The Rock of Gibraltar

Trip Start Jan 10, 2008
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34
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Trip End Apr 22, 2008


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Flag of Gibraltar  ,
Tuesday, April 15, 2008

The Rock of Gibraltar is only 3 sq. miles in area but it offers a military strong point. Europe is only 8 miles from Africa & the straits are 36 miles long. Whoever controls Gibraltar & the harbor is in a good position to control the passage between the Atlantic & the Mediterranean waters. Most recently, Gibraltar was a key naval & air base during World War 11.
Five countries have battled for 13 centuries to control the passage & it has resulted in a melting pot-veiled Moroccan women in caftans, visiting Englishmen & Spaniards stroll the narrow steep streets.
Gibraltar is currently a British Commonwealth but voters often decide whether to remain British or return to Spain. The decision among the 30,000 inhabitants is almost 100% in favor of remaining British.
We were in Gibraltar for only 5 hrs. today which was enough to see the places of interest. Another couple & I took a mini van on a guided tour. We saw St. Michael's Cave (underground grotto with stalactites), the Ape's Den (a colony of tailless monkeys), the Great Siege Tunnels (complex tunnels carved out of solid limestone in 1779-83 & lined with cannons) & a Moorish Castle (a fortress built in 1333 where the black streaks under the windows came from hot oil being poored on the Spanish). Excellent tour!
We are now cruising across a rough No. Atlantic Ocean to Lisbon, Portugal where we will arrive tomorrow.
Linda
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Comments

karman
karman on Apr 15, 2008 at 07:10PM

The Rock
Now I know why they use the rock of Gibraltar to describe something very strong! I'll make sure the girls read the blog today, I think they have missed the last few because of spring break.
Kathy

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