Last post on my trip to Spain, although this one is actually about Gibraltar. There’s something intrinsically appealing about tiny country, so I took a day trip there.
Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory, and is just 2.6 square miles, most of which is taken up by the rock of Gibraltar. But they’ve still managed to fit in 33,700 people, making it one of the most densely populated areas on Earth.
The name Gibraltar comes from ‘Jebel Tarik’, Arabic or ‘Tarik’s mountain’. This is in reference to Tarik ibn Zeyad, who landed here in 711, marking the beginning of the six hundred years in which Gibraltar was Moorish. In 1160 they built the first city here, as well as a castle which still stands.
In 1462, Gibraltar was captured by the King of Castile, then four years later by the Duke of Medina. I’m a bit confused on what happened after that, but come 1501 it was the property of the Spanish Crown, and remained so until the early eighteenth century.
During the War of the Spanish Succession, Philip of Anjou and the Austrian Archduke Charles, both claimants to the Spanish throne, fought for control of Gibraltar. It fell to an Anglo-Dutch force in 1704, and at the end of the war was ceded to Britain. Spain tried to retake it in 1727, then again in 1779, in the four year Great Siege. That was the last attempt to take Gibraltar by force.
The reason why so many countries were interested in Gibraltar is its position. The Strait of Gibraltar separates Europe from Africa, and connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea, making it an important shipping route. And holding Gibraltar means the ability to control this stretch, and block it off to enemy navies.
In the nineteenth century, Gibraltar was given added fortification, and this was when the town really started to emerge. It was very important during both world wars, both for the aforementioned reason, and as an assembly point for naval convoys. Most of the civilian population were evacuation for the duration of the Second World War.
There is a system of tunnels going through the Rock. The oldest date back to the Great Siege, but most of them are from the Second World War. From the pictures and descriptions, they seem pretty amazing.
To get from Spain to Gibraltar, you must pass through the airport, over the runway, because they built it over the only way in. We were warned this could mean a wait of half an hour to get in – or out, I guess – though the coach I was on only had to wait five or ten minutes.
In addition to this oddness, the runway goes right out over the water. It just goes straight from airport to water. When I’ve flown, I don’t find take off and landing to be more worrying than the rest of the flight, but I imagine I’d feel differently it involved this airport.
Once in Gibraltar, there was the option to spend the whole time doing our own thing, or to first go up the Rock to see the monkeys. And other things, which were definitely worth seeing, but it was mostly about the monkeys. I chose this option.
There were a couple of stops, which weren’t very long. That was the one issue I had with the trip up the Rock, although I do understand why it was that way. I’m sure there will be trips which give people longer, but they probably won’t be tagged on as a bonus to the day trips.
The first stop was Europa Point, Gibraltar’s southernmost point. So this is probably the best point to look across to Africa, and there are a few landmarks around here. But we were only there for about ten minutes, so it was just a quick glance round. A nice glance round though.
Our main destination was St Michael’s Cave. It’s a pretty amazing cave, though again, I had to dash through a bit. We had longer up here, but still not long.
The main cavern of the cave has been turned into an auditorium. The only change that seems to have been made is to make a seating area, and to add lighting. It was lit up by a big, colour changing light (hence why my photos have such weird lighting), because I guess they want visitors to have some of the experience of it as an auditorium even if they’re not there for a show. It must be a pretty awesome place to watch a show. I’d never want all caves to be like this, but for one it makes for a cool, unique experience.
There’s more to the cave that just that one cavern, and the other parts that are open to walk through provide more of a typical cave experience. And there’s apparently a Lower St Michael’s Cave, to which you can get a guided tour.
The people running the trip practically ordered us into the cave, and I’m very glad of it. The reason they had to this was because this was also where the moneys were, and I think everyone would have been quite content to just watch them the whole time, completely oblivious to the amazing cave that was right next to us.
The monkeys are Barbary Macaques, which are tailless monkeys, and so often mistaken for apes. Apparently that’s the most distinguisher between them, but isn’t, as it turns out, one hundred percent reliable.
Exactly when the monkeys were introduced is unclear, but it seems like they were introduced. The most likely explanation is that they were introduced by the Moors. No-one is sure, but that seems to make sense.
They weren’t shy. Some stayed out of the way a bit, but they weren’t really hiding – although I suppose I wouldn’t have seen any who were hiding. But some just didn’t care at all. One just walked right through the crowd of people when we first got off the coach.
The best thing was seeing a baby one, with two adults. I originally wrote ‘its parents’, but it seems Barbary Macaques don’t actually know which male is which baby’s father, and if I’m understanding correctly, all the adults just parents all the babies. But it was being looked after. They were on the roof of the shop/café the enter the cave through, and there was a good vantage point to see them.
Then we were taken back down the Rock, and still had a good chunk of time to explore the main town. I didn’t do a lot of exploring, just wandered up and down the main street, occasionally going into squares or side streets. By that time I’d done enough that I felt the trip had been worth it. I saw some cool buildings, though.
Money wise, Gibraltar have their own pound coins and notes, but there were also a lot of UK coins floating about, and the option to pay in euros. I collect coins, and I was able to add a few Gibraltean ones I’ve never seen before.
One thing that most people probably wouldn’t care about, but which delighted me, was that there was an Edward VII postbox. British postboxes have the initial and regnal number of the monarch in whose reign they were placed, and Edward VIIs are quite rare. In fact the only place I’ve seen one was in the Isle of Man. Just like there, this one was in much better conditions than the older ones in the UK usually are. I guess other places just take better care of their postboxes.
It was a very enjoyable day, and I feel like I got more than I expected. Thanks for visiting my blog.
