural blending (mestizaje), understood here as a mixture of different cultures giving rise to a new one (RAE). What does this imply? That we have a multidimensional identity in constant evolution. Ethno-religiously speaking, Ceuta has been and remains fundamentally both Christian and Muslim (not forgetting other minority communities...); linguistically, Ceuta is Castilian and Arabic; geographically, Ceuta is African; politically and administratively, Ceuta is Spanish and European; in terms of its civilisational roots, Ceuta is African, European and Mediterranean... Ceuta is the living heritage of what the Mediterranean once was, of what Al-Andalus once was. And all of this within the framework of what we know today as Spain, acknowledging that in a few centuries—just as history has shown us—Ceuta could belong to another political-administrative entity (even if by force). But as long as there is no expulsion of one of its communities, Ceuta will remain Ceuta, regardless of who governs or to whom we belong.

   Everything expressed in this article is nothing more than a wake-up call to authorities, politicians and citizens on both sides of the border, so that they become aware of the value of Ceuta and its inhabitants, and the role they have played in the histories of Spain, Morocco, and—I would dare say—humanity. We are not merely a continuous semi-enclave; we are not a small, insignificant city without history. In recent decades, the ability of politicians and authorities to think of the common good—whether of a city, a region, a country, the European Union, North Africa or the Mediterranean—has deteriorated so severely that each has imposed their own personal vision, highly narrow in time and space, without considering its long-term consequences. Hence the need to clarify the concepts set out here and to highlight their complexity. Will we be able to reverse the perception Morocco holds regarding Ceuta and Melilla, and the one Europeans generally hold regarding both Morocco and Islam? I doubt it very much, but that is no reason why we should not try, collectively, to provide sufficient arguments to prevent the escalation of the events we are enduring, which have become recurrent (May 2021 and July 2026). If things continue this way, we will soon replace the words migratory catastrophe with far more lethal ones—armed conflict—instead of demonstrating the richness and importance of what the Strait has forged over millennia.

Credits texts, photos and drawings: Carlos Pérez Marín