Stairs to happiness, flashpoint for crisis

A border fence, seen from Fnideq, Morocco, divides the country from the Spanish territory of Ceuta. They are physically separated by only a mile, but Ceuta and Fnideq are intertwined by family and trade. A recent border crisis is the latest chapter in their story. — Sergey Ponomarev/The New York Times

THE two North African towns are only 1.5km apart, but vast differences separate them.

Ceuta sits near the northernmost tip of Morocco and juts into the Mediterranean Sea like an elephant’s trunk. It is a territory of Spain whose people enjoy the benefits of membership in the European Union.