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<font size="2" face="Geneva,Arial">Gibraltar is an Overseas Dependant Territory of the United Kingdom. It is close to the most southerly part of Spain at the entrance to the Mediterranean. It has a strategic location on the Strait of Gibraltar where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean Sea, with Europe to the north and Africa to the south. Gibraltar has been important base for the British Armed Forces for three hundred years. Although that presence is now much reduced, this has left many unique structures and artefacts of historical interest.</font>
<p><font size="2" face="Geneva,Arial">The issue of sovereignty over Gibraltar is a major issue of contention in Anglo-Spanish relations. Spain requests the return of sovereignty over Gibraltar, captured in 1704. Britain has explored options for joint sovereignty, this is consistently rejected by the Gibraltarians. A majority of 98.97 percent of the Gibraltar population voted in a referendum in November 2002 not to share sovereignty with Spain.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Geneva,Arial">Gibraltar is a part of the European Union, having joined under the British Treaty of Accession, with exemption from some areas such as the Customs Union & Common Agricultural Policy.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Geneva,Arial">The name is believed to come from the Arabic name of Jebel Tarik meaning Tariq's mountain. It refers to the Ummayad general Tariq ibn-Ziyad who led the Muslim conquest of Spain in 711 at the head of an army of Berbers, Syrians and Yemenis. Earlier it was Calpe, one of the Pillars of Hercules. Today, Gibraltar is also known colloquially as 'Gib' or 'the Rock'.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Geneva,Arial">The territory covers 6.543 square kilometres (2.53 square miles). It shares a 1.2 kilometre land border with Spain and has 12 kilometres of shoreline. There are two coasts (sides) of Gibraltar - the East Side which contains the settlements of Sandy Bay and Catalan Bay and the West Side where the vast majority of the population lives.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Geneva,Arial">The climate is Mediterranean with mild winters and warm summers. Its terrain is a narrow coastal lowland bordering the 426-metre (1.397-foot) high Rock of Gibraltar. It has negligible natural resources and limited natural freshwater resources, until recently using large concrete or natural rock water catchments to collect rain water. It now has a desalination plant soon to be replaced by a reverse osmosis plant (currently operational) built into the rock itself.</font></p>
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<p><font size="2" face="Geneva,Arial"><b>Culture of Gibraltar</b><br>
The Culture of Gibraltar reflects Gibraltarians' diverse origins. While there are strong Spanish and British influences, the ethnic origins of most Gibraltarians are neither British or Spanish, they mainly include Genoese and Maltese. Others are Jewish of Sephardic or North African origin. Many Gibraltarians of Genoese origin came to the Rock in the 18th century, with the Maltese following in the 19th century, coming to work and trade in the British military base.</font></p>
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<p><font size="2" face="Geneva,Arial">During the Second World War, the whole civilian population of the Rock was evacuated, in the interests of the British military, which decreed that 'the fortress comes first'. Most were moved to the UK, particularly to Fulham and Kensington in London and Ballymena in Northern Ireland, others went to Jamaica and Madeira. This served to strengthen the Gibraltarian identity, almost all were repatriated after the war.</font></p>
<p><font size="2" face="Geneva,Arial">Spain has often denigrated the Gibraltarians, who it describes as 'the present inhabitants', on the grounds that they are not indigenous, and that the original Spanish inhabitants were expelled when the Anglo-Dutch expedition force seized the Rock in 1704. It has used these arguments to argue that Gibraltarians are not a 'colonial' people, but rather, a 'colonising' people. This is despite the fact that many Gibraltarians can trace their ancestry on the Rock back further than most North Americans or Australasians of European origin can trace their ancestry in their countries, and indeed many Latin Americans living in former Spanish colonies. Consequently, many Gibraltarians regard Spanish politicians, with considerable suspicion. Apart from the annoyance of the territorial claim, relations with the Spanish are good. Many several thousand Spaniards come to work each day in Gibraltar and hundreds of Gibraltarians shop and visit Spain daily, many have homes in Spain and commute to their places of work in Gib.</font>
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