The Rock, Gibraltar

Favorite thing: Hey Sandy - hope you are well.

I'd suggest you check out GibBook.com which is Gibraltar's Social Network. You sould be able to find someone there to witness your ceremoney.

Good luck!

Fondest memory: Small and united community which welcome everyone from the World to share the uniqueness the Rock has to offer.

Favorite thing: I think that Gibraltar has no water spring, and, being surrounded by Spain, sometimes not so friendly, they had to use other resources to obtain such a vital element. In the slopes facing the sea, largely paved sections seem to be a solution to collect the rain into cisterns.

What else could that be?

Fondest memory: We arrived in Gibraltar on a cruise ship and visited the town on a daytrip. It was a hot July day, which somehow limited our energy to move around, and we were travelling with our kids.

Even though we had planned to go up the cable car and see the apes, which is an amusing activity for the boys and the must see for Gibraltar, the fact was that it was a very hot day and while we walked along Main Street we kept thinking that there was a refreshing swimming-pool back in the ship; so we ate ice-creams in Main Street, strolled around for some time and decided to walk back to the ship and skip the cable car, the queues and the apes. Gibraltar is about 650km from Lisbon and I'm sure we will return, since it's easily "fitted" into some road trip through Andalucía.

We departed Gibraltar at sunset. The vault of the rock as the ship sailed towards Morocco in the golden light of the evening is the fondest memory I keep of our visit. Actually, my fondest memories about Gibraltar are in fact about the views, both day and night, they are awesome mainly if you approach by the sea.

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Favorite thing: Various archeological evidence points to the fact that, since recorded times when it was known as one of the 'Pillars of Hercules' by the Greeks, Gibraltar has been occupied by the Phoenicians (950 BC), Carthaginians and then the Romans. After the collapse of the Roman empire in ~500 AD the Visigoths were the next overlords, until the arrival of the Moors from North Africa in 711. The first permanent settlement and fortifications on Gibraltar date from the 1150s during the time of Moorish control. It took 750 years from the arrival of the Moors for Christian Spain to gain control of this important choke point for access to the Mediterranean Sea, in 1462.

Fondest memory: Present day Gibraltar stems from the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714) which was fought by almost all the major powers in Europe to prevent an overly powerful unification of France, Spain and Bavaria. It was during that war, in 1704 that a joint British and Dutch force captured the Rock from its Spanish defenders, with most of the local population fleeing to the mainland as a result. The Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, near the end of the war, ceded Gibraltar to Britain in perpetuity and to this day it remains a self-governing British colony (with 99% of the modern-day population twice voting in referendums to retain the status quo).

The fortifications and naval harbour at Gibraltar have long held strategic importance because of the ability to control the flow of all shipping through the Strait of Gibraltar - both into and out of the Mediterranean Sea. This took on even more importance with the opening of the Suez Canal shortcut between Europe and Asia (via the Indian Ocean) in 1869. While we were there, the harbours of both next-door La Linea de la Conception (Spain) and Gibraltar itself were awash with anchored ships.

Favorite thing: The very recognisable Rock of Gibraltar is thought to have come about by a collision between the African and Eurasian tectonic plates some 55 million years. Made up of limestone, the highest peak is around 1,396ft (or 426 metres) high. Large catchment areas have been built to collect water along with two desalination plants to support the more than 4,000 inhabitants. With the population Gibraltar and only around 7 kms square, it is said to be one of the worlds most densely populated territories.

Favorite thing: If you're on holidays in southern Spain, It's worth the trip to take a visit to Gibraltar. This mini country has a lot of history and it is an interesting culture collision with the surrounding Spain.

Favorite thing: I like the atmosphere of a place that still, I believe, has hidden secrets. There are a number of tunnels and excavations underground that you cannot use or get into.

What exactly is therefore down there ? I suspect that we are better off not knowing in some ways, especailly if the military are involved.

I hope MI6 don't read this tip.

Fondest memory: A sense of Britain as it used to be - crap food, sunny weather, warm beer, nice policeman and a good high mountain to look down on Johnny foreigner.

Favorite thing: Imagine my surprise as I was sitting quietly at the top of the rock when I heard this noise and this chicken ran in front of me!!!!! Even I knew it wasnt a monkey :-)
Seems there are two breeds of chickens living on the rock and they belong to the people who own the cafe.

Favorite thing: My friend and I took the cable car up the rock and walked to the various sites, but be advised that there is a significant amount of walking, and the rock looks much smaller than it actually is. Some of the hikes are vertical, walking up and down steep inclines to get to where you want to go. For this reason, we didn't make it to some of the sites, including the Great Siege Batteries. Once on the rock, while we were dogging it in the heat, we noticed people getting out of vans, snapping a few pictures, and driving on. Apparently there are tours you can take where you drive all over the rock, saving sore feet and a lot of time. I have no idea what they cost, but it might be worth it as I assure you that there is a fair amount of walking involved on the rock.

Favorite thing: Whilst walking around you should just think how historic Gibraltar is. Gibraltar is a British Crown Colony, and the town occupies an area of 6.5 sq km. It is one of the Pillars of Hercules, the other being on the North African coast. The rock, of Jurassic limestone, contains caves in which valuable archeological finds have been made.It is honeycombed by defence works and arsenals, many of which are clearly visible and accessible for visitors.

Gibraltar was captured in 711 by the Moorish leader Tarik. In 1309 the Spanish took the peninsula and held it until 1333, but did not definitively recover it from the Moors until 1462.The British have maintained possession since 1704, despite continual Spanish claims to it. The British post was besieged by the Spanish and French in 1704, by the Spanish in 1726, and again by the Spanish and French forces from 1770 to 1783. During World War I Gibraltar served as a naval station. In World War II its fortifications were strengthened, and most of the civilian population were evacuated. Since the war Spain and Britain have fought, politically, over the sovereignty of the Colony, but in 1967 the residents of Gibraltar affirmed their ties with Britain in a UN-supervised referendum. Since this date, the relationship between both sides has continued to improve, which has resulted in easier border crossings between Gibraltar and Spain. So that's the history lesson. We are all part of the European Union now anyway (except that most Brits are opposed to 'political' union!). Anyway, forget all this, go there and really enjoy your stay!

Fondest memory: In October 1992 I visited Gibraltar as part of a Royal Navy sailing expedition - although I was in the Army! Anyway, the rest of the yacht's crew were male submariners, and the girls were from a shorebased unit in UK. We had a really good time sailing from Majorca, and two days off in Gibraltar, before flying home. The picture is of some of the lads and lasses on one of the now silent guns. There are lots of them along the higher ground, and they are worth a quick visit, if nothing else.