Gibraltar - City Scenes

We drove through the central part of the city to get to the incline (cable cars to the top of The Rock).  Here are some of the views of the city life, with the multiple story houses and apartments, motorcycles, scooters, cars, and buses.

I thought that the name "Ragged Staff Gates" was pretty funny. Of course, once I got to the computer I had to look up the meaning of the name.  I don't know if this helps...or not.

Ragged Staff

The first of the gates were constructed in 1843 for foot passage. In 1736 the Contractor to the Navy Victualling Office built a wharf, 350 feet long which had access by way of a flight of stone steps and a drawbridge. There are many theories for the origin of the name, though none have been proved. One of theses theories suggests that the Ragged Staff was a badge of the Emperor Charles V, another, that the name derived from the rough finish of the original work because staff can mean cement or similar building material; certainly Major General Sir John Jones in 1841 called the area “an ill-conditioned spot… and is extremely unmilitary appearance, as well as apparently defenceless state, strikes one with astonishment…” The Gates as they stand today, pierce the wall at the site previously known as the Ragged Staff Couvreport.

This sixteenth century wall, which comes down from the ancient Moorish Wall, past the Trafalgar Cemetery at the southern end of Main Street, was built in the reign of Charles V in 1552 by the Italian Engineer Calvi. It was designed to defend the city after the attack of September 1540mby Turkish Pirates, under the command of Barbarrossa, who took over 70 captives with the intention of selling them to slavery. The original wall dates back to the Moorish period at which time it climbed straight up almost to the top of the Rock. When Charles V died, Philip II took over the building of the wall. Due to the close proximity of the wall to the town, he decided it would be better to continue the wall further away, hence the continuation starting at the apes den named Philip II Wall. (Source information)

These homes must have a very impressive view.  They are built on the hillside facing the port and Spain.

 The firehouse has a nice art deco look.

Housing complex and a nice bus stop.

We didn't have a chance to go in to the Alameda Gardens.  The gardens look very inviting.

This view is from the cable car.

Perched on the very summit of the Rock of Gibraltar, with the sheer cliffs of the east face of the Rock to one side of the building and steep slopes leading to the City of Gibraltar on the west on the other is the Top Station of the Cable Car.

From this spot one has uninterrupted views southwards across the Strait of Gibraltar to Africa; westwards, of the City of Gibraltar and across the Bay to Algeciras; a birds eye view of Gibraltar airport and Spain to the north; and the blue expanse of the Mediterranean and the beaches and cities of the Costa del Sol to the east.

The present Cable Car was originally constructed in April 1966 by Von Roll of Switzerland, and was extensively refurbished by the manufacturers in 1986. The track length between terminal stations is 673m with a vertical rise of 352m. It has 3 Towers and 2 cabins with a capacity of 30 people and travels at 5m/sec.

Within the Top Station complex there is a self service restaurant, English pub and souvenir shop where you can have a meal or a drink whilst enjoying the views on one of the many panoramic terraces. (Source info)