The tiny British colony of Gibraltar in the Iberian Peninsula

*WS 133: the tiny British colony of Gibraltar in the Iberian Peninsula*

Gibraltar is a colony of the United Kingdom located at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. It was ceded by the Spanish to the British in 1713. It has an area of 6.7 sq km (about 7% of Petaling Jaya), and some 32,000 people. Ethnically it is very diverse:  British, Spanish, Italians and Portuguese. 

When we were touring Spain in 2017, we joined a one-day bus tour to this tiny “thorn in the Spanish fresh” from our base in Malaga. The main attraction and landmark is the Rock of Gibraltar, a limestone piece rising steeply from the sea up to 

426 m high. Shown the rock viewed from the Europa Point, the southernmost point of Gibraltar with an old iconic light-house built in 1841. 

At the top of the rock one could have a panoramic view of the city and a close encounter with some of the 300 Barbary macaques. There is also a series of limestone caves collectively called Saint Michael's Cave. In the city the iconic red British phone box is a sort-after photo location. Two main roads cross the runway of the small international airport which has over 20 flights a day during peak season.