Long ago, Prudential Insurance ads imprinted on both of us (yay, advertizing!). So we had to experience the Rock.
Modern Gibraltar is a British territory very near the southernmost part of Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is a limestone promontory overlooking the 14 km / 8.7 mi wide strait between Spain and Morocco.
In Greek and Roman tradition the Rock of Gibraltar was identified as one of the two Pillars of Hercules, paired with a corresponding peak on the African shore, Jebel Musa. In Antiquity, these pillars as marked the western limit of the oikoumene, the inhabited world, beyond which lay the unknown Atlantic.
A bit more history from modern times:
Gibraltar has a complex political history marked by transitions from Spanish to British rule, decades of military governance, gradual civilian representation, and ongoing disputes with Spain over sovereignty.
From Spanish to British Rule: Gibraltar was ruled by Spain until 1704, when it was captured by Anglo-Dutch forces during the War of the Spanish Succession. The 1713 Treaty of Utrecht ceded Gibraltar to Britain, explicitly stating it would remain under British control.
British Military Governance to Civilian Development: For many years, Gibraltar was governed primarily as a military fortress with limited civilian input. Civilian legal systems and political representation slowly developed throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, but significant control remained with the military governor. The first elected council with limited powers was established in 1921, expanding slowly over time.
Twentieth Century and Self-Governance: During World War II, most civilians were evacuated and civilian political advances stalled. After the war, Gibraltarians pushed for more political rights and, by the mid-20th century, achieved increased self-government with elected councils and, eventually, a legislative council led by a chief minister.
Relations With Spain and Referenda: Tensions with Spain have remained an enduring theme. In 1967, a referendum saw Gibraltarians overwhelmingly reject Spanish sovereignty, reaffirming their wish to remain British. Subsequent referenda have shown continued support for British sovereignty, most notably with a 2002 vote rejecting shared sovereignty proposals by 99%.
Modern Political Status: Today, Gibraltar is a self-governing British Overseas Territory, controlling all aspects of internal affairs except defense and foreign relations, which remain the responsibility of the UK.
(※)
Today, if you, like us, want to visit Gibraltar from Spanish soil, it’s easiest to park your car on the Spanish side, which we did. Then we walked 10 minutes through a local market to the border. ID check on the Spanish side — they were interested in our European residency card — and then again on the Gibraltar / British side, where they wanted to see our US passport.
To get into Gibraltar proper, you have to walk across the runway of the local airport! A British Air jet was taxiing to the terminal, so we waited at the fence for the way to clear.
The main street of the town is one long shopping mall. There’s a mixture of tourist souvenir shops, but most of the stores are British and European, including Marks & Spencer, and a lot of jewelry stores. Turns out that Gibraltar offers duty-free shopping for items like tobacco, spirits, perfumes, electronics, and luxury goods — none of which we were in the market for.
Tourism is one of Gibraltar’s top economic sectors, along with financial services, online gaming, shipping, and retail. We found a big mixture of nationalities among our fellow tourists, although very few people of color. We also noticed quite a few people wearing yarmulkes. A little research showed this:
The Jewish community in Gibraltar is a small but very old, mainly Sephardi community of roughly 600–800 people today, making up about 2% of the territory’s population and one of its largest religious minorities. It has a continuous documented history back to the 14th century and has been highly integrated into Gibraltar’s political, economic and cultural life.
Jewish presence on the Rock is attested from at least 1356, when a Jewish community there was involved in ransoming captives taken by pirates. Jews were expelled in 1492 along with the rest of Iberian Jewry, but were readmitted after Gibraltar passed to Britain in the early 18th century and permanent settlement was formally allowed from 1749 onward.
By the mid‑18th century Jews formed around one third of Gibraltar’s civilian population, and at some points in the 19th century they approached half of the inhabitants. During the Second World War most Jews were evacuated with the civilian population, and although some did not return, an organized community with its own institutions has remained in place.
Current estimates put the core Jewish population at about 600–800 people, depending on definition, which in relative terms is one of the highest Jewish population densities in the world outside Israel. Most are Sephardim with roots in nearby Morocco and pre‑expulsion Spain, with some families also tracing ancestry to communities in London, Holland and elsewhere.
The community is predominantly Orthodox in religious orientation, and almost all communal institutions follow Orthodox practice. English, Spanish and a local Judeo‑Spanish‑influenced dialect have historically been used, reflecting the blend of British, Spanish and North African connections.
(※)
There were plenty of clues that we were on British territory, including the LOOK LEFT and LOOK RIGHT signs on the pavement at crosswalks. We’d seen these in London where they are essential for us Americans and Europeans whose habits are to look in the direction of right-side drivers and then step into oncoming traffic. Imagine British visitors from elsewhere in the Commonwealth; they see all the English-language and British-culture cues all around them, but the cars drive on the non-British side of the road. This is a fact that you can save for your next trivia game: Gibraltar is the only territory in the British Commonwealth where cars drive on the right side of the road. This change was made in 1929 to match the convention in Spain.
Another of the British indications is the occasional Bobby patrolling the street.
Across the bay from Gibraltar is the major port city of Algeciras. When we were planning our Spanish road trip, including this stop at Gibraltar, we thought we’d find a nice hotel in Algeciras that offered views of the iconic Rock of Gibraltar. But there were only a couple hotels that were obviously more business than tourist hotels. The reason is that this town is all about shipping, including ferries to Morocco and other ports in North Africa. It is the largest port in Spain in terms of tonnage, and the fifth or sixth largest in Europe. While Gibraltar offers pretty Mediterranean scenery and sunny weather, you have to be aware of all those dirty cargo ships coming and going to Algeciras and passing through the strait that connects the Mediterranean and Atlantic.
While all these facts and figures are interesting, we really visited Gibraltar to go up onto the Rock, check out the views, and meet the famous residents — and we don’t mean the British. We’d expected to take the cable car to the top and wander around, but recently the cable car system has been halted; they’re starting a three-year complete replacement and upgrade of the system. The only option other than hiking up the mountain — probably fun for the fit and young who have a lot of time — was one of the guided van tours. We reluctantly accepted one of the vendor’s entreaties, and then found him to be funny and informative.
One stop on the way up the Rock is St Michael’s Cave. We weren’t that interested to visit another cave; we’ve had the opportunity to see stalactites and stalagmites in other places, including a quite grand cave not far from our home in France. But why not?! There was a fun sound-and-light show projected against the cave formations. Caves and tunnels permeate the inside of the Rock. The natural formations come from geological history. Most of the Rock is limestone from an ancient seabed that was thrust up by the collision of the Eurasian and African tectonic plates. In addition, there are more than 55 km / 34 mi of tunnels inside the Rock, which is twice the length of all the surface roads of the territory. The tunnels were created for military purposes over the centuries, with major expansion during World War II.
From many of the viewpoints atop the Rock, you get an impressive view across the strait to Morocco. One of our French friends recently visited Tangier, Morocco, which lies a bit further to the west, across from the southern tip of Spain (which isn’t Gibraltar; it’s Tarifa, about a 30 minute drive from Gibraltar). She kept saying, “Spain is so close!” We said the same thing in the other direction, “Morocco is so close!” Even from our hotel in the town of Estepona about 45 minutes up the coast from Gibraltar, you can see the Rock, and just behind it, some of the northernmost peaks of the Atlas Mountains. We know that for people who live around here, seeing the African coast is so ordinary. But for us, we kept adding, “That’s Africa right there!”
Back round the other way, and you look far up the coast of Spain.
Finally, we get to meet the famous monkeys of Gibraltar. Our guide strongly advised everyone not to carry any bags or even plastic, because the monkeys wouldn’t hesitate to grab those to look for food. Oh, and they bite sometimes.
The ones we met were calm, perhaps because they had just been given a large meal of fruits and vegetables.
Gibraltar’s famous monkeys are Barbary macaques, the only wild monkey population in Europe. Their origin is debated: most evidence suggests they were introduced from North Africa, possibly by the Moors who ruled parts of Spain from 711 to 1492, though some researchers have speculated that remnants of ancient European populations may have persisted.
Gibraltar authorities manage the macaque population through a combination of conservation, regulation, and population control measures. The Gibraltar Ornithological & Natural History Society (GONHS) and the Gibraltar Veterinary Clinic are responsible for the well-being, health monitoring, and population levels of the macaques under agreements with the government.
(※)
This one seemed more interested in our deferring to his regalness.
November 2025