GIBRALTAR

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Monarch Air flight to Gibraltar was smooth, arrived there late afternoon, quite a sight to walk out of the plane with the massive rock in the background, the tarmac also serves as regular road for cars so they have to close the roads when a plane lands, brief intro and off to our first camp in Spain, where we spent two nights, then off to Algeciras to catch a ferry to Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in the African continent.


WIKI INFO:

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. The territory shares a border with Spain to the north. Gibraltar has historically been an important base for the British Armed Forces and is the site of a Royal Navy base.

The name of the territory is derived from the Arabic name Jabal Tāriq (جبل طارق), meaning "mountain of Tariq", or from Gibel Tāriq, meaning "rock of Tariq". It refers to the geological formation, the Rock of Gibraltar, and the Berber Umayyad general Tariq ibn-Ziyad, who led the initial incursion into Iberia in advance of the main Moorish force in 711. Earlier, it was known as Mons Calpe, one of the Pillars of Hercules. Today, Gibraltar is known colloquially as Gib or The Rock.

The sovereignty of Gibraltar is a major issue of contention in Anglo-Spanish relations. Spain requests the return of sovereignty, ceded by Spain in perpetuity in 1713 under the Treaty of Utrecht. The overwhelming majority of Gibraltarians strongly oppose this, along with any proposal of shared sovereignty.

The territory covers 2.53 square miles (6.543 km²). It shares a three-quarter mile (1.2 km) land border with Spain. On the Spanish side is the town La Línea de la Concepción, a municipality of Cádiz province. The part of Cádiz province next to Gibraltar is called Campo de Gibraltar, literally Gibraltar Countryside. The shoreline measures 7½ miles (12 km) in length. There are two coasts (sides) of Gibraltar - the East Side, which contains the settlements of Sandy Bay and Catalan Bay, and the West Side, where the vast majority of the population lives.


A panoramic view from the top of the Rock of Gibraltar looking north
A macaque in Gibraltar.Having negligible natural resources and few natural freshwater resources, limited to natural wells in the north, until recently Gibraltar used large concrete or natural rock water catchments to collect water. Fresh water from the boreholes is supplemented by two desalination plants: a reverse osmosis plant, constructed in a tunnel within the rock, and a multi-stage flash distillation plant at North Mole.

Gibraltar is one of the most densely populated territories in the world, with approximately 11,187 people per square mile (4,303/km²). The growing demand for space is being increasingly met by land reclamation; reclaimed land currently comprises approximately one tenth of the territory's total area.

The Rock itself is made of limestone and is 1,396 feet (426 m) high. It contains many miles of tunnelled roads, most of which are operated by the military and closed to the public.


Flora and fauna
Most of its upper area is covered by a nature reserve, which is home to around 230 Barbary Macaques, commonly known as 'apes', the only wild monkeys found in Europe. They sometimes visit the town area. Recent genetic studies and historical documents point to their presence on the Rock before its capture by the British. A superstition analogous to that of the ravens at the Tower of London states that if the monkeys ever leave, so will the British.

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Photos

GIBRALTAR
CAVES