Holiday in Transition # 10: World-Famous Boulder

It stands near the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula like a gigantic exclamation mark – a symbol of British imperial power or of Spanish humiliation, depending on whose viewpoint you take.  But the stark silhouette of the Rock of Gibraltar looms larger still through centuries of history, a fortress whose strength has certainly determined the fate of nations located nowhere near it.

If you are going to visit Gibraltar for the first time, I would recommend a prior crash course in the history of the region and in the history of warfare over the last two to three centuries.  And that is only partly a joke, because the story of Gibraltar the place is the story of Gibraltar the fortress and naval base.  The two are utterly and totally intertwined.

In this respect I was lucky because my historic background prepared me to get a good deal out of the visit – and I was lucky in another way, because my tour guide was a true specialist in Gibraltarian history.

The first thing he pointed out to us was that the famous Prudential Insurance slogan – “Solid as the Rock of Gibraltar” – is sadly founded on an untruth.  The Rock may look solid but, like Ontario’s Niagara Escarpment, it’s made of porous limestone.  The Rock is riddled equally with natural caves and man-made tunnels.  Large portions of the Rock are now in fact hollow!

For this post, a map will certainly be helpful. 

Gibraltar’s location, as much as its height, makes it equally the key to the east-west route through the Straits of Gibraltar, from Atlantic to Mediterranean, and the north-south route from Spain to Morocco.  The Rock was ceded to England by Spain in the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, and has remained a British possession ever since.  

As a key stopover point en route to the colonies in Africa, India and East Asia, Gibraltar came in for a good deal of attention during both the Napoleonic Wars in the 19^th Century and the two great World Wars in the 20^th Century.  The combination of Gibraltar and the Spanish city of Algeciras on the west side of the bay has produced what is unquestionably the busiest port we've visited on this cruise.  Gibraltar also served as a key bastion, along with Malta and Cyprus farther east, in protecting the Suez Canal which was the most critical lifeline of imperial trade and defence for the British Empire.

But Gibraltar does have a weakness.  The Rock has only the most limited resources, and depends heavily on links to the outside world for vital supplies – and the only land link is through Spain.  However, Spain has never given up hope of getting Gibraltar back, and there have been times when the border has been closed or at least heavily jammed up with bureaucratic red tape.  Not only that, but the massive Rock takes up so much of the tiny territory that the only possible location for an airport is on that flat strip of land linking the Rock to the Spanish mainland – and the airport sits right beside the border fence.  Indeed, out of sheer necessity, the airport’s runway stretches across the entire width of the peninsula and into the ocean and therefore has to be crossed by the one and only road out of Gibraltar.

On the other hand, Gibraltar does have its own secret weapon – the stubbornly determined Gibraltarian people.  Twice now in referendums they have demonstrated their overwhelming (over 99%) determination to remain as a British territory. 

All in all I was completely engaged and fascinated by the stories told by our guide and the way in which land, water, and people all interweave in those stories.  Among the fascinating spots we visited was the Gibraltar Museum in which the rooms of a genuine preserved Moorish bath rub shoulders with artifacts from the long centuries of warfare in which Gibraltar has changed hands so many times.

So, herewith, a photo portfolio of the unique territory of Gibraltar.  First, a panorama of the Rock from the vantage point of a cruise ship in the harbour.

Europa Point, the southernmost tip of Gibraltar, facing directly towards Morocco across the Straits.

A panorama of the town and harbour from the summit of the rock, at the top of the cable car route.

A panorama of the airport, with the broad main road crossing the runway and the boundary fence extending into the ocean at either side.  The far edge of the modern terminal building sits right on the border.  Beyond lies the Spanish town of La Linea (“The Line”).

The most famous inhabitants of the Rock, its wild monkeys (despite the common name of “Barbary Apes” they are in fact not apes) at the summit station of the cable car.

The interior of the Great Siege Tunnels. These were excavated during the last Spanish attempt to reclaim Gibraltar by force, in the early 1780s.  The tunnels gave access to numerous spots on the north face of the Rock, from which heavy cannon fire could be trained directly down upon the so-called “Neutral Ground” where the airport and La Linea now stand.

After today’s visit, Gibraltar joins the list of places that I want to visit again in more depth.  The next trip to Europe is shaping up to be a very expensive one!