The history of Gibraltar

Gibraltar has been British longer than the United States has been American, but as one of the great maritime prizes, it has been almost constantly fought over since the days of its first permanent settlement, by the Almohad Caliphate, in the 12th century. Under British control, it endured 15 sieges, the most famous of which began in 1779, lasted more than three years and all but razed the town to the ground, destroying four centuries of Moorish and Spanish architecture. To withstand that onslaught from French and Spanish troops, the British dug out the Great Siege Tunnels with sledgehammers, crowbars and the occasional blast of gunpowder – you must see them for yourself.

The Old Town as it is today was largely rebuilt at the turn of the 18th century, in a unique style that drew on influences old and new to reflect the multicultural community that was already calling it home: stucco relief, Genoese shutters, English ironwork, Spanish stained glass, Georgian-era sash and casement windows, a vernacular architecture entirely distinct from the white-painted houses of the neighbouring Cádiz province in Spain.

English is the official language of Gibraltar, but Gibraltarians often converse in Llanito, which is based on Andalusian Spanish but heavily laced with British English, and contains loanwords from Ligurian, Maltese, and Haketia, a largely extinct Judeo-Spanish language that was spoken by the Sephardic communities of Northern Morocco.

The Gibraltar National Museum is the best place to start. Caves on the east side of the rock were home to Neanderthals until 32,000 years ago, long after they had died out in the rest of Europe, and the same caves were used as places of worship by Phoenician sea traders. Of the exhibits, the remains of a 14th-century Islamic bathhouse in the basement are particularly interesting.

Inspired by my glimpse into the area’s prehistory, I took the cable car 1,397ft (426m) up to the top of the Rock. From it, you can see Jebel Musa in Morocco, 13mi (21km) away across the Straits of Gibraltar. The two peaks are said to be the Pillars of Heracles, set there by the Greek demigod as a memorial to his seizing the cattle of the three-bodied giant Geryon. Bathed in myth and majesty, the view from Gibraltar’s summit is worth an airfare.

The Gibraltar Nature Reserve on the Upper Rock was recently extended and now covers 40% of the colony. Greenery comes courtesy of typically Mediterranean maquis scrub and garrigue, a few olive trees, and some plants that are endemic to the Rock, and many trails criss-cross it. The all-glass Sky Walk observation platform and Windsor Suspension Bridge are worth short detours. The views from and below them will make your pulse hiccup.

One of Gibraltar’s joyous oddities is being hustled by its semi-wild population of 200-plus Barbary Apes (a species of macaque), the only free-living species of primate in Europe. Don’t feed them, however persuasive they can be, and if you must take photographs, do it quickly – prolonged eye contact is a sign of aggression in many monkeys.

The Rock has been identified as an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area because it acts as a migratory bottleneck for some 2,500 birds of prey that cross the Strait every year, and it supports breeding groups of Barbary partridges and lesser kestrels.

Editorial Desk