Gibraltar by Day:
In February 2017 we made the short flight to the British enclave of Gibraltar. It is worth a three night stay . . . but perhaps not any longer . . ..
Gibraltar sits near the southern tip of Spain at the northern side of the Straight of Gibraltar. All ships that pass from the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean must pass through here. The North African coast can be seen across the Straight of Gibraltar..
Gibraltar is a British territory . . . The residents recently voted 96% in favor of staying within the UK and not joining Spain . . . of course, they also voted 96% to stay within the EU during the Brexit vote!.
The lighthouse at the tip Gibraltar . . . this straight is also known as the Pillars of Hercules by the Greeks..
The 'rock' of Gibraltar falls directly into the Mediterranean Sea on the eastern side. Fishermen find good use of an old war pill box..
The cliffs of Gibraltar are compelling: their sheer size . . . and the remnants of structures left behind by the many former occupants over the millennia, draws the eye..
The whole of the rock is riddled with passages and tunnels used as fortified defensive emplacements..
Some very old infrastructure left behind by a long forgotten project..
Everywhere a remnant of some previous occupier . . . Moorish?.
Many different building traces from many different eras all overlapping . . . . Gibraltar was occupied, at various times from 950BC, by the Phoneticians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Goths, Visigoths, Moors, Nasrids, Medinas, Dutch, Spanish, and ultimately, the British..
Near here, in Gorham's Cave, Neanderthal remains were found dating to 55,000 years ago..
Today, Gibraltar is a Mecca for Mediterranean cruise ships and British retirees (pensioners)..
The Rock of Gibraltar is as riddled with caves and tunnels as a block of Swiss cheese. The massive rock was the ideal place to build hardened shelters during times of war, particularly during WWI and WWII. These tunnels date to even before those times when the British and the Spanish were at constant conflict..
The St. George Tunnel is still equipped with the original cannon from the era..
Although the cannon is missing, the turret and fire safety cart remains..
The historical placards were very informative and made the tunnel visit very interesting..
This view from a cannon emplacement is testimony to the strategic importance of these tunnels..
In addition to the military tunnels, there are also natural caves in the Rock of Gibraltar. For a nominal fee, you were treated to giant caverns lit by an ever-changing Xmas tree light..
It appeared that they must hold musical events inside the cavern from time to time..
A very beautiful place indeed..
The colored lights grew on you after a while..
We enjoyed our walk-through of the caves. When we emerged were greeted by . . ..
Monkeys! Lots of monkeys! We were warned about the monkeys . . . that they were little pickpockets! One does not associate monkeys with Europe . . . but there you are!.
It was late February when we visited Gibraltar . . . and the tourists and cruise ships had yet to arrive. Some of the attractions were closed . . . yet still interesting.
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Gibraltar is, of course, built on the side of a big rock with little flat ground. As such, the streets and alleys are often just steep stairs..
Gibraltar is also a port city . . . and a place for a 'mystery Russian' to came and try for sea trials and licensing of a stealth sailing ship. This Dark Boat was the talk of the town's permanent residents. It was gone in the morning..
There are craft shops open to the public. Here a famous glassblower plys his trade..
Beautiful work too . . ..
Gibraltar town sits fast against the famous 'Rock.'.
The south city gate . . . already a few tourists mixed in with the locals . . ..
There are some beautiful curving streets through the old town..
My Old Door Photo Fetish (ODPF) was completely satisfied in Gibraltar!.
A pleasant place to stroll around . . . before the throngs of tourists arrived, the locals told us..
Steep streets . . . ..
Gibraltar has a fine Botanical Garden . . . a favorite place to visit on all my travels..
There is hardly any unused land on Gibraltar, so it was nice to see they valued their botanical garden enough to not build on it or pave it over..
Being on the southern to of Spain, the climate is very mild. Many kinds of semi-tropical plants grow very well here..
Aloe grew everywhere..
A few of the tropical plants were in flower or bud..
We spent art of a wonderful afternoon here . . ..
There is still a British military garrison on Gibraltar . . . complete with daily-polished brass cannon..
The central walking street is the focus of the town and the only developed commercial area. There are sweet cafes, bakeries, and shops all along here . . . as well as tawdry tourist curios shops where I bought a refrigerator magnet..
Gibraltar by Night
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In my opinion, Gibraltar becomes even more interesting, and beautiful, when the sun sets..
At night the squares are lit and the old government buildings stand out in all their old glory..
In the evening people, tourists and locals, come out to the cafes in Casement Square. One can imagine this space filled with thousands of cruise ship passengers later in the summer..
In couples, foursomes, and families, they came to done in the cool air of a February night.
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The children wandered free around the square as the adults conversed over wine..
A happy girl skipped into my photo . . ..
Casement Square..
High above Casement Square, a Moorish castle looks on . . . ..
Later in the evening, the restaurants and cafes closed up . . . leaving their umbrellas like forlorn soldiers in a strange night..
I was startled when I first saw these visages of another world!.
My other photographic subject obsession are push carts of all kinds. This ice cream cart waiting for another day was just fantastic..
I'm sure I took way too many photos of this particular cart, but it was special, the light was special, and it was a special night.
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One evening (of the three) I went back out of the hotel late at night . . . to capture the abandoned streets and alleys..
Light, textured surfaces, shadow, arches, color . . . wonderful..
Ladder, light, shadow, and wall!.
If the conversation is good, why go home? Well after midnight in Gibraltar..
The dark streets where the only sounds were my footsteps..
The historic government buildings were closed. Not a soul around..
The "Government Of" . . . something or other at 01:00. Wonderful lighting . . . and only me there to see it. This must have been the police station; otherwise why were there still two men sitting behind the counter at that late hour?.
Such scrumptious shapes, line, color, shadow, and light..
I walked through these same streets several times during the day without really noticing the relationships between shapes and structures . . ..
An inviting passage to . . . . who knows where..
I literally walked from one end of the town to the other in only two hours . . . back out the southern city gate . . ..
I walked all the eay back an abandoned traffic circle . . . and then back to my nearby hotel. I had had such an inspiring walkabout in the night streets of Gibraltar..
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Gibraltar is such a very small place, but it is packed with history, charm, and aesthetic experiences everywhere.
