Penon de Velez de la Gomera

The Penon de Velez de la Gomera is a small rocky islet and fortress off the coast near Badis, in the Al Hoceima Province on Morocco's Mediterranean coast. It is one of Spain's plazas de soberania, territories under Spanish sovereignty on the Moroccan coast, and is garrisoned by a small Spanish military detachment. The nearby town of Badis was a medieval port of the Ghomara region, and the rock lay on a coast used by pirates and corsairs. Spain captured the Penon in 1508 under an expedition led by Pedro Navarro, as part of its campaign to control North African ports. The Saadians took it in 1522, and Spain regained it in 1564 after a major expedition, since which time it has remained Spanish. The fortress occupies the top of the rock and includes walls, a chapel, barracks and storage areas built over several centuries. For a long time it was a true island, but a storm in 1934 deposited sand that joined it to the mainland by a narrow sandy spit, which now forms a tombolo with a beach on either side. Public access to the fortress itself is not allowed, because it is a military installation and the frontier crossing is not open, so visitors usually see it from Badis beach. The fortress is in use and maintained by the Spanish armed forces. The setting is striking, with the rock rising from the sea beneath the Rif mountains. It is a place of geopolitical interest as one of the last remnants of the Spanish presidio system in North Africa.