Barbary Apes on the Great Rock
(In Gibraltar with the famous Rock in the background)
By the end we arrived in Gibraltar, we were so close to Africa we felt as if we could reach out and touch the mountainous coastline. It became so clear to me how easily the Moors had reached Spain after their march through Tunisian, Algeria and Morocco. Once Northern Africa fell to Moorish rule, could Spain be far behind? Just a short row over the Straits of Gibraltar brought the Moors over to Europe and it was through the gateway of Southern Spain that their conquest of Andalucia began. Indeed it was in AD 711 that Tariq Ibn Zayed, the Muslim governor of Tangier, Morocco, landed at Gibraltar to begin the Islamic invasion of the Iberian Peninsula. The name Gibraltar is derived from the Arabic Jebel Tariq (Tariq’s Mountain).
Gibraltar is a very strange place indeed. Nothing quite prepares you for the combination of cultures—Spanish, Islamic, British–in this tiny town that still belongs to Great Britain. The astounding dimensions of the Rock seem to consume the entire town. You must drive through Spain’s border town of Linea de la Conception, however, before arriving at Checkpoint Charlie where documents are checked by immigration officials to clear one’s entry into Gibraltar. Linea itself, like most tiny Spanish towns, was a maze of narrow winding streets. God forbid if you get lost in this labyrinth or do not have the skills to negotiate a car through the limited space available. Once we did join the queue to get our passports checked, we coasted across the tarmac of an airport into the town of Gibraltar where street signs seemed to spring out quite suddenly at us in English. After having struggled for days with the inability to get ourselves understood in Spain, our arrival in Gibraltar was a relief at least from the point of view of language.
Gibraltar’s main attraction is its Rock, of course, a place that hides a multitude of interests for the traveler including the famous Barbary Apes (left). To the ancients, this was one of the Two Pillars of Hercules set up by the Greek hero to denote the edge of the world (the other pillar was in the coastal town of Musa in Morocco about 25 kms. south). On the Rock, a huge monument has been set up to recall its connection with Hercules who is something of a local hero in these parts (below left).
As we followed signs to Upper Rock Nature Reserve, we began the steep and somewhat scary climb up the sheer limestone escarpment of the Rock. Twelve Euros buys entry into the nature reserve where one can see the famous macaques or Barbary Apes that are said to have made their way to Europe from across the Barbary Coast of Africa on ships in the 18th century. These cheeky animals congregate throughout the Rock, boldly pulling ice-cream cones from the unwary or snatching cameras from tourist hands.
We kept our distance while taking pictures with them and headed towards St. Michael’s Cave (left)which has a spectacular natural formation of stalactites and stalagmites within. Now converted into a concert hall, the backdrop of the stage is both eerie and exciting and I could just imagine what it would feel like to listen to a stirring orchestral rendition in these echoing caves. Spain ceded the Rock to Britain in 1713.
Our final stop on this exploration of the Rock was the Great Siege Tunnels (left and below left), a very interesting exhibit that recalls the 1779-83 Spanish Siege that attempted to wrest the town away from the British for the last time. Today, most Gibraltrians are of British descent.
They have lived in the settlement for generations and are unwilling to cede back under Spanish control. And why would they want to? Their High Street holds stores like Marks and Spencer and Mothercare and their red pillar post boxes and bobbies almost fool them into believing that they are in the very heart of the Home Counties. Overall, Gibraltar had a nautical, seafaring look about it and reminded me very much of the atmosphere of the small coastal villages of England.
While it is possible to climb up the Rock on foot, I cannot even begin to explain what a nightmare it was to drive up it. Llew who is a skilled and very experienced driver, had a very challenging time indeed as he dealt with the temperament of a stick shift car on very narrow two-way streets on steep slopes that kept me on the edge of my seat. It was altogether too much stress for one driver to deal with and we were grateful when our visit ended and we reached the base of the Rock.
The heights of the Rock, however, do present panoramic views of Spain’s southern coast and Africa’s northern coast. From every vantage point, there are lovely views of the sea and the mountains (left) and it was fascinating to know that very shortly we would be crossing those straits and arriving on the other side—to another Continent and another world. We could not wait…
A short drive away from Gibraltar, further west, one passes through the town of Algeciras and arrives at Tarifa, the last point along the coast from where one can pick up a ferry to cross the Straits of Gibraltar and enter Morroco. Our arrival in Tarifa coincided with dinner time, and contenting ourselves with a pizza, we boarded the ferry run by a company called FRS that took us, during a very pleasant cruise, across the waters. Roundtrip fares were 48 euros per head. We cleared immigration formalities on board the ferry, changed euros into local Moroccan dirhams and sat down to observe our fellow- passengers, most of whom were speaking Arabic and were clearly of Moroccan descent. Men wearing the long traditional robes of the Moroccans and women clad in flowing robes and hijabs were returning home to Tangier after a day long excursion in Spain. As for me, as the coast of Spain faded in the distance, as we left Europe behind to set foot on the continent of Africa, I was hugely excited as it was my very time on the Dark Continent and who knew what secrets this land would reveal to me? A short 45 minutes later, our ferry docked in Tangier Port where a huge sign in English, Arabic and French welcomed the visitor to Morocco.
To follow us on our travels in Morocco, you will need to click on Africa. Then, to return to our travels in Spain, you must click on Seville, which was the next stop on our explorations in Europe.
Bueno Viajes!