Known as the the ’Rock’,
Gibraltar contains 143 caves, over 48km (30 miles) of road and miles of tunnels. From rock touring, to
sailing,
diving,
fishing and
birdwatching, visitors will be pleasantly surprised with the diverse range of attractions on offer in Gibraltar.
Located at the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula,
where Europe meets Africa, visitors are also assured of
breathtaking scenery,
wildlife and
architecture, that captures the unique flavor of this Mediterranean city. As a
VAT-free jurisdiction, Gibraltar’s
popularity with visitors is further enhanced by its value added shopping experience in famed Main Street.
Gibraltar derives from Gibel Tariq (Tariq’s Mountain) which is named after Tariq Ibn Zeyad who led the eighth-century conquest of Spain by a combined force of
Arabs and Berbers crossing from Africa. Gibraltar’s
unusual status was not acquired until almost 1,000 years later, long after the Islamic invaders had been driven out by the Spanish, as a consequence of the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht which brought to an end the War of the Spanish Succession and gave the territory to
Britain.
The British interpretation of the treaty moreover holds that the territory was ceded to them indefinitely. The presence of a foreign-owned mini-state on the Spanish mainland has been an irritant to
Anglo-Spanish relations ever since.
In response to the latest round of talks between London and Madrid which began in 2001 and explored in detail possible joint sovereignty models, the Gibraltar government led by Peter Caruana organized a
referendum in November 2002 to assess the popular mood. As expected, it returned a huge majority in favor of the status quo.
GeographyGibraltar is a large promontory of jurassic limestone, situated in the western entrance to the Mediterranean. The rock is 5km (3 miles) long and the highest point is 426m (1,400ft) above sea level. An internal self-governing British Crown Colony, Gibraltar has given its name to the Bay and the Straits, which it overlooks. Spain is to the north and west, and Morocco is 26km (16 miles) to the south.
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