FROM TANGIER TO ORAN (301 M.). Mail steamers of the _Navigation
Mixte_, every Wed. afternoon, in 52½ hrs. (fares, without food, 80 and
60 fr.), viâ Melilla and Nemours (returning viâ Beni-Saf, Nemours,
Melilla, and Tetuán); also cargo-steamers viâ Málaga, Melilla, and
Nemours, in 3–4 days, leaving Tangier every second Tuesday (Málaga
Wed.). Also steamers of the _Hungarian Adria_ (fare, without food, 30
fr.). Agents at Tangier, see p. 98; at Málaga, p. 89; at Oran, p. 176.
FROM CARTAGENA TO ORAN (132 M.). _Comp. Générale Transatlantique_
every Tues. in 9 hrs. (fares, without food, 50 and 35 fr.; pier-dues
at Cartagena 3 or 2 fr.; agent J. M. Pelegrin, Plaza de la Aduana 1;
at Oran, p. 176). This is the shortest sea-route to Algiers and is
recommended to those who are bad sailors. Passport necessary.
Steering from _Tangier_ (p. 98) to the E.N.E. through the _Straits of
Gibraltar_, the vessel passes _Cape Malabata_ (p. 57), _Cape Alboasa_,
and the fine shore of the _Cala Grande_, to which the _Rio de las
Ostras_ descends from the _Sierra San Simonito_, a branch of the _Anjera
Mts._ (p. 103). In the little bay on the E. side of the _Punta Alcázar_,
scarcely visible from the sea, lie the ruins of _Ksar es-Serîr_, a small
seaport founded by Yakûb ibn Yûsuf (p. 61), which prospered in the later
middle ages, and belonged to the Portuguese from 1448 to 1540.
Off _Cape Ciris_ (p. 5) the steamer nears the abrupt slopes of the
_Sierra Bullones_ (p. 103) and then passes the _Isla del Peregil_ (243
ft.), which is overgrown with underwood and contains a large grotto
(_Grotta de las Palomas_, visited from Ceuta). Beyond _Cape Leona_ and
the _Bay of Benzus_ the region of _Ceuta_ (p. 103) is reached. Fine view
of the bay of Algeciras (p. 56) and the rock of Gibraltar to the N.
After passing the bay of Ceuta and the N. and E. headlands of the
peninsula of _Almina_ (p. 103), the _Punta Santa Catalina_ (p. 5) and
the _Punta de la Almina_ (lighthouse), we obtain an admirable view of
the Moroccan coast, extending from the Sierra Bullones (p. 103) to the
finely shaped _Jebel Beni Hassan_. In the centre, between _Cabo Negro_
(p. 103) and _Cabo Mazari_, is the deep depression of the plain of
_Tetuán_ (p. 102), where the steamers of the Navigation Mixte call on
their voyage to Tangier only.
The vessel now steers to the E.S.E. towards Cape Tres Forcas, quite
apart from the _Rîf Coast_, a hill-region inhabited by the _Ruâfa_
(sing. _Rîfi_) and still forming part of the Blad es-Siba (p. 96). It
lies between the _Wâd Waringa_, the river bounding the province of
Tetuán, and Cape Tres Forcas. In the bay of Alhucemas rise the rocky
islets of _Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera_ and _Islas de Alhucema_, with
two Spanish ‘presidios’. The _Betoya_, the stretch of coast with its
numerous creeks between _Cape Quilates_, on the E. side of the Alhucemas
Bay, and Cape Tres Forcas, was for centuries the favourite haunt of the
Rîf pirates (p. 96).
Beyond the wedge-like _Cape Tres Forcas_, the ancient _Sestiaria
Promontorium_ (Arabic _Râs Wark_), jutting out 12½ M. seaward, we sight
the long coast-line of the _Bay of Melilla_, into which the steamers
from Málaga, passing some 20 M. to the W. of the island of _Alborán_ (p.
117), steer direct.
=Melilla= (Hot. de Asia, Fonda la Africana, both at the harbour and
plain), or _Melila_, a town of 9000 inhab., the only Mediterranean port
on the Morocco coast besides Ceuta and Tetuán lies most picturesquely on
the spurs of _Monte Melila_ or _Caramu_ (3235 ft.), a little to the N.
of the marshy, fever-stricken mouth of the _Rio del Oro_. Its site is
probably that of the ancient _Rusaddir_ (p. 95), where ended the great
Roman military road, about 1430 M. long, which connected Carthage with
Mauretania. Melilla is the oldest Spanish possession in Morocco, having
been captured in 1496. In 1774 it was unsuccessfully besieged by a
Moroccan army, and in 1893 it resisted an attack by the Berbers of the
Rîf. Being a free port, it carries on a brisk trade with the coast-towns
of the Algerian province of Oran, and many Moroccans from the interior
embark here on their way to the harvesting in Algeria. The larger
steamers anchor in the roads, which are tolerably sheltered from the W.
winds only (landing or embarkation 50 c.). New harbour-works, however,
are now under construction. The drinking-water of Melilla is not good.
Melilla consists of the small and tidy new town which has been built
near the harbour since 1893 and contains a covered market, the shops of
the Spanish-Jewish and Moorish tradesmen, and the promenade, and of the
remarkably clean old town, enclosed by lofty walls, and occupying the
nearly square plateau of a rocky headland. From projecting parts of the
town-wall a fine view is obtained of the _Fort Rosario_, which is
separated from the old town by the small _Galápago Bay_, and of the
broad bay extending to the Chafarinas Islands (see below); in the
background, beyond the _Mar Chica_ or _Lago de Puerto Nuevo_ (Arabic
_Sebkha Bu-Erg_), a shallow lake 13 M. long, appears the lofty chain of
_Jebel Kebdana_ with the _Monte de Tessan_ (3275 ft.).
Continuing our VOYAGE, we pass the _Chafarinas Islands_ (French _Iles
Zafarines_), occupied by the Spanish since 1848, which lie off the _Cabo
del Agua_ and form the only safe harbour on this coast as far as Oran.
On the _Isla Isabel Segunda_, the central island, rises a lighthouse
visible at a distance of 20 M.
We pass the mouth of the _Mulûya_ (p. 93), the ancient _Malucha_ (or
_Muluchath_), which separated the provinces of Mauretania Tingitana and
Mauretania Cæsariensis (p. 244), and was in the middle ages the boundary
between the kingdoms of Fez and Tlemcen (p. 188). Beyond it, rising
above the thickly peopled coast-plain of _Tazagraret_, rises the chain
of _Jebel Beni Snassen_ (p. 197), which belongs geologically to the
Algerian Tell Atlas (p. 169). The political frontier between Morocco and
Algeria is formed by the brook _Oued Kiss_ or _Adjeroud_ (comp. p. 169),
near which, on the little _Baie d’Adjeroud_, and not far from _Cape
Milonia_, lies the French seaport of _Port-Say_ or _Adjeroud_.
In calm weather the steamers call at the bay of =Nemours= (p. 198),
enclosed by the spurs of the _Traras Mts._ (p. 198; landing or
embarkation 1 fr.). They then pass _Cape Torsa_ and _Cape Noé_, where
the plateau of _Mont Tadjera_ (2592 ft.) is sighted, and steer to the
N.E. towards Cape Figalo, at some distance from the little port of
_Honeïn_ (here the iron-ore of _Rhar el-Maden_ is exported), the
lighthouse on the island of _Rachgoun_ (opposite the mouth of the
_Tafna_, p. 185), and the port of _Beni-Saf_ (p. 185). To the N.E.,
beyond _Cape Figalo_, appear the _Isles Habibas_ (lighthouse),
surrounded by reefs, and then, beyond _Cape Lindless_, the uninhabited
little _Ile Plane_.
Beyond _Cape Falcon_ (lighthouse; p. 184) we survey the broad _Gulf of
Oran_ (p. 126), as far as the _Pointe de l’Aiguille_. Immediately to the
right, in the fertile _Plaine des Andalouses_, lies the village of _Aïn
et-Turk_ (p. 184); then, beyond the spurs of the _Jebel Santon_, the
harbour of _Mers el-Kébir_ (p. 183), with a fort and lighthouse.
Entrance to the harbour of _Oran_, comp. p. 175.
* * * * *
=Cartagena= (Hot. de Francia y de Paris, Calle de Osuna and Plaza de la
Aduana; Hot. Ramos, Plaza de Prefumo 8; Brit, vice-cons. J. C. Gray; U.
S. cons. agent, A. J. Marks; pop. 41,300), founded by Hasdrubal in 221
B.C., the best natural harbour on the Spanish Mediterranean coast, is
now the chief harbour of the Spanish navy. (It is reached by express
from Madrid in 14 hrs.; sleeping-car on Mon., Wed., and Frid., 21 p. 25
c. extra.) The railway-station lies to the N.E. of the town, not far
from Muelle de Alfonso Duodecimo, the quay, where the steamers are
berthed. A charming view of the town and the bay is obtained from the
_Castillo de la Concepción_ (230 ft.), a ruined castle on a hill.
The entrance to the inner harbour, which is closed by the _Dique de la
Curra_ (lighthouse), is guarded by two forts situated on bold volcanic
rocks, the _Castillo de las Galeras_ (656 ft.) on the W., and the
_Castillo de San Julián_ on the E. (919 ft.). The outer bay is protected
on the S.E. by the little island of _Escombrera_, the ancient
_Scombraria_.
The Oran steamboats, soon after leaving Cartagena, steer due S.,
affording a retrospect of the lighthouses of _Cabo Tiñoso_ to the W. and
_Cape Palos_ (p. 112) to the E., and they usually enter the _Gulf of
Oran_ (p. 126) before dawn.