Almeida, Portugal the current name was first used, in the form of the Arabic "al-Ma'ida" ('the plateau'). The village of Almeida was captured from the Moors by the second king of Portugal, Sancho I in the 12th century because of its strategic position on the new country of Portugal's border with Spain. So important to the security of the country, Sancho had the village heavily fortified. The castle was refortified on three further occasions by King Dinis, King Manuel I and by King João VI. The present 12 pointed star fortification was constructed in 1641 to a Vaubanesque plan on which the
Moldova–Ukraine border Moldova–Ukraine border The modern Moldova–Ukraine border, the official border between Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, was established after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The length of the inland border is , of which , is fluvial (i.e., along rivers) and , is land border. About , of it constitutes the "de facto" border between Ukraine and the unrecognized breakaway republic of Transnistria. The border runs from the northern Romania-Moldova-Ukraine tripoint in the northwest of the country, , from the Ukrainian village and border crossing of Mamalyha, Ukraine to Criva, Briceni, Moldova. It runs east until the city and border