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Strait of Gibraltar

January 1, 2023

Strait of Gibraltar: Non Plus Ultra is a geographical investigation of the great waterway that links the Atlantic Ocean with the Mediterranean Sea and forms the inter-continental divide between Europe and Africa across the legendary Pillars of Hercules. In this post Cold War era, the Strait is often referred to as a ‘strategic asset’ for its shipping lanes: between the Atlantic via the Bosporus to the Black Sea; and via the transformative Suez Canal to the Red Sea and the Gulf, and beyond. The Strait has been a strategic asset since the days of those early seafarers, the Phoenicians, who defied (or encouraged) the myth that any vessel passing through the waterway would fall off the End of the World, and into the unknown void. In this same way, the great human adventure is formed and inevitably eclipsed by the geographical dimension: the prehistoric trans-migrations out of Africa, the outstanding achievements and titanic clashes of classical antiquity, the sea battles and world conflicts over the centuries since, and the geopolitical intrigues of the present post-Cold War era. The epic story of the strait opens with its formation over five million years ago. The timeline established with the End of the World, the author undertakes a geographical investigation with the focus on: Ancient Geographers and the Mapping of the Strait, the Pillars of Hercules, and A World Waterway. Strait of Gibraltar aims to locate the position and identity of the waterway in its greater or global perspective in this early twenty first century.