Cádiz

Cádiz (kəˈdɪz, USalsoˈkeɪdᵻz,_ˈkæd-,_ˈkɑːd-, ˈkaðiθ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Southern Europe, was founded by the Phoenicians. In the 18th century, the Port in the Bay of Cádiz consolidated as the main harbor of mainland Spain, enjoying the virtual monopoly of trade with the Americas until 1778. It is also the site of the University of Cádiz. Situated on a narrow slice of land surrounded by the sea‚ Cádiz is, in most respects, a typically Andalusian city with well-preserved historical landmarks. The older part of Cádiz, within the remnants of the city walls, is commonly referred to as the Old Town (Spanish: Casco Antiguo), and represents a large area of the total size of the city . It is characterized by the antiquity of its various quarters (barrios), among them El Pópulo, La Viña, and Santa María, which present a marked contrast to the newer areas of town. While the Old City's street plan consists of narrow winding alleys connecting large plazas, newer areas of Cádiz typically have wide avenues and more modern buildings. In addition, the city is dotted with numerous parks where exotic plants flourish, including giant trees allegedly brought to Spain by Columbus from the New World. Numismatic inscriptions in the Phoenician language record that the Phoenicians knew the site as a Gadir or Agadir (𐤀𐤂𐤃𐤓, ʾgdr), meaning 'wall', 'compound', or (by metonymy) 'stronghold'. Borrowed by the Berber languages, this became the agadir (Tamazight: 'wall'; Shilha: 'fortified granary') common in North African place names, such as that of the Moroccan city of Agadir. The Carthaginians continued to use this name and all subsequent names have derived from it. Attic Greek sources hellenized Gadir as tà Gádeira (τὰ Γάδειρα), which is neuter plural. Herodotus, using Ionic Greek, transcribed it a little differently, as Gḗdeira (Γήδειρα).