A Spanish city on the north coast of Africa, Ceuta is in the north of Morocco, directly opposite Gibraltar. The city was occupied by Portugal in 1415, but it has been under Spanish control since Portugal and Spain separated in 1640. Ceuta was the first Western European possession on the African mainland -- and now it is one of the last.
Ceuta is governed as an autonomous city within the Kingdom of Spain. It is accessible by frequent ferries from Algeciras on the other side of the Strait of Gibraltar.
The word for a lighthouse is faro in Spanish, but its use is generally restricted to the larger coastal light stations. Smaller lighthouses are called balizas (beacons). The navigational lights in Spain are regulated at the national level by the Comisíon de Faros, but they are operated and maintained in Ceuta by the port authority, the Autoridad Portuaria de Ceuta.
ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume D of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 113.
- General Sources
Faros del Norte de Africa - Data and photos posted by Agustín Solabre Suárez on his Libro de Faros web site.
- Online List of Lights - Vol. D - Morocco
- Photos by various photographers posted by Alex Trabas. This page for Morocco also includes the lights of Ceuta.
- Afrikanische Leuchttürme auf historischen Postkarten
- Historic postcard images posted by Klaus Huelse.
Faro de Punta Almina, Ceuta, May 2008
Flickr Creative Commons photo by BSD-46