The Coolidge examiner., 1934-12-14


Fee and Atlantic ports.
While Tangier has a distinct ORR
entail atmosphere, European contact
Is bringing II up-to-date. Maybe
that Is why the Arabs call the city
dog of town" Telephones are
everywhere; the French have built
n modern hospital; the Pasteur In
sdtute is the finest In Africa, and
there Is European residential dis
trlct Tangier's country club has a
nine-hole golf course. but ragged
little Arab boys, descendants of
the corsairs of old, are caddles.
Nevertheless, Tangler has not out
grown the East's special taxi-the
single passenger donkey-and per-
haps never Will, for automobiles
and busses cannot navigate its mar
row streets.
Across the Strait looms the lofty
Rock Of Gibraltar, the northern pill
lar OF the famed Pillars OF Hercules
that guarded the western entrance
TO the Mediterranean. The rocks
highest point Is more than twice the
height of the Washington monu-
ment or about 100 feet higher than
the worlds tallest building. Since
the Moors first occupied Gibraltar
centuries ago, its face has frequent
ly undergone treatment" A for
tilted castle dating back to Moorish
occupation still stands In one Of its
recesses, sharply contrasting with
the more modern British ramparts.
Tunnels have been bored, paths
dynamited and In places Its rough
"countenance" has been given an
application OF cement upon which
rain water Is caught and drained
into reservoirs. In natural caves
In the rock live the famous Gibral-
tar monkeys, probably the only
monkeys In Europe that were not
brought there by men In modern
times. The animals are protected
by law and are fed by the British
army.
Gibraltar City Very British.
Gibraltar, the rock, is known to
every school child. Gibraltar, the
city at It's feet, is known to but few.
Gibraltar city Is extremely Brit
ish IL the traveller confines his OBJ
servations to British soldiers who
are everywhere, British Boobies"
who appear as If they had just
emerged from a London police sta
tiOn, British flags that top the
masts of municipal and govern
ment buildings, and British war
ships and commercial vessels that
outnumber all others anchored In
the harbor.
But a glance at its street crowds
and its buildings reveals a strange
mixture. Most Gibraltar buildings
are Spanish In design. It's narrow
streets are crowded with busy
throngs from many parts Of the
world. Scotchmen in kits brush
past turbaned Moors from the other
side of the Strait; Spaniards from
Madrid, Malaga and Cadiz, mingle
with sturdy Greeks; ruddy-skinned
Hindus and Egyptians jostle Levan-
tine Jews In gaberdines; and
swarthy Senegal negroes rub elbows
with Chinese from Canton. And
weaving in and out of the human
mass are hundreds Of foreign sea-
men from boats that come to Glib
raltar for fuel, trade and repairs.
The town begins at the shore Of
the broad bay and rises go feet up
the north side OF the rock. Long
flights Of steps lead to the upper
portion of the town, making
wheeled traffic impossible on many
streets. The Mediterranean, or
south side Of the rock, is almost a
sheer cliff. Fishermen have built,
however, small villages In the few
recesses which are reached by mar
row paths.
Between Spain and the British
territory is a narrow strip Of land
called the neutral zone where trav-
elers get the best land view Of the
rock.
The city took its name from the
rock which was called Mount
Abyla or Apes Hill In ancient times
II was once owned by the PhOeni-
clans and fell, In turn, to the Car
thaginians, Romans and Visigoths.
In the Eighth century the Moor
ish chief, Tarik-Ibn-Zeyad, landed
ON the rock and called it Gibel-
Tarik or Mountain of Tarik Of
which Gibraltar" Is a corruption.
The moors had held Gibraltar for
six centuries when In 1909 the Span
ish seized 1t, but "a years later the
Moslems regained possession. 1t
became Spanish territory again in
1862. The British have held the
rock since 1904 when they defeated
a combined Spanish and French
fleet. Since, the British have had
frequent wars over Gibraltar's pos
session. One Spanish siege lasted
four years (1779-1783).