Gibraltar 🇬🇮
Transafrica 2018 STOP 22
June 1, 2018
Ad-Dakhla – Gibraltar
Flight distance: 953 nm
Hours in the air: 3.36
Rock Monkies
Dakhla airport was empty when we arrived and despite a missing handler we were able to leave on time. Favourite winds brought us to Gibraltar, but we did not have much time left since we lost two hours because of the time difference.
That meant visiting the Rock of Gibraltar and its famous Barbary macaques (monkeys) besides enjoying nice views. We finished the day with a great meal and wine, now that Africa and Ramadan are “behind”us, while reflecting the last five weeks. Again, we were very fortunate that so far everything turned out ok without any major problems, we all stayed healthy and had a great vibe amongst each other, the latter undoubtedly the most important.
We hope to get home just fine today.
Facts &Â figures
Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula. It has an area of 6.7 km2 and is bordered to the north by Spain. The landscape is dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar at the foot of which is a densely populated city area, home to over 30,000 people, primarily Gibraltarians.
In 1704, Anglo-Dutch forces captured Gibraltar from Spain during the War of the Spanish Succession on behalf of the Habsburg claim to the Spanish throne. The territory was ceded to Great Britain in perpetuity under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. During World War II it was an important base for the Royal Navy as it controlled the entrance and exit to the Mediterranean Sea, which is only 13 kilometers wide at this naval “choke point”. It remains strategically important to this day, with half the world’s seaborne trade passing through the strait. Today Gibraltar’s economy is based largely on tourism, online gambling, financial services and cargo ship refueling.
The sovereignty of Gibraltar is a major point of contention in Anglo-Spanish relations as Spain asserts a claim to the territory. Gibraltarians overwhelmingly rejected proposals for Spanish sovereignty in the 1967 referendum, and the idea of shared sovereignty in 2002. Under the Gibraltar constitution of 2006, Gibraltar governs its own affairs, though some powers, such as defence and foreign relations, remain the responsibility of the British government.
Source: wikipedia.org / nationsonline.org
