The Rock of Gibraltar is a highly strategic monolithic limestone mountain 426 m (1,398 ft) high dominating the western entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. It is situated near the end of a narrow 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) long promontory stretching due south into the Mediterranean Sea and is located within the British territory of Gibraltar, and is 27 km north-east of Tarifa, Spain, the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. The rock serves as an impregnable fortress and contains a labyrinthine network of man-made tunnels known as the Tunnels of Gibraltar. Most of the Rock's upper area comprises a nature reserve which is home to about 300 Barbary macaques. It is a major tourist attraction.
Western face of the Rock of Gibraltar, in April 2006
Levant cloud forming against the eastern cliffs of the Rock of Gibraltar
The sheer east side of the Rock of Gibraltar
Eastern face, Rock of Gibraltar, in 1880, viewed from N-E
Ṭāriq ibn Ziyād, also known simply as Tarik in English, was an Umayyad commander who initiated the Muslim conquest of Visigothic Hispania in 711–718 AD. He led an army and crossed the Strait of Gibraltar from the North African coast, consolidating his troops at what is today known as the Rock of Gibraltar. The name "Gibraltar" is the Spanish derivation of the Arabic name Jabal Ṭāriq, meaning "mountain of Ṭāriq", which is named after him.
The Moorish Castle's Tower of Homage, symbol of the Muslim rule in Gibraltar