Red telephone boxes, pounds and Morrison’s are a few of the British things you can find in a small town surrounding a rock in Southern Spain. If you don’t know where I mean yet, then this article is a must-read for you. Bienvenido to Gibraltar!
An unusual British colony on the coast of Andalucia, which borders the Spanish town of La Linea de la Concepcion. To enter Gibraltar you need to go through a border, customs and they will check your passport. Gibraltar is best represented by its large rock with the city surrounding it.
Gibraltar has been British property since 1713 when it was given to Britain in the Treaty of Utrecht after the War of Spanish succession. Since then, Gibraltar has been a touchy and controversial topic, with Britain refusing to give it up and Spain insisting it is theirs.
During the Spanish civil war, the border was closed and many people were separated from their families who lived in Spain.
After Brexit, Gibraltar was left in a grey area. Last year, both governments came to an agreement. They are planning to remove the physical border and the airport and port migration will be closely controlled by both Spanish and Gibraltar authorities.
Gibraltar is valuable due to its strategic location. It is situated on the tip of Andalucia, geographically in the province of Cadiz and only 14.2 km from the tip of Morocco. Its strait, known as the strait of Gibraltar, is a military hotspot as it is the naval border between the Atlantic ocean and Mediterranean sea.
Apart from its geographical and political controversies, Gibraltar sparks many people’s curiosities.
- You can spend euros and pounds.
- It is home to the only colony of wild monkeys (Macaque) in Europe- they live on the Rock and is one of its major tourist attractions. There are many theories on how they arrived but my favourite is the unlikely, popular legend that they escaped Morocco through a secret tunnel. If you visit, be careful as they like to swipe food and rucksacks.
- The local residents speak ‘llanito’, a mix of spanish and english, but not to be confused with Spanglish. When you visit you can speak either language but it is very common to hear people talking and speaking both in one sentence.
- They have the biggest jewish community on the peninsula.
- The rock has 52km of tunnels.
- It is home to one of the shortest runways which is surrounded both ends by water, requiring highly skilled pilots to land and take off there. The runway also interrupts the road towards the border, requiring pedestrians to stop every time a plane is set to take off.
Gibraltar is unusual, its Spanish and British influences, make this place unique and magical. You can order a pinta con aceitunas, and a few kilometres down the road you are in Morrisons. Watch our latest episode for more on Gibraltar!
