When you first see the Rock of Gibraltar, whether it is from the air, from the sea or from either the Costa del Sol or the western end of the Bay, it is its impressive stature, towering isolated above the surrounding countryside, that causes the greatest impact. It has had this effect on people for many thousands of years. Gibraltar is a beacon that signals the position of the Strait of Gibraltar, the narrow neck which separates Europe from Africa and provides the only link between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea
This beacon which attracted the early inhabitants had many advantages as a home.
Being limestone, the Rock which is geologically very different from the surrounding landscape, is riddled with caves. Over 140 have been discovered so far. Those which had openings to the outside world made perfect shelters. The climate was also colder than today which meant that the sea level was lower: off the eastern cliffs of the Rock a large, flat, sandy plain stretched out towards the distant Mediterranean. It was full of good hunting. There were many rabbits, red deer, wild cattle and horse along with now extinct species of elephant and rhinoceros; on the cliffs there were ibexes, wild mountain goats. The scene was close to paradise for the early inhabitants of Gibraltar. The hunting was so good that it attracted other predators, especially hyenas, leopards and lions.
No visit to Gibraltar is complete without a visit to the 100 Ton Gun which is situated at Napier of Magdala Battery.
The gun was manufactured by Sir W C Armstrong at Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in 1870 and was one of twelve built. Eight were built for the Italian Navy, two were sent to Malta, and two to Gibraltar. The gun at Napier Battery is the only one in such good condition.
The 17.72 inch Rifled Muzzle loader, or 100 Ton Gun, has a barrel length of 32.65ft, of which 30.25ft are rifled and was capable of firing up to 8 miles.
The Moorish Castle Complex is made up of various buildings, gates, fortified walls and its most dominant features, The Tower of Homage and The Gate House.
The former is an impressive sight, clearly visible to all visitors, not only because of its striking construction but also because of its dominant and strategic position
Gibraltar has always been of special significance to the numerous peoples and civilisations that have visited or occupied it over the ages, from the Neanderthal period, through the Classical and on to the Moorish, Spanish and the present British occupations.
The Moorish occupation is, by far, the longest in Gibraltar's recorded history, having lasted from 711 to 1309 and then from 1350 to 1462, a total of 710 years.
The importance of Gibraltar to both Moslems and Christians lies in the fact that the Moorish invasion and occupation of Europe started from Gibraltar in 711 and, through to its final re-capture by Spain in 1462, Moorish rule was gradually undermined till, with the fall of Granada in 1492, the Moorish occupation of Europe came to an end after an uninterrupted 781 years.
The Moorish conquest of Spain was led by Tarik ibn Ziyad and Musa ibn Nasayr. Gibraltar thus became the stepping-stone to the conquest of Spain and part of France. This spectacular feat of arms took a mere twenty-two years, no mean task considering the distances involved, the state of the terrain at the time and the fact that mechanical power had not yet been invented.
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