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Travel Writers: Gibraltar Photo Journal
By Jack Cox
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Location: Gibraltar, off Southern tip of Spain, Europe
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The Rock of Gibraltar |
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Last October, I received a phone call from a regular client,
he was putting together a new financial product and wanted
to associate it with the idea of it being as "Solid as
the Rock of Gibraltar". Did I have any suitable pictures
for the brochure cover?
I didn't but, as I live in Spain. about a hour's drive from
the famous rock, I would pop down and take something for him. |
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Ceremony Of The Keys |
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The Ceremony of the Keys was revived in 1933 and is now performed
twice a year (April & October) by the Royal Gibraltar
Regiment
and the resident British Battalions. Its origins date from
the Great Siege (1779-1783) when French and Spanish troops
attempted in vain to capture Gibraltar.
The keys were kept by the Governor who would hand them to
the Port (Gate) Sergeant each evening at sunset, so that the
four land entrances could be locked shut. The Gate Sergeant
with an escort consisting of several armed soldiers, would
then march to each of the four gates in turn. He would be
challenged by the sentry at the gate with a loud, "Halt!
Who goes there?" to which the Port Sergeant would reply,
"The Keys!".
Once all the gates were locked, the keys would be returned
to the Governor at the Convent. In the Morning, the Port Sergeant
would
once again collect the keys to open the town for the day.
Today the gates are gone but the keys remain for ceremonial
purposes. They are in the keeping of Sir Francis Richards,
Governor of Gibraltar. During the ceremony he holds out the
keys to the Gate Sergeant but does not actually hand them
over. The whole affair if conducted with much pomp and ceremony
accompanied by a military band. |
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St Michael's Cave |
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There are more than 140 caves eroded into the Rock of Gibraltar
but St. Michael's is the only one open to the public. It is
situated some 300 metres above sea level and is arguably one
of the most spectacular natural grottoes in Europe.
This immense natural cavern led ancient peoples to believe
the rock was hollow and gave rise to its old name of Mons
Calpe (Hollow Mountain). The cave was inhabited as far back
as Neolithic times and many prehistoric relics have been found
here. A cranium from the Neanderthal period (around 50,000
BC) was discovered here in 1848 and is now exhibited in the
Gibraltar Museum. |
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My walk down the hill was invigorating. Gaps in the vegetation
offered wonderful views of the harbour and marina below, in
fact you can see across to Spain in one direction and North
Africa in the other. |
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The Great Siege Tunnels |
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About half way down I came to the entrance to the Great Siege
Tunnels. At the time of my visit these are subject to much
renovation work but it is still possible to go in. This labyrinth
of tunnels inside the Rock of Gibraltar is arguably the most
ingenious defence system ever devised. Formally known as "the
Upper Galleries", the tunnels were built during the Great
Siege from July 1779 to February 1783.
During the war of American Independence, France and Spain
attempted to capture the Rock from the British. This was Gibraltar's
14th Siege and has come to be known as the Great Siege. Gradually
the enemy advanced their trenches on the isthmus, until in
1782 the enemy were so close to the Rock that none of the
existing batteries in Gibraltar had room to open fire. |
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The Governor, General Elliot (later called Baron Heathfield
of Gibraltar) is said to have offered a reward to anyone who
could tell him how to get guns onto a projection from the
precipitous northern face of the Rock known as the 'Notch'.
Sergeant Major Ince, a member of the Company of Soldier Artificers
(later to become the Royal Engineers), suggested that this
could be done by tunnelling through the Rock and on May 25th,
1782 the work began.
The Great Siege Tunnels, 2.5sq meters in cross section, were
cut into The Rock by sheer hard work and guts. In just five
weeks 18 men equipped with only simple hand tools and gunpowder,
achieved this great task. |
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The Gibraltar Apes |
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After exploring the more accessible parts of the cave I emerged
into the warm sunlight and set off in search of the Gibraltar
Apes. Actuality they are not apes at all but monkeys with
very short tails. The Barbary Macaque (Macaca sylvanus L.)
is native to Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. It was introduced
into Gibraltar, probably by the Moors. In Northern Africa,
this species is found in montane oak and cedar forests.
Although Barbary apes were once found throughout north Africa,
there are now only 1,200-2,000 left in small areas, threatened
by habitat destruction and hunting. |
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They are peaceful creatures. Each group comprises 10-30 members,
and share territories without conflict. Females choose their
mates and prefer good fathers. He carries his infant soon
after birth, grooms and plays with it and shows it off to
other males who peacefully play with the offspring as well.
Males cooperate to ferociously defend the group, even against
dogs. The babies are almost hairless at birth, and black,
getting their adult colouring at about 4 months. |
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Contact with large numbers of tourists is causing the integrity
of these social groups to break down. For this reason, feeding
the apes is now an offence punishable by a £300 fine
and all close contact with them is strongly discouraged.
Legend has it that the Rock of Gibraltar will remain under
British rule
so long as Barbary apes survive here. So when they were wiped
out by disease during the Second World War, they were quickly
reintroduced from Africa.
There are about now about 160 Macaques on Gibraltar, which
are fed and looked after by the army and the Gibraltar Government. |
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Text & photography © Jack Cox, all rights reserved.
If you want to see more photographs of Gibraltar, Spain and
Ireland visit Jack Cox's website:www.travelpicspro.com
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