August 26, 2009

Introduction to Gibraltar

Introduction to Gibraltar


Nowadays you can drive your car straight onto Gibraltar (in the old days, you used to have to go via Morocco--from Spain by sea to Morocco and then back again to Spain). After waiting in the usually-long car line through passport control, you drive (or walk) right on and over the airport runway to get to town. The town is pretty much one long street with the usual duty free, pubs, and shops, and English is the official language. The famous monkeys (actually Barbary apes--the only apes native to Europe) are up on The Rock, which is huge and has tunnels and a large cave inside; taxi and bus tours can be arranged on the spot in town. During WW II, Winston Churchill said that if the apes ever disappeared from The Rock it would foretell the end of the British Empire (and General Eisenhower launched the Allied attack on North Africa from an office deep inside this Rock).


More animal attractions.


1 comment:

  1. In the REALLY old days (pre-1969-70 or so), you could drive directly from Spain to Gibraltar, so the detour through Morocco was yet another iteration of the border. I think I once wrote a paper about this but can't remember details.

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