=Arrival.= The ocean-going steamers land and embark their passengers
in their own steam-tenders at any time before sunset at the Commercial
Pier (fare for each pers. 1_s._ either way). The tariff for small
boats is 1_s._ 6_d._ for a row in the harbour, or to or from the
steamboats, for 1–2 pers., and 1_s._ for each addit. person; luggage
up to 56 lbs. free; excess, 6_d._ per 56 lbs.; or a bargain may be
made (l–2_s._ for passenger, incl. luggage). In bad weather the tariff
is raised, in accordance with the signals (red, blue, bluish-white),
to one-third more, or double, or triple fare. The porters are
notorious for their extortionate demands. The charge for conveying
luggage to the hotel should be fixed beforehand.—The _Custom House
Examination_ at the harbour-gate is confined to tobacco, spirits, and
weapons. Foreigners require a permit from the _Police Office_ (Pl. 2)
to spend the day on shore, and if they intend to spend the night the
permit must be renewed by their landlord. Between 5.30 and 8.15,
according to the season, a cannon-shot (gun-fire) announces the
closing of the Land Port (p. 55). The other gates remain open till 11.
=Hotels= (the inclusive charge for the day should be ascertained).
HÔT. BRISTOL (Pl. a), Cathedral Square, quiet and pleasant; GRAND
HOTEL (Pl. b) and HÔT. CECIL (Pl. c), both in Waterport St.; these
three have high charges, from 10–12_s._ a day and upwards; HÔT. PARIS
(Pl. f), opposite the post-office, new, pens. 8–15 fr.—Plainer: HÔT.
CONTINENTAL (Pl. d), Turnbull’s Lane; HÔT. VICTORIA, Church St.,
café-restaur.; NUEVO HOT. ESPAÑOL (Pl. e), Irish Town, pens. 8_s._,
tolerable.—The drinking-water (rain-water from cisterns) is not
good.—CAFÉS. _Universal_, Church St.; also at the _Assembly Rooms_ (p.
53).
=Cabs= (stands at Waterport Gate, Commercial Sq., and Cathedral Sq.).
_Drive_ for 1–2 pers. in the lower town, between Waterport Gate and
Alameda, 6_d._; in the upper quarters (Governor’s St.) 9_d._; to
Catalan Bay 1_s._ 3_d._; to the lighthouse 1_s._ 4_d._; to Governor’s
Cottage 1_s._ 9_d._—_Per hour_, for 1–2 pers., 1_s._ 6_d._; for each
addit. ½ hr. 6_d._; 3_d._ extra for each addit. pers., or 5_d._ extra
for the longer drives (lighthouse, Governor’s Cottage, etc.).—Each
trunk 2_d._—The tariff is in force only from daybreak till midnight. A
bargain should be made beforehand.
=Post Office= (Pl. 1), Waterport St.; week-days 7 a.m.–8 p.m. (on Sun.
8–10 a.m.). The overland English mail closes at 6.45 a.m.—=Telegraph
Office=, same place; 6 a.m. till midnight. Tariff to England 3_d._ or
(viâ Malta) 6_d._ per word; to the United States 1_s._ 4_d._–1_s._
11_d._ per word.
[Illustration: GIBRALTAR]
=Banks.= _Anglo-Egyptian_, Market St., opposite Police Station;
_Larios Hermanos_, Irish Town; _Thos. Cook & Son_ (tourist-agents),
Waterport St.—Numerous money-changers.
=United States Consul=, _R. L. Sprague_; vice-consul, _A. D.
Hayden_.—=Lloyd’s Agents=, _Smith, Imossi, & Co._, Irish Town.
=Theatre.= _Assembly Rooms_ (Pl. 8), in the Alameda, with open-air
café.
=Steamboat Lines= (comp. ‘Gibraltar Chronicle’). _Peninsular &
Oriental_ (Smith, Imossi, & Co., Irish Town), weekly between London,
Marseilles, and Port Said (for Australia and China; comp. RR. 17, 67);
_Orient Royal_ (Smith, Imossi, & Co.), fortnightly between London,
Marseilles, and Port Said (for Australia; comp. RR. 17, 67); _Cunard_
(M. H. Bland & Co., Cloister Bdg.), between New York and Trieste (RR.
15a, 16); _White Star_ (Th. Morsley & Co., Irish Town 11), 2 or 3
times monthly to Naples (and Genoa; RR. 16, 15a), or viâ Algiers to
Genoa; _North German Lloyd_ (J. Onetti & Sons, Engineer Lane),
fortnightly to Algiers, Genoa, Naples, and Port Said (comp. RR. 1,
15b, 24, 67), also fortnightly between New York, Algiers, Naples, and
Genoa (comp. RR. 16, 24); the _Hamburg-American_ (J. Carrara & Sons,
Waterport St.) has excursion-steamers only; _German Levant_ (J.
Rugeroni & Son, Commercial Sq.), occasionally to Algiers; _Hall Line_
(W. J. S. Smith, Bomb House Lane), weekly between London, Lisbon,
Cadiz, and Málaga (comp. RR. 1, 6b); _Royal Mail Steam Packet_ (Bland
& Co., see above), every other Wed. for Tangier, Mogador, Teneriffe,
etc. (RR. 14, 3, 4); _Transports Maritimes_ (Imossi & Son), 21st of
each month for Madeira and S. America; _Oldenburg-Portuguese_ (A.
Mateos & Sons, Pitman’s Alley) twice monthly to Tangier and Mogador
(R. 14); _Navigation Mixte_ (A. Mateos & Sons), every other Wed. night
to Tangier, Oran, and Marseilles (RR. 18, 19); _Vapores Correos de
Africa_ (J. Onetti & Sons; at Algeciras, A. Gil Pineda), from
Algeciras to Tangier and Cadiz (see R. 6b).—Local steamers to
Algeciras and Tangier, comp. R. 6.
ONE DAY (or even less when time presses). Walk through the town to the
_Alameda_ (p. 55); visit to _Europa Point_ (p. 55) and perhaps
_Catalan Bay_ also (p. 56).—Foreigners are not admitted to the
fortifications, photographing or sketching which is prohibited.
_Gibraltar_, a town of 23,450 inhab. (incl. the garrison of 5100 men),
the key of the Mediterranean, and one of the most important
coast-fortresses in the world, in British possession since 1704, and
headquarters of the Atlantic Fleet, lies on the W. slope of a huge rock,
which is connected with the Spanish mainland by a sandy isthmus only.
The famous rock bounds the Bay of Algeciras or Gibraltar on the E. ‘It
is the very image of an enormous lion, crouched between the Atlantic and
the Mediterranean, and set there to guard the passage for its British
mistress’ (Thackeray).
The rock is composed of Jurassic limestone, overlying Silurian slate,
and extending from N. to S.; it is 3 M. long and ¾ M. in breadth, with a
saddle separating _Mt. Rockgun_ (1356 ft.), the lower hill on the N.,
from the _Signal Station_, the _Highest Point_ (1396 ft.), and the
_Sugar Loaf Hill_ (_O’ Hara’s Tower_, 1361 ft.) on the S. Its grey
masses ascend gradually in terraces on the W. and S. sides, and rise
almost perpendicularly on the E. and N. sides.
The TOWN OF GIBRALTAR (‘North Town’) covers a third of the W. slope to
the N., while the remaining two-thirds are occupied by the Alameda,
numerous pretty villas, the barracks of the _South Town_, and the
_Lighthouse_ on Europa Point. The houses rise in terraces to a height of
260 ft.; the streets are narrow and dark, and are relieved by few
squares. The natives are chiefly Spaniards and descendants of many
different Mediterranean races. The numerous Moroccans, mostly dealers
from Tangier, indicate the proximity of the African coast. The cleanness
of the town and the absence of beggars produce a pleasant impression.
The Coal Stores on the South Mole (along with those of Algiers and
Malta) supply the vessels bound for the Suez Canal (about 1200
annually). There is little other trade except the import of cattle and
provisions from Galicia and Morocco.
The ancient name of the rock was _Kalpe_, while the hills on the
African side were called _Abyla_ (now Sierra Bullones; p. 103).
Together they were known as the ‘Pillars of Hercules’, the entrance to
the ocean. Under the protection of the divine Hercules-Melkarth, the
Phœnicians ventured through the straits, even as far as Britain,
whence they brought the earliest tidings from the North and also
cargoes of tin, which they mixed with copper to produce bronze.
_Kalpe_ was also the name of the first Phœnician settlement on the bay
of Gibraltar, while _Carteia_, on the inner part of the bay, was
probably of ancient Iberian origin. Carteia was still an important
harbour under the Carthaginians, and in 171 B. C. it became the first
Roman colony in the whole peninsula. Nothing is recorded of the period
which succeeded the invasion of the Vandals (p. 322). At length in 711
the bay re-appears in history, when _Mûsa_, the governor appointed by
the Caliph of Damascus, sent the Berber _Târik ibn Ziyâd_ across from
Ceuta to the bay of Algeciras on an expedition against Spain, in which
he defeated the Visigoths at Veger de la Frontera, near Cape Trafalgar
(p. 58). Impressed by the commanding position of the rock of
Gibraltar, Târik afterwards erected a fort upon it, which formed the
nucleus of the Moorish castle (p. 55). From him is derived the name of
_Jebel Târik_, ‘mountain of Târik’, corrupted into Gibraltar. In 1309
Gibraltar was captured by _Al. Pérez de Guzmán_ (_el Bueno_) for
Ferdinand IV. of Castile; the Moors recaptured it in 1333, but in 1462
lost it again to the Spaniards. In consequence of the plundering of
Gibraltar by Algerian pirates under _Kheireddin_ (p. 221), Charles V.
ordered the fortifications to be reconstructed and new ramparts to be
built from the S. side of the town to the crest of the hill. In 1610
the Spanish Admiral _Mendoza_ caused the last Moriscoes of Andalusia
to be sent back to Morocco from this very port, where their ancestors
had so long held sway, and whence they had gone forth to conquer the
whole peninsula. After having undergone ten sieges at various periods,
the fortress was surprised and captured by the British fleet under
_Adm. George Rooke_ and _Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt_ in 1704,
during the Spanish War of Succession, and was stoutly and successfully
defended by them during a six months’ bombardment by the Spaniards and
the French (1704–5). The thirteenth siege (1727) and the ‘great siege’
by the French and the Spaniards (1779–83) were also unsuccessful, the
British commander then being _Gen. Eliott_, afterwards Lord
Heathfield. By the Peace of Versailles, in 1783, Great Britain was
confirmed in her possession of the historic rock.
The older FORTIFICATIONS on the coast, from Land Port on the N. to
Europa Point on the S., those on the S. slope of the rock above Europa
Point, and those on the N. side (the famous underground galleries, p.
55) have in late years been strengthened by the construction of a fort
on the summit of the hill, armed with guns of the largest calibre.
From the _Old Mole_, dating from 1309, and lately prolonged by the
_North Mole_, we pass through the _Old Mole Gate_ (the outer gate of the
harbour), and then, beyond the _Market_, through the inner _Waterport
Gate_, which stands on the site of the old Moorish wharf. This brings us
to the S. E. to CASEMATES SQUARE.
Adjacent, on the S., is WATERPORT STREET, with the chief buildings,
forming, together with the parallel street to the W. called _Irish
Town_, the chief business quarter.
Waterport Street is prolonged to the S. by CHURCH STREET. Beyond
Commercial Square and the _Exchange_ (Pl. 3) we come to the Catholic
_Cathedral_ (Pl. 4), on the left, originally a mosque, but restored by
the ‘Catholic kings’ (p. 75) after 1502; there now remains little worth
seeing except the Moorish orange-court.—A little farther on, on the same
side is the _Supreme Court_ (Pl. 7), with its pretty garden. To the
right, in Cathedral Square, stands the _Anglican Cathedral_ (Pl. 6),
built in the Moorish style.
The southmost part of this line of streets is SOUTHPORT STREET, where,
on the right, rises the _Convent_, once a Franciscan establishment, now
the _Government House_ (governor, Sir Arch. Hunter), the garden of which
contains a venerable dragon-tree (p. 30). At the S. end of this street
is _Southport Gate_, which is always open, dating from the time of
Charles V., but restored in 1883. Outside the gate, on the left, is the
small _Trafalgar Cemetery_, where the British who fell at the battle of
Trafalgar (p. 58) are buried.
The =Alameda=, beyond the gate, a fine promenade with rich subtropical
vegetation, was laid out by Governor George Don in 1814. A military band
plays near the Assembly Rooms (p. 53) on Sun. and Wed. from 3–5, or in
summer in the evening. To the W. we overlook the _Naval Harbour_, with
its dockyard, quays, and long _South Mole_.
A little to the E. of the Southport Gate is _Prince Edward’s Gate_, a
second exit to the S. from the town, whence the *=Europa Main Road=
ascends gently along the W. slope of the rock, above the Alameda
Gardens, between gardens and villas. Below it, on the right, farther on,
are the _Naval Hospital_ and the _Buena Vista Barracks_. Lastly, a
little way short of a signal-station, we descend between the fissured
rocks of the _Europa Pass_ to (1½ M.) _Europa Point_, with its great
_Lighthouse_, the much-eroded S. extremity of the peninsula. The road
then turns to the N., soon affording a view of the Spanish Mediterranean
coast, to the _Governor’s Cottage_ and the _Monkeys’ Cave_ hidden among
the rocks.
The _Moorish Castle_, above the artillery barracks, begun by Târik in
713 and completed in 742, is entered through the Civil Prison (verbal
permission required by foreigners). Access to the _Subterranean
Galleries_ of the fortress, lying below the castle and dating from 1782
(comp. p. 54), is now limited to British subjects.
From the Market (p. 54) we may walk to the N. E. to the _Land Port_
(notice as to closing should be observed; comp. p. 52), and past the
_Inundation_, a space which may be flooded for defensive purposes (made
in 1705), to the =North Front=, which forms part of the low neck of land
below the N. slopes of the rock. From this point the Devil’s Tower Road
leads to the S.E., past the _Cemeteries_, to the _Devil’s Tower_ (10
min. from the Land Fort), probably an old Genoese watch-tower. The road
then turns to the S. to _Catalan Bay_, below the E. flank of the rock,
just allowing room for the little fishing-village of _Caleta_. The rocks
contain several caves.
Beyond the _Neutral Ground_, 550 yds. in breadth, we come to the
Spanish town of _Linea de la Concepción_ (29,600 inhab.), 1¼ M. to the
N. of Gibraltar, which owes its origin to the old Spanish lines of
defence, long since demolished. The place is uninteresting.