Gibraltar

Looming like some great ship off southern Spain, the British colony of Gibraltar is a fascinating compound of curiosities. Despite bobbies on the beat, red post boxes and other reminders of 1960s England, Gibraltar is actually a cultural cocktail with Genoese, Spanish, North African and other elements which have made it fantastically prosperous. Naturally, the main sight is the awesome Rock; a vast limestone ridge that rises to 426m, with sheer cliffs on its northern and eastern sides. For the ancient Greeks and Romans this was one of the two Pillars of Hercules, split from the other, Jebel Musa in Morocco, in the course of Hercules’ arduous Twelve Labours. The two great rocks marked the edge of the ancient world. Gibraltar’s location and highly defensible nature have attracted the covetous gaze of military strategists ever since.

Gibraltarians (77% of the population) speak both English and Spanish and, often, a curious mix of the two. Signs are in English. Gibraltar’s terrific agenda for visitors includes exploring its natural world, its military installations, and its quirky town.

History

In Greek mythology Gibraltar was Calpe, one of the Pillars of Hercules, which marked the edge of the Mediterranean and the known world.

In 711 Tariq ibn Ziyad, the Muslim governor of Tangier , landed at Gibraltar to launch the Islamic invasion of the Iberia Iberian Peninsula . The Rock took his name - Jabal Tariq (Mountain of Tariq) eventually became Gibraltar.

Strategically important, Gibraltar was ceded to Great Britain by Spain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht; the British garrison was formally declared a colony in 1830. The topmost part of the Rock is still a British military installation, and off-limits to the public.

In referendums held in 1967 and 2002, the 27,800 Gibraltarians (2004 figure) ignored foreign pressure and voted overwhelmingly to reject any involvment by Spain in their government. On June 10th 2004, citizens of Gibraltar voted for the first time in the UK MEP (Member of the European Parliament) elections, as part of the South West constituency.

Gibraltar has a low crime rate and a large and efficient police force modelled on the British system to ensure it stays that way.

Gibraltar is part of the European health insurance scheme and has a health service similar to the United Kingdom, with a modern Hospital. Tourists should be aware that the apes are wild animals and can bite and scratch.

By plane

Gibraltar airport has daily scheduled flights to and from London-Gatwick (LGW)[EasyJet] and London-Luton (LTN) [Monarch Airlines] in the UK, and to and from Madrid-Barajas (MAD) [Iberia Airlines and British Airways].

The Monarch service is a lot cheaper than the British Airways, normally half or quarter. The two services usually take off within an hour of each other.

As of Sunday 30th of March, easyJet will commence their scheduled service to The Rock with two daily flights arriving from and departing for London Gatwick since their takeover of GB Airways (the British Airways franchise). The flights arrive from London at 10:50 and 18:45 respectively and prices start from £17.99 single, including taxes and charges. From this point on, a reduced British Airways service will be available, operating just one flight a day to and from Gatwick. Flight schedules will vary depending on season / time of year.

With the introduction of easyJet's operation from Gibraltar, together with the governments planned airport expansion, it opens the door for new routes from Gibraltar to cities such as Berlin, Paris and possibly New York . Private jets are reported to have reached as far as Miami ( Florida , USA ) direct from Gibraltar Airport.

Flights are also available from the African side of the Mediterranean. Specifically, twenty minute short haul flights are available from Agadir in Morocco.

It is also pretty common to reach Gibraltar from the airport in Malaga, it's about 1 hour drive from Gibraltar.

By car

Queues at the border may make it less time-consuming to park cars in La Línea and walk across. The land border is open 24 hours a day, though expect delays when planes are landing - the only road into Gibraltar runs right across the airport runway!

However, once the airport expansion is complete, traffic (except buses) will be diverted around to the east side of the runway to ease overall traffic congestion.

By bus

Buses from Spain stop just short of Gibraltar in La Línea, but its bus station is only 3 minutes walk from the border.

After walking across the border, there are buses every 15 minutes to the centre of Gibraltar and Europa Point, or it's only about another 10 minutes walk (across the runway and through a tunnel under the city walls) to the main Casemates Square.

At La Línea there are regular buses to and from Seville , Malaga , Cadiz , Granada (Spain) Granada and hourly to Algeciras

From Algeciras you can get the bus to Gibraltar. When you walk out from the harbour (with ferries), turn left, walk along the main street for about 100m and then turn right. Continue about 200m along this street to the small building with railroads. There is a small sign for the bus stop. This bus can get you to La Linea for about 1.6 euro and it goes every 30 minutes during the day. You will arrive at the bus station about 500m from the border with Gibraltar. In the summer it can take up to 2 hours to cross the border- air conditioning is recommended! But after all it is worth it! HAVE FUN. Tarifa beach is the best place to go for surfing and bodyboarding.

Current info for Malaga bus station: Estación de Autobuses de Málaga

By boat

When the frontier was closed, there was a ferry service from Gibraltar to Morocco . Although there may be an occasional passenger service geared up to the Moroccan workers in Gibraltar, who have problems crossing the frontier, the Gibraltar ferry has ceased and the nearest service is from Algeciras in Spain. These ferries accommodate cars.

Cruise ships often include Gibraltar as part of their itinerary.

Gibraltar is less than 7 square kilometres, so most of it can be seen on foot. Bear in mind, though, that some of the roads (especially up to the Upper Rock) are very steep. Taxis will take the strain out of the climbs, and all the taxi drivers seem to know all the apes by name. There is a (number 3) bus service that runs from the frontier, through the town and on to Europa Point.