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per højholt
located in the garden
surrounding the citadel, which
was erected by the Moorish
general Tariq in the eighth
century, on the Rock’s west
s ide. On the s tage’s
pa i ns t ak i ng l y
shaped
flagstones, hewn directly
from the cliff side, the ears
would assemble as soon as
the stage lay sheltered in the
moonlight from the east wind
and mime for the restless
macaques scenes from their
Portuguese existence, from
their flight (here everyone
could participate), and from
their periodic voyeuristic
skulks about the English camp.
The greatest enthusiasm
among the macaques, as few
and distracted as they were,
resulted from tremulous and
helpless parodies of their, the
macaques’, existence on the
Rock. Yet the macaques let
every opportunity for self-
understanding fly straight
over their heads, and the ears
had to acknowledge that the
monkeys’ interest for seat
cushion directly in front of
them oftentimes completely
detached them from the
events taking place on stage.
Nonetheless, the ears were
certain that it was thanks to
these moonlit tableaus that
the macaques allowed them
to occupy the dark corners of
their small caves on the Rock’s
east side. In this same region,
though far down by the bay,
was also the small fishing
village of La Caleta, though at
the time of the ears’ arrival it
was known as Catalanbay.
This village was connected to
the west-side settlement,
which shared its name with
the Rock, by a laborious path
northward around the cliff, as
well as by a tunnel bored
straight through the Rock and
ending at Gibraltar town’s
docks. This tunnel, whose