Gibraltar - bit of Britain in Spain
How has this enclave survived?
Since the early eighteenth century, a bit of Spain has been under British control. Its inhabitants don’t want that to change any time soon. So, what’s it like? I went to find out.
Gibraltar is located at the southern tip of Spain. You can literally see Morocco - the northern coast of Africa - from Gibraltar. At its centre is a gigantic rock formation - the rock of Gibraltar. Once believed to be one of the Pillars of Hercules that marked the end of the known world. The ancients thought that beyond this westernmost point of the Mediterranean, there was a world of unknown terrors in the big, wide Atlantic.
In 1713, Britain took control of Gibraltar during the War of the Spanish Succession - a war so complicated to understand that I won’t both trying to explain it here. Ever since, Spain has wanted to grab it back. But it’s evolved into an incongruous outpost of Britain in the sun. I had never been before but this month (September 2024), the cruise ship I was on docked there. So, I went to have a look around.
Gibraltar apes - not cute
I got the cable car up the rock and was greeted by its most famous residents - the Gibraltar apes. There are some three or four hundred of them. Personally, I don’t find them cute. I was particularly unhappy about the one that leaped on my shoulder to grab hold of my bag. Luckily a Spanish guide pulled it off. These aren’t cute little monkeys but rapacious baboons.
A young American guy nearby got bitten and went into meltdown about whether he should get a tetanus shot. Basically, they wander round the outside of the cafeteria while customers cower inside eating their ice creams before they’re nabbed. In the 1940s, they nearly died out but Winston Churchill introduced them from north Africa with characteristic hokum about British rule in Gibraltar ending if the apes vanished.
Here’s an ape waiting outside the cafeteria…
Gorgeous St Michael’s Cave
Within the rock of Gibraltar, there is an incredible network of limestone caves - called St Michael’s Cave. Really stunning rock formations and a recommended visit. Only thing that bugged me is another beautiful cave that’s been spoiled by an over-the-top light show and way too much concrete poured all over the place to improve access.
Moorish remains under Gibraltar
Down a side street I found the national museum of Gibraltar which is a rather modest affair but underneath the building is a surviving remnant of Moorish Gibraltar - when the city was under Muslim control in the fourteenth century. It’s a bathhouse and an incredible find. The highlight of my visit to Gibraltar.
