Did you know that you can see Africa from Spain? Yup, sitting at a cafe in Tarifa and looking right across the Strait of Gibraltar... there it is!
Africa is less than 10 mi (16 km) south of Spain at the Strait of Gibraltar. Being so near to northern Africa and bordering this water bridge between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic has made Spain a a strategic spot for trade and conquest for centuries. This brings to mind the interesting convergence of geography and political coincidence that subsequently becomes ‘historical destiny’.
Africa is less than 10 mi (16 km) south of Spain at the Strait of Gibraltar. Being so near to northern Africa and bordering this water bridge between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic has made Spain a a strategic spot for trade and conquest for centuries. This brings to mind the interesting convergence of geography and political coincidence that subsequently becomes ‘historical destiny’.
If not for this meager geographical distance, Spain, originally inhabited by Celts, Iberians, and Basques and annexed to the Roman Empire in 206 B.C. when Scipio Africanus conquered it, might have become more typical of other Mediterranean-European countries that also endured the decline of the Roman Empire and its subsequent barbarian invasion by Goths in the early 5th C.
But just a short distance makes a tall difference to history, even with Gibraltar looming large. In 711, only about 100 years after the death of the Prophet Mohammed, the Muslims under Tariq entered Spain from Africa and within a few years consolidated their rule, concentrated in the territory they called Al-Andalus (Andalucia). All of Spanish history and culture was thereby changed and made unique within Europe, as I’ve noted throughout my postings.
Geography isn’t everything, of course. There was also that surprising feat accomplished by Columbus in 1492, with a little venture capital and a “what’s to lose” empire-building attitude of the reigning Catholic Monarchs of Spain. So happenstance should also get credited for much in history-making.
What if the Italians had been just a bit more supportive of their native son? Perhaps they, not the Spanish, would have ruled the seas for the next century and italianized the 'New World'. Maybe pizza would have come sooner. But the Italians had their chance, and remembering the Romans, did their imperial bit. Still, there’s a statue of Columbus in the harbor at Genoa, and I bet a lot of sour grapes have been passed over that particular missed opportunity.
No empire retains hegemony. Not the Roman, nor the Islamic rule of Spain in the middle ages, nor Spain's Catholic Monarchy (subsequently claimed by the Hapsburgs), which did have a pretty long run at managing and mismanaging the largest empire in the Western world for three centuries
Continuing our coincidental "what-if" thinking, if there hadn’t been a terrible storm, perhaps the ‘invincible’ Spanish Armada wouldn’t have been beaten by an inferior English fleet in 1588, again dramatically changing the history of Europe and the colonization of North America.
Still, Spain remained the most powerful state in Europe and the foremost global and colonial power during the
16th C and the greater part of the 17th C. By then, depleting its enormous wealth in religiously-slanted wars and embroilments in Europe and elsewhere, Spain was on the road to losing much of its empire. Under its increasingly inept Hapsburg rulers, Spain declined as a major world player in the late 17th C. For more historical insights, click and click.
Still, Spain remained the most powerful state in Europe and the foremost global and colonial power during the
16th C and the greater part of the 17th C. By then, depleting its enormous wealth in religiously-slanted wars and embroilments in Europe and elsewhere, Spain was on the road to losing much of its empire. Under its increasingly inept Hapsburg rulers, Spain declined as a major world player in the late 17th C. For more historical insights, click and click.
We spent part of the morning walking around Tarifa, the southernmost European city. Billed as great place for wind-surfing and having some nice beaches, it provided a pleasant a way-station for us. I'd been there once before, the only non-Spanish person on a rollicky Spanish tour bus headed for Morocco. That was a trip in itself. But now, we were driving via ferry to the Rock itself: Gibraltar.
Tarifa is a small town with the remains of fortresses and monuments to skirmishes during the Spanish 'crusades' against the Moors. This little fishing town was the first point of the Moorish invasion of Southern Spain in 711 AD. There's a statue to Guzman El Bueno who in defended the town against the invading Moors in 1295.
According to the local story the Moors captured and threatened to kill his son if Guzman didn't surrender the town. Dad refused, throwing down his sword -- with which they killed his son. The statue is near a nice little family park. There were kids riding tricycles, and I thought about this story. How good was Guzman the Good? Would you really want a hero who loved his patriotic principles more than his son? If only our capacity for joy were developed as highly and endorsed as much in principle as our capacity for war.
Today's Thought
According to the local story the Moors captured and threatened to kill his son if Guzman didn't surrender the town. Dad refused, throwing down his sword -- with which they killed his son. The statue is near a nice little family park. There were kids riding tricycles, and I thought about this story. How good was Guzman the Good? Would you really want a hero who loved his patriotic principles more than his son? If only our capacity for joy were developed as highly and endorsed as much in principle as our capacity for war.
Today's Thought
It is always easier to fight for one’s principles than to live up to them.
-- Alfred Adler
Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it.
-- George Bernard Shaw
The principles which men give to themselves end by overwhelming their noblest intentions.
--Albert Camus
Tarifa is still a major port of entry, now mostly for tourist ferries to and from North Africa. Local fishermen still use the ancient Almadraba method of fishing using a circle of boats and nets. Tuna fishing is big during its season (end of March-June). It's still a charming place for a stroll.
We had a seafood lunch at one of small outdoor restauranta lining the port and watched our ferry near shore. Sitting where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean, on a clear day one can enjoy spectacular views of the Rif mountains of Africa across the water. To give you an idea of how close it is to North Africa, the fast ferry Tarifa-Tanger takes only 35 minutes. That's less time that it takes most of us to drive to work.
The rock of Gibraltar, one of the Pillars of Hercules in Greek mythology, has been a constant landmark for thousands of years. Photographs cannot prepare you for the Gibraltar's physical impact. You see it looming miles and miles away on the shores of Andalucia. But as you approach it, its massive scale becomes overpowering. It's been described as "a 1,396-foot-high boulder - sheer on one side, a city of 30,000 clinging to the bottom third of the other".
Oddly, there's no mention of Gibraltar on the directional signs along Spain's coastal expressway. You see the rock right in your face before you know how to reach it. You figure this out t by going as far as you can toward the sea.
Oddly, there's no mention of Gibraltar on the directional signs along Spain's coastal expressway. You see the rock right in your face before you know how to reach it. You figure this out t by going as far as you can toward the sea.
Gibraltar is British, despite continuing Spanish claims. The Rock was captured and ceded to the British crown in 1713 during the War of the Spanish Succession. Spain made repeated military efforts to get it back and now relies on diplomatic means. The population of Gibraltar, who speak both English and Spanish (often in the same sentence) recently (2002) rejected a referedum for joint Spanish-British sovereignty.
Gibraltar is a tourist attraction. But on the cloud-covered afternoon of our visit, it made me claustrophobic to be on and in the Rock. There are buildings inside the rock as well as on top of it. The streets are narrow and much seems underground or perching on impossibly narrow and crowded little grey roads with high grey walls banking them. Military establishments and personnel also seem to be everwhere.
The British pound is the ruling currency. There’s British whiskey to buy, along with dry goods from Marks and Sparks if you’ve been longing for them. We didn’t stay for too long, getting a bit of a dungeon feeling. Yet, the Rock itself is quite impressive viewed almost anywhere from the southern coast of Spain -- which is from where I’d rather view it. But, my view is idiosyncratic, as always. If you want some more positive tips on it as a tourist destination, check out this NYTimes article.
I want to leave you with a warning. Spanish ice cream can be hazardous! An ice cream bar can cost you more than $50 in Spain! That’s if you happen to eat it while driving your car. It happened to us. I couldn’t believe it. True: it’s the law and that’s the fine. But, when it’s usual for cars to hurl way past the speed limit, their drivers glued to cellphones (also against the law) and routinely crossing lanes without signals and with only inches to spare, it's rather sardonic to fine someone for pulling out of parking spot with a ice-cream bar in his mouth! Chalk it up to experience.
This may be my last posting about Spain. So let me leave you with another photo of my dear totemic Pepe enjoying the Andalucian sunset.
It is always such a different experience actually to meet people on a one-to-one basis than to read their history. Spain is a land of so many contrasts, geographical and political: the rapacious extremes of the Spanish Civil War still remaining a potent example. Yet all the Spanish people (young and old) that we’ve met casually in our travels across regions of the country have so impressed us with their friendliness, readiness to offer help, easy manner and welcoming attitude that I’ve come to form a genuine stereotype of the “gracious Spaniard.”
Today's Painting
It’s been so easy for us with local citizens, even in large and bustling cities. Another thing we’ve noted is how indulgent (as well as attentive) Spanish people seem to be with their kids, and even other people’s kids. The little ones here seem not afraid of strangers (one might worry, but their parents let them roam within view) and we’ve had several come over to us in cafés, smiling and checking us out.
The kids (even toddlers) are out with their parents at all hours of the night, being taken to pubs at 10 pm, which, as you know by now, is the time many Spaniards take their evening meal. They’re an energetic bunch, to say the least. And, as the Spanish say often in Spain, it's a place where se vive bien. My sentiments exactly. Well, viva España! I’m glad to have had some opportunity to get to know it better.
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| JS photo |
It is always such a different experience actually to meet people on a one-to-one basis than to read their history. Spain is a land of so many contrasts, geographical and political: the rapacious extremes of the Spanish Civil War still remaining a potent example. Yet all the Spanish people (young and old) that we’ve met casually in our travels across regions of the country have so impressed us with their friendliness, readiness to offer help, easy manner and welcoming attitude that I’ve come to form a genuine stereotype of the “gracious Spaniard.”
Today's Painting
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| painting by Janet Strayer, see more click here |
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