"Looming like some great ship off the southernmost tip of Spain, the tiny British colony of Gibraltar is a heady compound of curiosities. To the ancient Greeks and Romans, it was one of the two Pillars of Hercules, set up by the mythical hero to mark the edge of the known world". - Lonely Planet Guide

Gibraltar is a UK overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula overlooking the Straits of Gibraltar. The territory shares a land border with Spain to the north. Gibraltar has historically been an important base for the British Armed Forces and is the site of a British naval base. It is probably most famous for the geological formation the Rock of Gibraltar.

The name of the territory is derived from the original Arabic name Jabal Ţāriq, which means "mountain of Tariq", or from Gibr al-Ţāriq, meaning "rock of Tariq"). It refers to the Berber Umayyad general Tariq ibn-Ziyad, who led the initial incursion into Iberia in advance of the main Moorish force in 711. Earlier, it was known as Mons Calpe, one of the Pillars of Hercules. Today, Gibraltar is known colloquially as "Gib" or "the Rock".

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