Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula and the tip of Europe at the entrance of the Mediterranean overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. The territory covers 6.843 square kilometres (2.642 sq mi) and shares a land border with Spain (La Linea de la Concepcion to the north.
Gibraltar has historically been an important base for the British Armed Forces and is the site of a Royal Navy base.
It may be a tiny area, but Gibraltar has a lot to offer. The Rock of Gibraltar itself looks over the area, standing nearly 430 meters (1,400 feet) high.
Tourists enjoy the cheap alcohol and tobacco available because of the Rock’s tax-free status.
And of course there are the famous apes. They were brought over from North Africa by British soldiers, and now roam freely on the Rock.
There is evidence of human habitation in Gibraltar going as far back as Neanderthal man, an extinct species of the genus Homo. Within recorded history, the first inhabitants were the Phoenicians, around 950 BC. Subsequently, Gibraltar became known as one of the Pillars of Hercules, after the Greek legend of the creation of the Strait of Gibraltar. The Carthaginians and Romans also established semi-permanent settlements.
After the collapse of the Roman Empire, Gibraltar came briefly under the control of the Vandals. The area later formed part of the Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania until the Kingdom’s collapse from the Muslim conquest in 711 AD.
