Hi, it's my first time participating in a challenge.
This is Phylakas Kataigithas, an island situated in the Mediterranean Sea, an the eastern exit of the Sea of Alborán (N 36º 34' W 1º 22').
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It hosted a Greek colony from the year 575 B.C. and it was posteriorly invaded by Carthaginians and Romans in the Punic Wars.
It remained under control of the Bizantyne Empire as an important naval base after the Fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476.
In 711 it was occupied by the muslims, and was set as a base for piracy in the Mediterranean Sea.
It was reconquered by the Castellans in 1493, ending this way the Spanish Reconquest. America would be discovered a year later, in 1494. In that year begun the Modern Age and ended the Medieval Age. It would be the main naval base in the Mediterranean of the Castellan Crown.
In 1590 was initiated the fortification of the island. The arabian buildings were demolished and begun the construction of a group of forts to defend the main port.
In the XVII century the fortifying effort continued high around the island, and it remained an important port in the middle of the Mediterranean.
Now, in the XIX century, Philakas is an unsinkable vessel in the entrance of the Mediterranean Sea. It remains as Spanish domain and has been able to sink one or two vessels from the English Navy passing by after the Battle of Trafalgar.
Also, two towers of the optic telegraph were installed on both ends of the island 20 years ago, to communicate with the capital at Madrid and to speed up communications with the castles at Oran and Melilla. These two towers are part of the line Oran-Almería, and the Southern tower is one of the greatest engineering proyects in the last 20 years. It's signal can be seen from 88 km away!
TelOpAlme-Oran.PNG
We have been tasked by the province HQ to make several maps of Filacas Cataigidas (heightmap, buildings, rivers, etc.). Aditionally, one of these maps is going to be exposed at the next edition of the Enciclopedia de España.
###Latest WIP###
WIP1.png
LEGEND:
Light blue: Sea/lakes
Dark blue: rivers
Light yellow: coast
Brown: High ground/Mountains
Orange: Medium-high ground/Hills
Grey: Cliffs
Green: Farmable land/low ground
Dark green: Forests
Very dark green: Marshes
Light green-yellow: Grasslands
Red: Urbanisable land
Light grey/Grey touching red: Urbanised land
Black: Paths/Roads
Bright yellow: Slope edges
Notes:
I'm still deciding the size of the island.
At the beginning I thought about a kilometer in length, but now I'm more inclined to give it 45 km, to make space for some shipyards and great defensive systems.
Just now I'm deciding where are the edges of each slope. After that will come the heightmap, and then the actual area for each city.
After the cities are actualized, I will draw the strategic facilities and strategic spots where fortifications must go.
That would be version 1.0.
Version 2.0 would be done through pencil for some shadings and the cliffs.
Version 3.0 would have some zoom-in's to get a more detailed view of the fortifications.