Tarifa

Tarifa

Understand Kite-surfing at Playa Los Lances The town is named for Tarif ibn Malik who captured it in 710 AD. It was fortified and held by several taifas – Moorish petty kingdoms – until captured by the Christian Castilians in 1292. It withstood two counterattacks, and in the 14th century became the Castilian navy’s main base for the Strait when Algeciras again fell to the Moors. Once the Moors were entirely ousted from Spain in 1492, Tarifa lost its strategic value and made its living from agriculture and tuna fishing. It again withstood sieges in 1811 and 1812 when the British and Spanish together repulsed Napoleon. Modern visitors are drawn by Tarifa’s long sandy Atlantic beach, where strong winds create good conditions for windsurfing and kite-surfing.

Source: Wikivoyage · CC BY-SA 4.0.