Near the southern tip of Spain a peninsula forms a finger of land that points to the coast of Africa, 14 miles (23 kilometers) away. That peninsula is Britain 's crown colony of Gibraltar. It includes the famous Rock of Gibraltar, which stands at the western gateway to the Mediterranean. Since 1704 when the British captured it, Gibraltar has been a fortress. It is Great Britain 's chief naval base on the route through the Suez Canal to the Far East.

The peninsula is about 3 miles long and less than a mile wide. Its area is 2.25 square miles. The rock is mostly limestone with cliffs and sandy slopes. Its greatest height of 1,396 feet is reached near the southern end. The city of Gibraltar, mostly on level ground on the west of the rock, lies on the deep Bay of Gibraltar. The harbor is a port of call where ships take on fuel, stores, and water. Vast reservoirs for rainwater have been blasted out of solid rock, and artesian wells have been drilled in the rock's tunnels. Gibraltar was considered one of the Pillars of Hercules by the Greeks. The Pillars were the limits beyond which they dared not sail. The name Gibraltar is derived from the Arabic Jabal Tariq (Mount Tarik). Tarik, a Muslim, captured and fortified the peninsula in AD 711. It was retaken by Spain in 1462. Since 1704 it has been a symbol of British naval strength and, in that context, is known as "the Rock." During World War II Gibraltar was a naval base for the Allied forces and an air base for the invasion of Africa in 1942. Strained relations led Spain to close its road to Gibraltar from 1969 to 1985. This closing cut off land access, but fortunately access by sea and air remained undisturbed. In 1981 Gibraltarians were at last granted full British citizenship.

The controversy between Spain and England over the ownership of Gibralter has again re-opened and the Spanish customs were giving everyone a hard time trying to cross the Border. It took us over an hour and a half to go through customs.

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