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Tarifa is a Spanish municipality in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia, in the extreme south of the country, off the coast of Morocco. According to the INE, in 2020 it had 18,183 inhabitants in a surface area of 419 km², with a population density of 42.26 inhab/km². It is located at an altitude of 7 meters above sea level and 105 kilometers from Cádiz.

Within the main population center is the southernmost point of the Iberian Peninsula, Punta de Tarifa, a geographical feature that is located on the island of Las Palomas, today linked to the city itself by means of a road-street, which serves as access to the lighthouse that is located there.

The cape or Punta de Tarifa also serves as a dividing line for the waters of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, which intersect just in front of the city itself. It is located in the narrowest part of the channel or Strait of Gibraltar, at a minimum distance of 14 kilometers from the Moroccan coast, which makes it the closest European city to the African continent. Tarifa borders to the east with the municipalities of Algeciras and Los Barrios, to the north with the municipality of Medina Sidonia, to the northwest with those of Vejer de la Frontera and Barbate, to the west with the Atlantic Ocean and to the south and southeast with the Mediterranean Sea.

Toponymy

The name of the city comes from the Arabic Al Yazirat Tarif or Tarif Island. This name was given in 710 to the island off its coast as it was the place selected by the expeditionary troops of Tarif, commander of Tarik, in their first landing on the Iberian Peninsula. After the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in 711, a medina was founded on the current location of the city whose name would come to Castilian in the form of Tarifa.

Symbols

The shield of Tarifa is registered in the register of symbols of the local entities of Andalusia with the description:

From gules, on the waves of sugar and silver, a castle of gold, cleared of gules, accompanied by three keys of gold: one in each flank, guards down and outwards put on the stick, and another bronch on the waves in a position of strip, guards the sinister and out. Silver edge with the inscription "Stote fortes in beautiful", in letters of saber. The crown ring real open.

The castle represents that of the city, the keys mark the great strategic importance of Tarifa as it is the gateway from Spain to Africa and the motto estote fortes in bello means "remain strong in the war".

The flag of Tarifa takes the most outstanding colors and elements of the city's coat of arms. It was designed in 1992 and after its approval in the municipal plenary session that same year, its definitive inclusion in the registry of symbols of local entities of Andalusia was processed, which took place in 2004. It is described as:

Rectangular flag, of proportions 2:3, composed of three horizontal stripes, red the top loaded with three vertical yellow keys, white the central and blue the bottom in proportions 2/3, 1/6 and 1/6, respectively.

Physical geography

Location

Tarifa is the southernmost city of the Iberian Peninsula. The main population center is located in the so-called Punta de Tarifa Strait of Gibraltar. Its municipal term limits with that of Algeciras to the east, with Barbate and Vejer de la Frontera to the west and with Medina Sidonia and Los Barrios to the north.

Northwest: Vejer de la Frontera	North: Medina Sidonia	Northeast: Los Barrios
West: Barbate		This: Algeciras
Southwest Strait of Gibraltar	South: Strait of Gibraltar	Sureste: Strait of Gibraltar

Due to the large size of the municipality, in Tarifa there are other population centers or districts. Under the figure of minor local entity are the nuclei of Facinas and Tahivilla. Facinas is about 20 kilometers from the main town and has around 1,300 inhabitants. Tahivilla, for its part, is just over 26 kilometers from Tarifa and currently has about 500 inhabitants. The towns of La Zarzuela are neighborhoods of the city. 39 kilometers away, El Almarchal 40, Atlanterra 42 and Bolonia-Lentiscal 20 kilometers from Tarifa.

Geology

Aerial view of the city of Tarifa

The complex geology of the surroundings of the Strait of Gibraltar is the result of the successive tectonic movements originated during the Alpine orogeny. Under the name of Campo de Gibraltar Units there are several formations of similar origin, but of different chronology that occupy the entire municipality of Tarifa and have their genesis in the deposits formed on the seabed between the Alborán and Ibérica plates. In this way, several units with greater or less extension are present in the municipality. The Cistern Unit stands out, formed by sandstones in the interior mountains. The area adjacent to Punta de Tarifa belongs to the Algeciras Unit where the formations called Flysch margo-sandy-micaceous of Miocene origin stand out and give rise to curious formations on the coast resulting from the erosion of layers of soft materials and the permanence of layers of hard materials. To the west, the Almarchar and Bolonia Units occupy part of the territory and extend to the other side of the Strait through North Africa. The Almarchal Unit has a typical facies with yellowish-grey schistous marls. The Bolonia Unit is similar to the Algeciras Unit, but it contains sandstones from the Aljibe unit interspersed with marly flysch.

Orography

There are clearly two different orographic areas in the municipality of Tarifa. In the area closest to the coast, the so-called Sierras del Estrecho appear, which generally have a north-south orientation and frame among them various seasonal streams and fluvial fill materials. From west to east, the Sierras de La Plata, Loma de San Bartolomé, Sierra de Enmedio and Sierra del Cabrito appear as the most prominent, with their maximum heights in the peaks of Plata (458 meters), San Bartolomé (442 meters), La Peña (448 meters) and El Cabrito (536 meters). The other great unit of relief are the mountains of the interior of the term generically called Sierras de Algeciras. The main formations of these mountains within the term are the mountains of Saladavieja and Ojén with their highest levels in Utreras (719 meters) and the Tajo de La Corza (831 meters). The northwestern limit is marked by the mountains of the Los Alcornocales Natural Park, leaving in Tarifa a large area of lowlands in the fertile plain of the Almodóvar river and the old Laguna de La Janda, land today used for cultivation.

Hydrology

View of the river Guadalmesi

There are four relatively important rivers that discharge their waters on the coast of Tarifa: the Jara, Valle, Vega and Guadalmesí rivers; the first three flow into the western coast and are managed by the Guadalquivir Hydrographic Confederation and the fourth flows into the eastern coast and is managed by the Southern Hydrographic Confederation.

To the north is the Almodóvar River, which rises in the Sierra de Ojén and is a tributary of the Barbate River. It crosses a low terrain near Facinas that until it dried up in the 1960s XX was part of the Laguna de La Janda. The great fluvial network of this river is used by a 5.7 hm³ reservoir built in 1997.

In the coastal area it is also possible to find a multitude of seasonal streams that originate in the hills and sierras of the Strait such as the Retiro Stream, Viña Stream and the Alelíes Stream.

Beach of Bologna

Playa Chica. Rate. Strait of Gibraltar

Costa

The coast of Tarifa stretches from the inlet of Zahara in the west to the inlet of El Tolmo in the east. The coastline of the first section is basically a low coast where fine sand beaches are interspersed with various capes and points. The cliffs of Punta Camarinal and Punta Paloma and the dune formations of Valdevaqueros and Bolonia are noteworthy in this section. From the border with the municipality of Zahara de los Atunes towards the city of Tarifa are the beaches of Atlanterra, Los Alemanes, El Cañuelo, Bolonia, Valdevaqueros and Los Lances. The eastern coast, towards the Bay of Algeciras, rises abruptly above sea level, creating large cliffs that alternate with rocky coves. The so-called Playa Chica is a small cove located on the isthmus of the Isla de Tarifa in front of the old town.

Natural environment

Natural monument Duna de Bologna

Approximately 60% of the municipality of Tarifa is covered by some form of official protection. The natural park of Los Alcornocales stands out for its extension, which occupies 17,422 hectares in Tarifa, being the fifth municipality that contributes the most surface area to this space. Most of the plant formations in this park within Tarifa belong to the so-called Mediterranean forests of Cork oaks with low xerophytic scrub that at various points in the Sierra de Ojén and Sierra Cabrita reach their highest degree of development. In the area bordering on Algeciras there are various canutos of special interest, mainly the Guadalmesí river. In these riparian formations, the presence of a large number of relict pteridophytes from the Tertiary era stands out, typical of more humid climates.

The natural park of the Strait, shared with Algeciras, occupies 7,337 hectares of land in the municipality and also protects a large part of the coastline. In this case, the protection of the Isla de Tarifa stands out, due to its important ecological values, or the beach of Los Lances. This natural area has an extension of 226 hectares and the Jara, Vega and Salado rivers pour their waters into it, being especially important for the birds that make their migrations through the Strait. In the same way, it is remarkable, within the natural park del Estrecho, the Duna de Bolonia natural monument; This 30-meter-high dune is located in the vicinity of Punta Camarinal and is one of the least altered spaces on the Costa de la Luz.

Pilot whales in the waters of Tarifa

Among its fauna, the birds that every year make the migratory passage of the Strait of Gibraltar are especially important. In the town there is an ornithological station (headquarters of the Black Stork Ornithological Collective) from which the monitoring of these birds is carried out and where the data for the elaboration of censuses of both migratory and resident species are obtained. Among the most important migratory species, it is worth mentioning the passage of storks, black kites, booted eagles, short-toed eagles or honey buzzards.

The populations of marine mammals on the nearby coasts are also important. There are seven species of cetaceans that can be seen, four of them residents and that can be seen all year round: the common dolphin, the striped dolphin, the bottlenose dolphin and the pilot whale. Two species are semi-resident and their presence is associated with feeding periods, the orca from July to September and the sperm whale, mostly between March and August. Finally, one species is migratory and uses the Strait on its routes; this is the fin whale, which can be observed mainly between May and August.

Climatology

The climate of the city of Tarifa, like that of the entire Campo de Gibraltar area, is usually defined as temperate, with a Mediterranean climate with oceanic influence, characterized by mild and regular temperature conditions throughout the year, a low amplitude thermal and irregular and torrential rainfall with an annual average of almost 600 mm. According to the Koppen climate classification, the climate of Tarifa is Mediterranean (Csa) or transitional between this climate and the Mediterranean oceanic climate (Csb). The influence of the wind is particularly important in the area of the Strait; Among the prevailing winds, the east and west winds stand out.

Average climatic parameters of Observatorio de Tarifa (32 msnm) (Reference period: 1981-2010)
Month	Ene.	Feb.	Mar.	Open up.	May.	Jun.	Jul.	Ago.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.	Annual
Temp. max. abs. (°C)	20.9	21.4	24.3	26.4	29.9	34.9	34.3	35.4	29.9	28.5	27.1	23.0	35.4
Average temperature (°C)	15.2	15.1	16.3	17.3	19.4	21.8	23.9	24.5	23.1	20.6	17.9	16.1	19.3
Average temperature (°C)	13.0	13.0	14.4	15.2	17.2	19.8	21.7	22.3	21.1	18.6	15.9	14.1	17.2
Temp. medium (°C)	10.8	10.9	12.4	13.0	14.9	17.8	19.4	20.0	19.0	16.7	13.9	12.1	15.1
Temp. min. abs. (°C)	-3.3	1.7	1.2	4.0	7.4	13.5	11.9	15.7	11.1	9.3	2.4	1.0	-3.3
Total precipitation (mm)	69.5	74.9	48.1	56.6	27.8	7.6	2.5	4.4	16.0	79.8	85.8	117.6	590.6
Precipitation days (≥ 1 mm)	6.9	7.8	5.4	6.7	4.0	1.3	0.4	0.4	2.0	6.4	8.0	10.1	59.4
Relative humidity (%)	77	79	78	77	78	79	80	81	81	81	79	78	57
Source: State Meteorology Agency

The most outstanding weather records recorded at the Tarifa observatory (since 1920 for precipitation, since 1945 for temperature and since 1955 for wind) are the following: The absolute maximum temperature of 37.4 °C recorded on the day September 18, 1966, the absolute minimum temperature of -3.3 °C recorded on January 28, 2005, the maximum precipitation in a day of 139 mm recorded on January 13, 1970, and the maximum gust of wind of 166 km/h registered on December 18, 1969.

History of Tarifa

Prehistory

Like the entire north of the Strait of Gibraltar, Tarifa is rich in rock art sites that testify to the presence of cultures from the Paleolithic. The set of caves and shelters that exist from Tarifa to Medina-Sidonia correspond to a very wide period of time, ranging from the Upper Paleolithic to the Bronze Age and which has come to be called Southern Art. Tarifa has around sixty of these shelters, including the oldest in the region. The Cueva del Moro cave stands out from the Upper Paleolithic with rock engravings representing horses and other elements of the local fauna.

Ancient Age

Basilica of Baelo Claudia

There are archaeological indications of the presence of at least two Punic settlements of some importance within the municipality of Tarifa. The main site located is the one that contains a series of hypogeous tombs located in 1987 on the Isla de Las Palomas that suggest a Punic settlement under the current city of Tarifa. The second location would be located in Baelo Claudia or in its vicinity and although not Archaeological remains have appeared, coins issued in this city are known with the double legend Bailo/BLN, whose second name is written in the Neo-Punic language.

Even the location of Punic structures in that city, it must be considered that the foundation of Roman Baelo Claudia took place in the II century a. C.. This important city appears very early related to fishing and trade with North Africa, mainly with Tingis, the current Tangier. In the middle of the I century, during the reign of Claudius, Baelo Claudia acquired its greatest importance when it was granted the rank of Roman municipality.

The extraordinary existing knowledge about the city of Baelo contrasts with the uncertainty about the location of a second city within the municipality of Tarifa. The Antonine Itinerary, when describing the route between Malaka and Gades, indicates that between the cities of Calpe Carteian (Carteya) and Belone Claudia (Baelo Claudia), currently perfectly located, the cities of Porto Albo (Portus Albus) and Mellaria. On the other hand, the Anonymous of Ravenna, which describes the same route, indicates that between Cartetia (Carteya) and Belone (Baelo Claudia) were Traducta (Iulia Traducta), Cetraria (Caetaria) and Melaria.

Baelo Claudia solar clock

According to these sources, four cities can be found on this stretch of coast, Portus Albus, Iulia Traducta, Caetaria and Mellaria. The named Caetaria or Cetraria would correspond to an existing city in the current Getares inlet, whose current name seems to derive from Latin and whose archaeological remains have been located. It would therefore be that the city of Mellaria would be between Baelo and Getares and Iulia Traducta between this inlet and Carteya. Three locations have been proposed for the city of Mellaria, the mouth of the Río del Valle, the estuary of the Jara river and the current city from Tarifa, all of them located on a short stretch of coast, and the last of which is considered today the most probable in relation, above all, to the urban continuity of the Punic sites on the island and the later Visigoths. Be that as it may, it is known that this city did not reach the title of municipium and its importance was eclipsed by the important nucleus of Baelo Claudia.

The progressive abandonment of Baelo Claudia took place from the IV century, probably due to the fact that the city was seriously affected by an earthquake, although later both Baelo and Mellaria were cited as a port of embarkation for Vandals from Hispania to Africa. Mellaria, for its part, seems to have been a settlement site for the Visigoths and probably Byzantines based on the discovery in the subsoil of the Castillo de Los Guzmanes with several epigraphic inscriptions dating from the VII century. Servando and Germán, patrons of the diocese of Cádiz, They were probably martyred at the beginning of the IV century on the Cerro de Torrejosa or Almodóvar (5 km from Facinas in Tarifa).

Middle Ages

Torre albarrana called Guzmán el Bueno and coracha that joins it to the Castillo de Tarifa

Situation of the two walled enclosures of Tarifa and their access in the centuries XIII-XIV

In 710 Tarif Abu Zara, commander of Tarik, landed on the Isla de Las Palomas and carried out an expedition along the north coast of the Strait with the aim of verifying the magnitude of the military forces present. After noting the absence of defense he informed Tarik. A year later, 9,000 men landed on the Rock of Gibraltar and began the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula.

During its first centuries of existence, the newly founded Al-Yazirat Tarif was no more than a small fishing town. But from the X century the city began to fortify itself, the Fatimids had arrived in North Africa threatening the reigning Umayyad dynasty in Al-Andalus. By order of Abderramán III, a great fortress was built in the city, which was completed in 960.

Statue of Sancho IV, conqueror of Tarifa

In the following centuries, Tarifa will depend first on the Taifa Kingdom of Algeciras in 1031 and later on that of Seville in 1057. From 1085 the troops commanded by Alfonso VI threatened the borders of Al-Mutamid's Kingdom of Seville. That is why the Sevillian had to ask for help from the Almoravids of Yusuf ibn Tasufin who established himself in Algeciras. After becoming strong in the cities of Algeciras and Tarifa, the Almoravids did not limit themselves to defending their allies, but began the conquest of Al-Andalus. Years later, in 1147, it was the Almohads who, entering through the Strait of Gibraltar, would establish themselves throughout the region until its decline after the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212. In 1231, Tarifa once again depended on the Kingdom. Taifa de Algeciras after the expulsion of the Almoravids from the area.

In 1273 the king of Granada asked for help from the Marinids of Morocco, giving them the cities of Tarifa and Algeciras where they fortified and began the defense of the western border of the Kingdom of Granada with Castile. The strategic importance of the square made Sancho IV of Castilla encircle the city in 1292 and surrender it on September 21 of that same year.

Modern and contemporary age

Castillo de Santa Catalina

Fort of Las Palomas Island

In 1514, Carlos I of Spain granted the title of Marquis of Tarifa to Fadrique Enríquez V, defining the land and properties that would come to depend on the marquesate the following year. The main towns of the manor were Bornos, Espera, Alcalá de los Gazules and Tarifa itself. In this city, the marquis would gradually begin to control all local aspects, intervening in the decisions of the council, and to gradually usurp communal lands and mountains.

In 1530, several residents of the town demanded before the king the return of the illegally acquired lands, as well as the return of the benefits obtained from them during the previous 15 years.

In 1536, the concord between the city council and the Marquis of Tarifa was signed, but when the resolution was not complied with, a new lawsuit was filed again in 1564, in which the incorporation of the Tarifa terms into the royal estate. It would be necessary to wait until 1596 for the Royal Chancellery of Granada to withdraw the marquisate of Tarifa from the already fifth marquis Fernando IV Enríquez.

Following the British capture of the city of Gibraltar in 1704, Tarifa once again acquired great strategic importance. Since the previous century, militias had been formed in the city that watched over and defended the Tarifa coast as far as the Bay of Algeciras against the landing of Barbary pirates, but it was in 1705 when the so-called Getares Shotgun Company was officially formed, integrated into the army. Spanish. This company was formed by residents of Tarifa and had its center of action first in the Getares cove and later on in the El Tolmo Fort. This armed body would see its end in 1829.

After the War of Independence began in 1808, Spanish troops were quartered in the city awaiting the French movements in Cádiz. A first occupation attempt was carried out on October 14, 1811 by the troops of the French general Godinot, who headed towards Tarifa, but was stopped at Paso de la Peña by enemy land and naval fire, and could not continue; Attacked by General Ballesteros, he withdrew to Seville, where he committed suicide shortly after.

On December 20, 1811, Napoleonic troops under the command of General Jean-François Leval laid siege to the city, which was well defended by a garrison of more than 2,000 men from the armies of Spain and the United Kingdom; On the 30th of the same month, they managed to breach its walls, just in the place where a stream crossed the walls. French troops entered the city, but met strong resistance from Spanish soldiers commanded by Francisco Copons, later Count of Tarifa. The French forces seemed to outnumber those from Tarifa and the defenders were about to surrender until the stream overflowed due to heavy rains and the French troops were surprised by the rising waters. Leval's soldiers had to abandon the assault and withdrew from the city on January 4, 1812.

View of the historic center of Tarifa

Bunker built in the 1940s on the beach of Los Lances as part of the Strait Fortification Project

On March 7, 1925, the construction in the city of a port sheltered by Isla de Las Palomas went up for auction, and it was awarded to the Sociedad Anónima de Construcciones y Pavimentos. two breakwaters that would provide shelter for the fishing fleet and the boats that made the route to Tangier. The works would end with the inauguration on May 30, 1944 of the sculpture to the Sacred Heart of Jesus at the end of the dam of the same name popularly called punta del santo.

After the end of the Spanish civil war, the area of the Strait was subjected to a strong process of fortification. In the surroundings of the city of Tarifa, many machine gun bunkers were built along the coast under the so-called Campo de Gibraltar Defensive Plan. Years later, in 1954, the Company Nacional Bazán built in front of the Castle of Santa Catalina the Naval Base of Tarifa integrated into the port of the city which meant the arrival of torpedo boats and submarines to the city. By Royal Decree of April 2, 1982 the Port of Tarifa became depend on the Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras, significantly increasing its importance in the passage of travelers to the cities of North Africa. Throughout this decade the city established itself as an important tourist center that will evolve over the years. times until the current model of sports tourism linked to the sea and rural tourism.

Demographics

According to the 2012 census, the municipality of Tarifa has a population of 17,962 inhabitants with a population density of 42.54 inhab/km². It is therefore the seventeenth municipality by population in the province of Cádiz and the fifth in the Campo de Gibraltar region. XX mainly due to emigration. In the second half of the century the population remained stable, with little growth and even negative to begin to recover from the year 2000.

Of the total municipal population of 17,768 inhabitants registered in 2010, 13,304 (74.9%) correspond to the urban area of Tarifa. The rest are distributed by several smaller entities, among which Facinas (1,304 inhabitants), Tahivilla (430 inhabitants), El Lentiscal (415 inhabitants) and El Bujeo (368 inhabitants) stand out (INE, 2011).

Population developments

Graph of demographic evolution of Tarifa between 1842 and 2020

Rule population (1842-1897, except 1857 and 1860, which is a de facto population) according to population censuses of the nineteenth century.Population of law (1900-1991) or resident population (2001-2011) according to population censuses of the INE.Population according to INE's 2020 municipal standards.

Political administration

House consistorial

City Council

The political administration of the city is carried out through a democratically managed council whose members are elected every four years by universal suffrage. The electoral census is made up of all residents registered in Tarifa over the age of 18 and nationals of Spain and other member countries of the European Union. According to the provisions of the General Electoral Regime Law, which establishes the number of eligible councilors based on the population of the municipality, the Municipal Corporation of Tarifa is made up of 17 councilors.

In the last Municipal Elections held in 2011, the constitution of the City Council was made up of 7 councilors belonging to the Popular Party (PP), 5 councilors belonging to the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), 2 councilors belonging to the Unión Liberal por Tarifa (ULT), 2 councilors belonging to the Andalusian Party (PA) and 1 councilor belonging to Izquierda Unida (IU). As a result of these results, Juan Andrés Gil of the Popular Party was elected in the Municipal Plenary as mayor of Tarifa until the following municipal elections in 2015. By motion of no confidence in the Popular Party that was formulated, the PSOE came to govern in coalition. Later in the 2019 Elections the PSOE was elected in Tarifa.

Economy

Puerto de Tarifa

The base of the local economy is tourism, with 44 hotel establishments in the city with more than 1,200 beds. Tourism related to sports activities linked to the sea and the mountains is especially important, especially windsurfing and kitesurfing due to the particular wind conditions present in the Strait of Gibraltar.

Kitesurf at Punta Paloma beach

The natural environment of the municipality also allows the realization of very diverse leisure activities where whale watching and sport diving on board a boat, bird watching or hiking and cycling routes through the Natural Park of Los Alcornocales and the Natural Park of the Strait.

Regarding the rest of the economic sectors, the industry is present in the Tarifa wind farm managed by the Wind Power Company of Andalusia. This park began producing energy from wind turbines in 1992 and after multiple expansions it reached terawatt per hour in 2008, becoming the wind farm with the highest billed energy in Spain.

Agriculture is of some importance, especially in rural areas in the form of rainfed monocultures. Of the total of the municipality, 5,283 hectares are dedicated to cultivation, of which 5,273 correspond to herbaceous crops, highlighting wheat. Woody crops, mainly fruit trees, occupy a small area.

Evolution of outstanding municipal debt

The concept of outstanding debt includes only debts with savings banks and banks related to financial credits, fixed-income securities and loans or credits transferred to third parties, excluding, therefore, commercial debt.

Graphic of evolution of living debt of the City of Tarifa between 2008 and 2021

Living City Council debt in thousands of euros according to data from the Ministry of Finance and Public Service.

Communications

Puerto de Tarifa

Road transportation

Tarifa is connected to Cádiz by the N-340 national highway while the construction of the A-48 (Cádiz-Algeciras highway) is finished. The Mediterranean highway begins in the neighboring city of Algeciras, which allows communication with the neighboring towns of the Costa del Sol and the entire Spanish east up to Barcelona; and in the town of Los Barrios begins the A-381 that connects the Bay of Algeciras with Jerez, and with Seville through the AP-4.

Mediterranean motorway (Mediterranean motorway)): Algeciras-Barcelona.
Mediterranean Highway): Cadiz-Algeciras.
Autovía Costa de la Luz (Costa de la Luz)): Cadiz-Vejer de la Frontera. Pending the completion of the Vejer de la Frontera-Algeciras section.
Jerez-Los Barrios (): Jerez de la Frontera-Los Barrios.

Transportation by bus

The Tarifa bus station is located on Calle Batalla del Río Salado. Different transport companies operate in it that allow trips to towns on the Costa de la Luz, mainly Cádiz, Rota, Chiclana, Vejer or Barbate. There are also direct lines to Jerez, Malaga and Seville.

Metropolitan buses

The municipality of Tarifa is part of the Campo de Gibraltar Metropolitan Transport Consortium, a public entity created in 2006 with the aim of unifying all the public transport systems in the region and which regulates bus transport. It is divided its territory in two zones created for the purpose of tariff integration. The city of Tarifa is included in Zone C (South Coast) and the towns of Tahivilla and Facinas in Zone F (West Coast). The following Consortium services pass through the municipality of Tarifa:

Go.	Traject.	Company
M-150	Rate-Algeciras	Comes
M-160	Tahivilla-Facinas-Tarifa-Algeciras	Comes
M-161	Barbate-Tarifa-Algeciras	Comes

Urban bus

The urban services of Tarifa are offered by the company Horizonte Sur. Tarifa has a bus line that circulates through the urban area, and two other lines that only run in the months of July and August. One of them connects the city with Valdevaqueros beach, stopping at the hotels and campsites along the way, and the other, with Bolonia beach.

Maritime transport

The port of Tarifa is the third port in Spain in terms of maritime passenger traffic behind Algeciras and Barcelona. This is due to its proximity to the Moroccan coast and the large transit of travelers that takes place from or to Africa. Its passenger terminal currently has 2,200 m² and is where the ferry berths, points of sale and customs are located. The FRS shipping companies (Ferrys Rápidos del Sur) operate in this passenger terminal. and Boughaz Express (COMARIT GROUP) with departures from the city to Tangier every hour, maintaining a constant flow of boats.

Railway transportation

The nearest railway station is Algeciras, 21 km from the city. Journeys to Granada, Córdoba and Madrid.

Trails

It is the only European town where three major trails come together, specifically: European Trail E4, European Trail GR7 and European Trail E9.

Public services

Aerogenerator in Tarifa

Energy

The electricity supply in the city of Tarifa and its surroundings is carried out by the private company Endesa while the transport is carried out by Red Eléctrica de España. The total energy consumption of the city during 2007 was 68,060 kWh, of which 27,939 kWh corresponded to domestic consumption.

It should be noted that the town has an important park of wind turbines installed in its municipal area, belonging to various renewable energy companies, noting that it was in this municipal area where the first plant for experimental use of wind energy in Spain was installed in the 80's.

The electrical energy that reaches the city comes mainly from the Pinar del Rey substation, which in turn receives energy from the different electrical stations, mainly of thermal origin, present in the Bay of Algeciras, and from these wind turbines installed in the area.

Drinking water

The city of Tarifa and its population centers are mainly supplied with water from the numerous aquifers located in its municipal area and which, given the soil and geological characteristics of the area near the Jara and Barbate rivers, are very numerous. Apart from groundwater there is a supply network that transports water that under normal conditions is used for irrigation from the nearby Almodóvar reservoir which, built in 1997, has a capacity of 6 hm³, or from the Barbate reservoir built in 1992 and with a capacity of 228 hm³. From the present aquifers, water is taken for the consumption of the main nucleus of Tarifa from the springs of Los Carrizales, La Palanca, La Senda, El Chivato and La Verruga, for the nucleus of Facinas from the springs of Las Cabrerizas and the Mariano Gorge, finally the nucleus of Tahivilla takes water from the springs of Mesa de las Habas.

Cleaning

The cleaning of public roads and waste collection are coordinated by the Cleaning Delegation of the City Council of Tarifa through the company ARCGISA. This public company belongs to the Commonwealth of Campo de Gibraltar Municipalities and there are several municipalities that have delegates in it for various services. In the case of the city of Tarifa, ARCGISA carries out the cleaning of public roads, being the only one of the region that has this service jointly, and the selective collection of urban solid waste and its subsequent treatment and elimination.

Social welfare

Education

In the city of Tarifa there are currently seven educational centers that guarantee compulsory public education to schoolchildren in the city; of them an Infant School, three Infant and Primary Education centers, two Secondary Education Institutes, one of which allows the completion of Vocational Training cycles for middle and higher grades and a center for adults. There are also two Infant and Primary Education centers in the Facinas and Tahivilla nuclei.

In the city there is an Open Classroom of the University of Cádiz that carries out various activities.

Health

According to the Public Health System of Andalusia, Tarifa belongs to the district A.G.S. Campo de Gibraltar that includes all the populations of the region. This district is divided into basic zones, the city of Tarifa and its population centers belonging to one of them. Thus, there is a Health Center in the city which fulfills the function of first levels of care, a local clinic in Facinas, another in Tahivilla and an auxiliary center in Bolonia. Specialized hospital services are carried out at the Punta Europa Hospital, located in Algeciras, which includes, together with the Hospital de La Línea de la Concepción medical assistance from the entire health district.

Heritage

Puerta de Jerez

The historic center of the city of Tarifa, delimited by its ancient medieval walls, was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in the Monumental Complex category in 2003. Wide sections of the old walled enclosure are preserved either in their original situation or integrated as part of the buildings as in the Alameda area, a tree-lined pedestrian promenade built in the second half of the XIX century At the southern end of which is the monument to Guzmán el Bueno, erected in 1960, the work of Manuel Reiné Jiménez.

Church of San Francisco

Of the three gates of the old medina, the Puerta del Retiro located to the east and the Puerta del Mar to the west have disappeared, but the so-called Puerta de Jerez, which gave access to the town from the north, still remains. The Puerta de Jerez was built in the XIII century, probably at the time the city was under the control of the Merinids, when it was produced the expansion of the walled enclosure towards the suburb. Today it has lost its character as a bent access due to the renovations it has undergone, but its external structure remains practically unchanged.

To the south is the Castillo de Los Guzmanes. The fortress began to be built under the mandate of Abderramán III and its works concluded in 960, being modified on multiple occasions over the years. Within the complex that forms the castle, the so-called Torre de Guzmán el Bueno stands out. This watchtower, attached to the castle by a 40-meter-high coracha, was built in the XIII century and is practically preserved in its original condition. integrity.

A variety of religious constructions are especially important within the walls. The Church of Santiago, which is located in the Barrio de Jesús, or Aljaranda, was built in the XIV century on the remains of an old mosque. It is a rectangular temple with a single nave.

The Church of Santa María located next to the castle was later rebuilt as a mosque. The Church of San Francisco was rebuilt on a pre-existing temple in 1797 and has a sober façade in the Baroque and neoclassical styles. Lastly, the Church of San Mateo is the main temple of the city. It was built at the beginning of the XVI century in the Gothic style. Despite the numerous buildings that today are attached to the sides of the temple, it is possible to observe the wide unfinished façade due to the withdrawal of the subsidies given by the Marquis of Tarifa during the lawsuit that was established with the city council.

Outside the city walls, to the west of the Torre de Guzmán, is the Castillo de Santa Catalina. This fort is built on the hill of the same name, on which a hermitage had been built in the XVI century. With the aim of securing the batteries of Isla de Las Palomas in 1813, the British Corps of Engineers built the current fort using rocks from the same hill.

Throughout its municipal area there are 8 beacon towers declared an Asset of Cultural Interest that mark its entire coast and inland valleys, forming part of the coastal surveillance system built from the Middle Ages to the last century. XVI. These beacons respond to very different typologies in relation to the time of their construction, such as the so-called Torre de la Peña with a square floor plan and a disputed chronology, although it already existed in 1248 when the Castilian conquest of Vejer de la Frontera took place, the Torre de Cabo de Gracia, with a cylindrical floor plan, ordered to be built in 1577 and converted today into the Camarinal lighthouse, or the Guadalmesí tower.

Urbanism

View of the street Amarguras de Tarifa

Wind sauce

The historic center of the city is located inside the medieval walls, which are preserved practically around the entire perimeter when they were disregarded during the century XIX the possibility of demolishing them as was being done in other Spanish municipalities. The houses in the old town present a typical architecture of the towns of Andalusia, with whitewashed buildings of one or two floors. The medieval layout of the city with narrow streets without any urban planning is maintained in this area. The area outside the walls of Tarifa began to be urbanized from the 1970s, when Avenida de Andalucía was born as the main street in the city.

The importance of the rural population resulted in the creation in 1957 of the Minor Local Entity of Tahivilla. Later, in 1990, the population of Facinas was constituted as a Minor Local Entity. The nucleus of Tahivilla was born as a consequence of the agrarian reform undertaken during the Second Spanish Republic when the properties of Fernando Fernández de Córdoba, Duke of Lerma, became national property and the repopulation with peasants was undertaken. Facinas for his part is cited in sources at least dating back to the 12th century and remains populated to the present day.

Other settlements in the municipal area also have a livestock origin, such as the neighborhoods of El Almarchal or Bolonia, or the arrival of tourism during the 1990s. In this sense, the Atlanterra urbanization stands out, 42 kilometers from Tarifa., which reaches a population of more than 20,000 inhabitants during the summer.

Culture

Church of St. Matthew

Cultural facilities

The municipality has three public libraries, the Mercedes Gaibrois de Tarifa Municipal Library located in the town's Plaza de Santa María, the Facinas Municipal Library located in the Plaza de la Merced of this nucleus and the thematic library of the Archaeological Complex of Baelo Claudia.

The permanent exhibition hall of the archaeological complex of Baelo Claudia, located in the vicinity of the Roman site, is a reference element within the cultural offer of the city. The building is the work of the architect Guillermo Vázquez Consuegra, functioning as an interpretation center for archaeological remains and as a thematic library. It is organized on two floors along which the visitor is guided through the history of the city while allowing a broad view of the Baelo complex and the entire Bolonia cove.

Festivals

On the first Sunday of September, the venerated Virgen de la Luz arrives in the city, from her sanctuary located 8 km from the city, accompanied by a large number of people from Tarifa and escorted by hundreds of horsemen in the so-called Agricultural Cavalcade.. This event, declared a "Fiesta of Tourist Interest in Andalusia" since 2010, marks the beginning of the Royal Fair. This fair, the most important of the town's celebrations, lasts for a week that culminates with the Procession of the Virgin through the streets of the city. On September 8, the Virgen de la Luz festival is a local festival in Tarifa and different liturgical acts are held in the temple and related to the world of horses at the fairgrounds, with horseback riding or ribbon races.

View of the murals from the road Cadiz-Málaga in Tarifa

Once the Royal Fair is over, the Virgin's stay in the city lasts until the fourth Sunday in September, the day on which the Traditional Pilgrimage takes place, with a pilgrimage to the sanctuary located on the outskirts of the city. The eve of this Sunday the massive act of consecration of the town to its patron saint is carried out, in which thousands of people say goodbye to the Virgin passing under the mantle.

The religious festivals of Holy Week in Tarifa are also important, and the maritime pilgrimage of the Virgen del Carmen that takes place on July 16 with the departure of the local boats to the sea and various gastronomic events. Among the secular festivals, the Carnival stands out, celebrated in February or the cattle fair in October.

Cultural events

The city is the headquarters of the Tarifa African Film Festival (FCAT) organized by the Al Tarab Strait Cultural Dissemination Center and supported by the Cádiz Provincial Council, the Commonwealth of Campo de Gibraltar Municipalities and the Dos Orillas Organization.

Featured Characters

Principal level: Born in Tarifa

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