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Article: Gibraltar: more than just a rock. (Rock of Gibraltar)
- Article from:
- Europe
- Article date:
- October 1, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1995 Delegation of the European Commission. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Just at the southern tip of Spain and guarding the gateway from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean lies one of the remaining few crown colonies of Britain--a peninsula, made up of jurassic limestone, measuring only two and a half square miles, and rising 1,400 feet above the sea--the Rock of Gibraltar.
Amazingly enough, over the centuries this tiny rock has been the focus of a continuous power struggles as it is poised between the continents of Europe and Africa, with Spain within walking distance and Morocco just a short boat ride away. Early visitors to Gibraltar included Phoenicians and ancient Greeks, Carthaginians and Genoese.
During the 8th ...