Cdiz is a coastal city in southwestern Spain in the region of Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of Cdiz. As of the 2003 census the population was 134,989, and the population of the entire urban area was estimated to be 406,095, ranking as the 16th-largest urban area of Spain.
History
The city was originally founded as Gadir (Phoenician ??? “walled city”) by the Phoenicians, who used it in their trade with Tartessos. The Greeks knew it as Gadira or Gadeira. Traditionally, its date of establishment is about 1100 BCE, although as of 2004 no archaeological finds have been found that date back further than the 9th century BCE. One resolution of this discrepancy has been to assume that it was, in the initial phase, merely a small trading post. It is regarded as the most ancient city still standing in western Europe. According to Greek legend, Gadir was founded by Heracles after killing Geryon. Indeed, one of its notable features during this era was the temple dedicated to the Phoenician god Melqart. Some historians think that the columns of this temple gave origin to the myth of the Columns of Hercules (Melqart was associated by the Greeks with Heracles, or Hercules).
In about 500 BCE the city fell under the sway of Carthage. In 206, the city fell to Roman forces under Scipio Africanus. Under the Romans it was renamed Gades. The city flourished under Roman rule, but with the decline of the Roman Empire, Gades’ commercial importance began to fade.
Under Moorish rule, the city was called Q?dis (Arabic ????), and the modern Spanish name Cdiz was derived from this form.
Related Travel Information
Rota is a town of approximately 26,000 people in the Andalusia region of Spain, located in Cadiz province, across the Bay of Cadiz from the city of the same name. It is bordered by the Spanish towns of Chipiona, Jerez, and El Puerto de Santa María.
Located on the Atlantic coast, approximately halfway between Portugal and Gibraltar, it is primarily a resort town, a summer destination for tourists coming from all points in Europe. During the off-season, its main commercial activity centres on the fishing industry.
Rota is also the location of both a Spanish Naval base and a U.S. Naval base
El Puerto de Santa María is a city located on the banks of the Guadalete River in the province of Cádiz, Spain. According to the 2003 census, the city has a population of 79,889, of which 49,924 live in the urban center, and the remainder in the surrounding areas.
Geography
El Puerto de Santa María is located on the Atlantic coast of the Bay of Cádiz, near the municipalities of Jerez de la Frontera, Rota, Puerto Real, and Cádiz. It is popular for its beaches, which are the town's principal tourist attraction. Well known beaches include Vistahermosa, Valdelagrana, and La Puntilla. Like
Jerez de la Frontera is a city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain.
It is where sherry originated and it is one of the original centres of Flamenco. Frontera refers to its location formerly being on the frontier, or border, between the Moorish and Christian regions of Spain.
It is the home of the Xerez Club Deportivo football team.
Jerez is also home to the motorsport race circuit Circuito Permante de Jerez.
10 km north is the Airport Jerez.
Huelva is a city in southwestern Spain, the capital of the province of Huelva in the autonomous region of Andalusia. It is located along the Gulf of Cadiz coast, at the confluence of the Odiel and Tinto rivers.
The city was called Onuba during Roman times; the Arabs then called it Walbah. It suffered substantial damage in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake.
La Línea de la Concepción (generally known as La Línea) is a town in Spain, in the province of Cadiz in Andalucia. It borders on the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, with which has close economic and social links.
Many of its people (known in Spanish as linenses or piojoso) have traditionally found work in Gibraltar, although this was adversely affected by the closure of the border between 1969 and 1982. Since the border was fully reopened in 1985, many Gibraltarians now live in La Línea, where the property prices and the cost of living are much lower.
