Fieldwork - Gibraltar
5th of July, 2024
This trip was planned ahead of time for my final major project at Falmouth University.
Gibraltar feels different from any UK city, like a small Spanish coastside town. Upon arrival, we first saw the magnificent Rock of Gibraltar. The height of the rock casts an interesting shadow on the town, casting its presence on every corner of the city. The first question that comes into my mind is the significance and meaning of this landmark to its people: How do Gibraltar people feel about the rock? What does this rock mean to them? In what way does it mark its presence in people’s lives?
Walking along the streets of Gibraltar, you can see Spanish-style architecture and hear people talking, similar to the way southern Spanish people speak. Although it is a British overseas territory, the city flows with multiple cultures in the community: English, Spanish, and Llanitos (or Yanito). Despite only 6.8 km2, 34,000 people have inhabited the city, making it a small but lively place.
The multi-cultural characteristics, densely populated land, and remarkable landmarks remind me of my hometown, Hong Kong. Hong Kong, also a post-British-colonial territory and densely populated, has a history that resembles the “Hong Kong Spirit” – The Lion Rock. Comparing both cities gives an interesting perspective on how this unique co-existence of different cultures creates a hybrid culture of its own. Gibraltar people speak a language unique to Gibraltar, which switches between Angulo-Spanish and English while having words with origins from North Africa. Hong Kong people speak a localised language unique to Hong Kong that mixes both English and Cantonese while having words originating from other Asian regions. Both places have similar resemblances, but I feel like Gibraltar shares a more similar resemblance to different places than Hong Kong.
Macau, a post-colonial territory that used to belong to Portugal, is much smaller than Hong Kong, yet both places use the same language. However, Gibraltar is more like Macau because its gambling businesses are extraordinarily well-developed, and it is a small city that doesn’t require any underground transportation; cars are enough to journey through the whole town.
The first day of the trip starts with us landing at night, leaving us little time to roam around the city, but a short walk makes me curious about this place.
Fieldwork - Gibraltar
6th of July, 2024
In the morning, we walked around town and found a museum about the history of Gibraltar. It curated artefacts from prehistorical periods to modern-day Gibraltar. We first notice that they have interestingly short opening hours, only from ten in the morning to two in the afternoon. The museum is divided into numerous parts; the first part features the prehistorical period of Gibraltar, where Neanderthals are believed to have inhabited the caves of the rock—the second part concerns medieval Gibraltar, where Castilians gained control over Gibraltar from the Moorish rule. The third part of the museum is an archaeological site of one of the bathhouses for the Moorish inhabitants, followed by the natural history of Gibraltar. The fourth section of the museum documented the history of Gibraltar during WWII. The last part of the museum is about the great siege between the British and the Spanish. This section of the museum presented the details of the wars from start to finish.
In the museum, although loosely curated, the general history is understandable. To sum it up, an Islamic conquest introduced the Moors (also known as Muslims) to Gibraltar, beginning its rule over the area from 711 AD. Then, after several conflicts with the Castilians (or Christians), the Spanish monarchy gained control over the land in 1462. Later, in 1700, the Spanish succession conflicts led to a war that resulted in Gibraltar being in the British hands. After the conflicts, the Spanish monarchy wanted to control the city again, which marked the beginning of the Great Siege War. A few decades later, Gibraltar served as the British army's naval and aerial base during WWII.
This historical stop filled me in on the context of this place and how this distanced land was under England’s rule while having such a complex and multi-layered culture.
After the museum, we continued to walk towards the south. We walked past a cemetery. Filled with lush and overgrown grasses, we initially thought it was a park, but only when we walked into the garden did we find headstones with worn-off carvings crooked next to each other. It is hard to read what is written on it, but the typography and design show evidence that these are headstones made around the 1800s. On our way out, a plaque explained the purpose of this place.
“Trafalgar Cemetery: Here lie the remains of those who died of wounds at Gibraltar after Nelson’s great victory in October 1805; those being killed during the battle have been buried at the sea. Other graves date from 1798.”
Later, we walked uphill to the Alameda Wildlife Park. It is a rather sizeable natural park compared to other parts of Gibraltar we have been to. There is a zoo and different gardens that we can explore. They kept several species of monkeys and parrots with other animals in the park. After photos and visits, we went to a coastside restaurant for lunch.
At first, I thought this would be an ordinary experience, but what seemed to be typical to the locals was a cultural shock to me. Before the trip, I studied some Spanish in case I needed to use them. When the waitress took our orders, she also took orders from the table behind us. However, to my surprise, the locals started to share their personal life with the waitress. It would be expected if they knew each other, though that does not seem to be the case, as they introduced their names after they started talking. The locals spoke in Llanito with the waitress, using English and Spanish fluently, switching between both languages seamlessly. I find it hard to catch up to their conversation, but I got the gist that they are talking about something personal, and the lady is upset about it. Gibraltar people seem more open about their personal life towards strangers, sharing personal stuff with people they just met. The cultural difference between me and the locals creates this exciting difference in perspectives about sharing information with strangers; Hong Kong people seldom talk about themselves to strangers.
Today is also unique: England versus Switzerland in UEFA Euro 2024. It was no surprise that many people went to the bar for the match, and most of them supported England. I suspect most of them are English tourists, but the atmosphere was hyper when the final shootout gave England the win.
Fieldwork - Gibraltar
7th of July, 2024
I hadn’t noticed this before, but the iconic red British post boxes and red telephone booths are along the streets of Gibraltar. This is a significant mark of the land being a British city. As I pay attention to my surroundings, I see many Union Jacks and the flag of Gibraltar across the city. How they designed the city ensured the presence of the UK was seen everywhere while allowing the people to live their own culture.
On this day, we walked through the neighbourhood. Interestingly, the local areas have more Spanish-style architecture and interior designs. The use of vibrant colours, paired with zigzaggy-placed pots of flora on the wall, gives off a Southern European rather than a British architectural style. One of the houses even has its mailbox address written in Spanish, distinguishing itself from the English influence in the town centre.
We walked towards the Moorish Castle, visiting the medieval fortification in Gibraltar. The castle is a block-like castle that oversees Gibraltar and the southern part of Spain. Up there, you can see the border between Gibraltar and Spain. Inside the castle are the dormitories of the Moorish monarchies. The castle served as Gibraltar’s prison until 2010.
After the Castle, we entered the WWII tunnel. Apparently, during WWII, Gibraltar served as an important military location. As Italy joined the War, the British army needed to increase its military force on the southern side of Europe. They expanded the existing tunnel in the Rock from only allowing a man to pass through to a sizeable tunnelling system enabling vehicles and supplies to pass through. A large portion of the tunnel was sealed off for visiting. Still, according to the curated documents, there is a church, entertainment spot, medical points and bunkers in the tunnels for the troops stationed in Gibraltar.
Speaking of the rock, we climbed the landmark with the help of a cable car to the top and met its most iconic inhabitants—barbary macaques, also known as Gibraltar monkeys. They are wild monkeys but are also used to humans. When we walk past them, they are highly chill about our presence but are protective of their offspring, keeping us at arm's length. We then entered St. Micheal’s cave, where we found one of the weirdest rock formations. It is a network of limestone caves, with light shows talking about the story of Gibraltar.
The Greeks named Gibraltar the Pillar of Hercules. The Rock of Gibraltar is the northern Pillar, while the southern Pillar is either Monte Hach or Jebel Musa. According to mythology, Hercules had to perform 12 labours, and one of them was to fetch cattle from the farm west; this marked the westward extent of his travels. While on his way to the west, Hercules had to cross the mountain that once was there; instead, he smashed through it, which connected the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea and formed the Strait of Gibraltar. In some versions of the story, Hercules builds pillars to hold the sky away from falling to earth, and beyond the pillars is the end of the world, warning anyone who comes near the pillars to head back.
Fieldwork - Gibraltar
8th of July, 2024
I have decided to walk to the southernmost point of Gibraltar, visiting the cathedral and the Mosque at Europa Point.
While walking to Europa Point, I observed how the city is planned. They are expanding the land mass through reclaimed land, building more business centres and apartments, and introducing lower tax rates to attract people to move to Gibraltar. Urban planning and economic development in Gibraltar strongly resemble Hong Kong to me. Since both cities were governed by the British government before, they developed their economy using a similar system, resulting in similar social, cultural, and economic development. While facing a similar problem, a similar solution was proposed. Interestingly, despite the cities being 9000 kilometres apart, they would walk a similar path under the same cultural influence yet have different results.
After leaving the city's urban part, I entered the southern part of Gibraltar. It is more residential, and while the beaches are filled with tourists, it is beautiful to look at the Mediterranean Sea this close, with the Rock of Gibraltar casting its shadow all around the land. I reached Europa Point, which has the famous lighthouse, the University of Gibraltar, the Mosque and the Shrine of Our Lady of Europe. Although the religious places are closed, I managed to spend an afternoon at Europa Point, admiring the magnificence of Gibraltar.
The people there are mostly tourists for the lighthouse, while some locals will come and hang out. I had lunch at a café, where I saw this exciting father and son scene. The owner walked out to greet me and guided me to a seat, taking my order in English. He spoke Spanish to his co-workers and chatted with the locals in Spanish, but this pair of father and son at the following table. I am sure they are both local; while the father spoke English and Spanish to the owner, the son never spoke Spanish. This spiked my curiosity, and I asked the reason for not speaking Spanish, and it was simply that he did not know how to speak Spanish. He was never taught Spanish, and all his life he spent with English alone.
The unique language that switches between Spanish and English is fading away in Gibraltar. This is a significant social and cultural problem that Gibraltar is facing now. With some research, I found out that linguists and Gibraltar people have been trying to preserve the language. This reminded me of Hong Kong’s situation: the potential threat of Cantonese dying out due to cultural influence. This begs the question, will the indigenous language eventually die out due to cultural hybridity?
Fieldwork - Gibraltar
9th of July, 2024
Today, we spent the day retracing the steps I walked yesterday. Slowly walking through the coastline to Europa Point was interesting, as we could observe how people interact with each other daily, seeing the differences and documenting the little moments that we witness. I noticed how Gibraltar people talk in a way that uses Spanish in a grammatical sense but speaks in English. Their linguistic grammar structure is more closely related to Spanish than English, and they would use Spanish when the subject is simple or easy to understand.
Only a little has been done on this day that would contribute to the project.
Fieldwork - Gibraltar
10th of July, 2024
We joined a dolphin tour.
While on the boat, you can see how “great” the Rock of Gibraltar is. The landscape on the Spanish side is relatively flat compared to Gibraltar; the story of the Pillars of Hercules became more convincing to me than the limestone formation that happened billions of years ago. The marine life in the Mediterranean Sea also seems to be familiar with humans sailing near them. Like the macaques, the dolphins and seagulls would come near the boat instead of hiding from us. Wildlife in Hong Kong often hides from us, and whether it’s a stray cat or a local species, you have to be patient and wait for them to show up. However, in Gibraltar, the animals would show up without much fear.
How our cultures treat animals differently has led to different ways animals treat us. When we care about them and show respect, they will be friendly and close to humans; when we hunt and seek entertainment purposes out of other life forms, they will shun us and hide. How we interact with nature changes the landscape; in return, the landscape changes the way we think, prompting us to make a difference in our cultural practice. This relationship is fascinating.
Later that day, we went to Sandy Bay and spent the evening at the beach. Because of its geographical location, it is rare to see clouds form above Gibraltar. The sand is also excellent since it is an open sea beach. The pleasant environment and weather made us lose track of time, and we missed the last bus back to our hotel.
When we thought we would have to walk back to the hotel, a local woman offered us a ride back to the hotel. Her son left his bag at the beach; that is how we met, but without any questions asked, she just offered us the ride. She and her son speak fluent Spanish and English, though she thinks her son has better English than hers. This one moment during the short ride stuck in my mind – she missed the exit at the roundabout, and her son said, “ Aye, mama, es la wrong one…”
After observing for a while, I found out that words like “Pero,” “Porque,” “Amor,” and “Valé” are always used instead of their English counterparts. Another observation is that they prefer English sentences with mixed Spanish words rather than vice versa.