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OpenCage ๐Ÿ‘‰๐ŸŒ

5/ Leaving linguistics behind, let's move on to geographic curiosities with the interesting case of Tangier.

Located in northwestern Morocco ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฆ from 1925 to 1956 (except for a Spanish occupation from 1940-45) the city was an "international zone", co-governed/administered by France ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท, Spain ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ, Britain ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง, the US ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธfrom 1925 to 1956 and separate from the rest of Morocco.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangier_

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OpenCage ๐Ÿ‘‰๐ŸŒ

6/ Until 1956 northern Morocco ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฆ was a protectorate of Spain ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_

Even today there are two Spanish "autonomous cities" on the Mediterranean coast: Ceuta and and Melilla

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OpenCage ๐Ÿ‘‰๐ŸŒ

7/ The two cities are the largest of the "Plazas de soberanรญa" a series of smaller Spanish ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ territories along the northern coast of Morocco.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plazas_d

Since independence in 1956 Morocco ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฆ has claimed all of them.

One that deserves special mention is Peรฑรณn de Vรฉlez de la Gomera. It was an island until 1930 when a major sandstorm created an 85m land connection - the world's shortest land border!

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pe%C3%B1

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7/ The two cities are the largest of the "Plazas de soberanรญa" a series of smaller Spanish ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ territories along the northern coast of Morocco.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plazas_d

Since independence in 1956 Morocco ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฆ has claimed all of them.

One that deserves special mention is Peรฑรณn de Vรฉlez de la Gomera. It was an island until 1930 when a major sandstorm created an 85m land connection - the world's shortest land border!

OpenCage ๐Ÿ‘‰๐ŸŒ

8/ We can now turn south to the dispute surrounding Western Sahara (ISO code "EH") - the world's largest disputed territory.

A ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ Spanish-occupied territory until 1975, roughly 80% of the territory is now governed by the ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Moroccan government, whilst the remaining 20% is ruled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ญ, a partially recognised state.

The dispute has been running for over 50 years, regularly flaring up into full blown war.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_

#geoweirdness

8/ We can now turn south to the dispute surrounding Western Sahara (ISO code "EH") - the world's largest disputed territory.

A ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ Spanish-occupied territory until 1975, roughly 80% of the territory is now governed by the ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Moroccan government, whilst the remaining 20% is ruled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ญ, a partially recognised state.

OpenCage ๐Ÿ‘‰๐ŸŒ

9/ As part of the conflict Morocco ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฆ has built a series of massive sand walls ("berms") to prevent movement of fighters of the Polisario Front - the nationalist movement of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ญ

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moroccan

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OpenCage ๐Ÿ‘‰๐ŸŒ

10/ The conflict has largely simmered on without much international attention, though in 2020 it came back into focus when the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ recognised ๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Morocco's annexation of what it refers to as its "Southern Provinces" as part of diplomatic normalisation agreement talks between Morocco and Israel ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฑ

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel%E

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