Gibraltar

The name Gibraltar is the Spanish derivation of the Arabic name Jabal Ṭāriq, meaning "Mountain of Tariq". It refers to the Rock of Gibraltar, which was named after the Umayyad general Tariq ibn-Ziyad who led the initial incursion into Iberia in advance of the main Umayyad force in 711 under the command of Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid I.
Earlier, it was known as Mons Calpe, a name of Phoenician origin and one of the Pillars of Hercules.
During World War II, Gibraltar's civilian population was evacuated (mainly to London, but also to parts of Morocco, Madeira and Jamaica) and the Rock was strengthened as a fortress. The naval base and the ships based there played a key role in the provisioning and supply of the island of Malta during its long siege.
Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory. The British Nationality Act 1981 granted Gibraltarians full British citizenship.

It is filled with the cheekiest little monkeys... The Barbary Macaque population in Gibraltar is the only wild monkey population in the European continent. Although most populations in Africa are facing declining populations due to hunting and deforestation, the population of Barbary monkeys in Gibraltar is growing. At present, some 300 animals in five troops occupy the Upper Rock area of the Gibraltar Nature Reserve, though occasional forays into the town may result in damage to personal property.
Watch out for all your belongings, they have become experts at stealing things out of your bags, especially food or shiny objects.


The caves of Gibraltar is also such a big attraction. St. Michael's Cave or Old St. Michael's Cave is the name given to a network of limestone caves located within the Upper Rock Nature Reserve in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, at a height of over 300 metres (980 ft) above sea level. According to Alonso Hernández del Portillo, the first historian of Gibraltar, its name is derived from a similar grotto in Monte Gargano near the Sanctuary of Monte Sant'Angelo in Apulia, Italy, where the archangel Michael is said to have appeared.

It is the most visited of the more than 150 caves found inside the Rock of Gibraltar,receiving almost 1,000,000 visitors a year.

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