than any other European country and more mountains than any except
Switzerland. Spain and Portugal together make up what is called the
Iberian Peninsula. It is named for the Iberian people who came there
from North Africa almost 5,000 years ago and settled down to become the
ancestors of the Spanish people.

If you were to stand at the bottom of the Iberian Peninsula, on a hill
overlooking a town called Algeciras, you could look right into Africa,
only twelve miles away. You would also see the Rock of Gibraltar--a
giant rock rising out of the sea and turned into a fort to guard the
narrow passage between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
This passage is the Strait of Gibraltar, and all ships must go through
it to get from the sea to the ocean.

[Illustration]

In this mountainous country between two seas, more babies are born every
day than in any other country in Europe. There are 29 million people in
Spain already, although it is only the size of our state of Montana,
where 600,000 people live. This country might seem very small to us, but
it is the third largest country in Europe. And because their mountains
shut different parts of the country away from each other, there are many
differences in ways of living among the 29 million Spaniards. There are
15 different regions in Spain, and each one has a different way of
dressing, different music and dances, different ways of fixing food, a
different sort of house to live in, and even different ways of
speaking. Sometimes you will meet a Spaniard who has never been out of
his own region, or even away from his own village, because the mountains
make it very difficult to travel when your way of getting around is on
your own two feet or in a little cart pulled by a small burro or donkey.

[Illustration]

Another reason for the many different ways of living is that Spain is a
very old country which has been invaded many times by other countries.
These countries were jealous of the beauty and wealth of Spain and
wanted to get it for themselves. For hundreds of years the Spanish
people were always fighting to protect their beloved homeland against
invading armies.

[Illustration]

The Iberians themselves were invaders, because they weren't the first
people who lived in Spain. We don't even know the names of those very
first people who lived there when most of Europe was covered with ice.
We only know that they lived in caves and hunted wild animals, because