What are the Aljibes and can I visit them?

The Aljibes (cisterns) are a network of underground water storage chambers beneath the Melilla Fortress, constructed during the Spanish occupation to ensure the garrison's water supply during sieges. They are carved into the rock of the promontory and descend to various depths below the fortress floor. The chambers are impressive architecturally — vaulted underground spaces with columns and drainage channels — and are one of the highlights of the guided fortress tour (t1050228). They are not accessible to independent visitors without the guided tour.

Melilla Fortress

Medina Sidonia de Melilla

Spain · Melilla (autonomous city) · Near Melilla

Built 1497 · Layered fortification on a coastal promontory; the oldest layers date from Berber and Phoenician settlement; the Spanish defensive complex was constructed from 1497 onwards over earlier Arab fortifications; Renaissance bastions with artillery embrasures added in the 16th century; the Medina Sidonia (old city) — a complete walled medieval settlement within the fortress perimeter — is the most complete example of a Spanish colonial fortified city on the North African coast

This page is part of an independent travel guide and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by Melilla Fortress.

Melilla Fortress on its rocky promontory above the Mediterranean, with the Renaissance walls and towers of the Medina Sidonia overlooking the sea

Quick Facts

Hours: Mon–Fri 09:00–21:00. Sat & Sun 10:00–14:00
Guided tour from: €18
Duration: 2–3 hours
Best time: October to April
Nearest city: Melilla

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Melilla Fortress Sightseeing Tour — caves, chapel & city walls

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Highlights

✦Medina Sidonia — a complete medieval walled town within the fortress, with churches, palaces, cisterns, and streets unchanged since the 16th century; one of the most intact examples of a Spanish colonial fortified city anywhere
✦The Aljibes (underground cisterns) — a complex of medieval and early modern underground water storage chambers beneath the fortress, accessible on the guided tour
✦Puerta de Tierra and Puerta de Mar — the principal land and sea gates of the fortress, with Renaissance stonework and the arms of the Castilian crown
✦The Gothic chapel — a rare example of Gothic ecclesiastical architecture on the North African coast, preserved within the fortress walls
✦500 years of stratified history — Phoenician trading post, Roman Rusaddir, medieval Arab alcazaba, Spanish presidio — all on one promontory
✦Spanish guided sightseeing tour (t1050228, €18) — covers the fortress interior, museums, caves, and fortification circuit with commentary

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The Melilla Fortress — officially the Medina Sidonia of Melilla — is a layered fortification on a rocky promontory jutting into the Mediterranean on the North African coast. It is the historic core of Melilla, one of Spain's two autonomous cities on the African continent (the other is Ceuta), and one of the oldest continuously occupied Spanish possessions: Spain has held Melilla since 1497, making it Spain's longest-held overseas territory.

The hill the fortress occupies has been fortified for at least 2,500 years. Phoenician traders established a settlement here; the Romans called it Rusaddir and made it a significant port of the Mauretania Tingitana province; medieval Arab rulers built a medina and alcazaba on the promontory. When the Duke of Medina Sidonia's forces captured the town for the Crown of Castile on 17 September 1497 — just five years after the final Reconquista victory at Granada — they inherited all of this in one gesture.

The Spanish subsequently added their own architectural layers: Renaissance bastions with artillery embrasures, underground cisterns (Aljibes) for water storage during sieges, a Gothic chapel, and the principal city gates — Puerta de Tierra (land gate) and Puerta de Mar (sea gate) — with carved coats of arms of the Castilian and later Spanish crown. Within the fortress perimeter, the Medina Sidonia contains a complete medieval street pattern of narrow lanes, palaces, churches, and residential buildings — an enclosed town-within-a-fortress that has been inhabited continuously since the 15th century.

The guided sightseeing tour (t1050228, €18) covers the main sections of the fortress including the Aljibes, the Gothic chapel, Plaza de los Aljibes, both main gates, and the Muralla de las Cruces; museum admission is included in the tour price.

History

Melilla's position on the North African coast — a peninsula controlling the approach to the Alboran Sea, with a sheltered harbour — gave it strategic value across three millennia. Phoenician traders from Tyre established a colony here around 600 BCE; the Romans used it as a supply port for their African campaigns. After the Arab conquests of the 7th century CE, the town became part of the Islamic world and was administered by various Berber dynasties.

Spanish interest in the North African coast intensified in the 15th century as the Reconquista reached completion on the Iberian Peninsula. Ferdinand and Isabella authorised an expedition to Melilla, which the forces of the Duke of Medina Sidonia captured in 1497 — the first Spanish territorial acquisition in Africa. The town gave its name to a new Spanish military commitment: the presidio (garrison post), a walled Spanish settlement on a foreign coast, maintained primarily for strategic rather than economic reasons.

The fortress was attacked repeatedly over the following centuries — by Ottoman and Moroccan forces, by Rif Berber tribes, and during the Spanish Civil War. Its survival as a Spanish enclave through five centuries of North African political upheaval reflects both the strength of its fortifications and the consistently high strategic value Spain placed on retaining a foothold on the African continent.

How to Visit

Guided sightseeing tour (recommended, €18): The GetYourGuide tour (t1050228) is the most efficient way to access the fortress interior — it covers the Aljibes (underground cisterns), Gothic chapel, both main gates, and the Muralla de las Cruces, with museum admission included. The fortress is small enough that the guided tour format makes good sense; independent visits miss the underground sections.

Getting to Melilla: Melilla is accessible by ferry from Almería (6–8 hours) or Málaga (8 hours), or by Iberia/Air Nostrum flights from Madrid and Málaga (1 hour). Melilla is technically part of Spain but requires travel across the Strait of Gibraltar or through Moroccan territory to reach by land — it is an island of Spain on the African coast.

What else to see: The modern city of Melilla (outside the fortress) contains the highest concentration of Modernista architecture in Spain outside Barcelona — including buildings by Enrique Nieto, a student of Antoni Gaudí. The contrast between the medieval fortress and the early 20th-century Modernista city centre is one of Melilla's most distinctive features.

Frequently Asked Questions

Melilla is a Spanish autonomous city — it is legally, administratively, and politically part of Spain (and the EU), situated on the North African coast entirely surrounded by Moroccan territory. Spain has held Melilla continuously since 1497, making it one of Europe's oldest remaining overseas territories. Morocco disputes Spanish sovereignty over Melilla and the nearby territory, but this dispute is bilateral and does not affect visitor access — EU citizens enter freely; non-EU visitors should check current entry requirements.