GIBRALTAR

a large rock at the western end of the Mediterranean Sea, connected to the south coast of Spain. There is a small town and a large military base on Gibraltar, which is owned by Britain but claimed by Spain. It used to be an important centre for the Royal Navy and the RAF , guarding the area where the Mediterranean flows into the Atlantic, but many of the armed forces have left Gibraltar, and tourism is becoming a more important industry. Many monkeys, called Barbary apes, live on the Rock of Gibraltar, and there is a legend that the British will leave Gibraltar when the monkeys die or stop living there.