- Algeciras is a Port city near Gibraltar in the Andalucia Province of southern Spain. It is one of the largest Ports in Europe.
- It was the Roman town of Portus Albus located in the Province of Baetica. Portus Albus was one of a cluster of three adjacent Roman ports, the others being Julia Traducta and Caetaria, which had a fish salting factory.
Strait of Gibraltar
- Algeciras gives on to the Strait of Gibraltar, which is the sea between Gibraltar and Morocco, and the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.
- The distance at the narrowest point is 8.1 miles (13km) and the winds blow predominately from the east (the Levante) or the west (the Poniente).
Pillars of Hercules
- Eratosthenes (c.275-194 BCE) associated the Pillars of Hercules with the Strait of Gibraltar, with the Rock of Gibraltar on one side and Jebel Musa near Ceuta on the other.
- Prior to Eratosthenes, ancient Greek writers placed the Pillars of Hercules on the Strait of Sicily between Sicily and Tunisia.
Carteia
- Nearby are the ruins of the Roman town of Carteia are located between the town of San Roque and Gibraltar.
- Strabo wrote that it was founded by the Phoenicians in 940 BCE.
- In 190 BCE Carteia finally fell to the Romans and it became a Roman naval base from 67 BCE onwards.
- The site holds the Ruins of Roman Temples, Kilns and a Forum
Algeciras