Menorca .. some prefer it small !!

 

 

Many small islands usually Lives on the reputation of  its large, well-known and famous neighbour islands in all regions and continents, and usually these islands belong to the large islands, tourism and economic grow on their residues.

The best example for this case is the Mediterranean island of Menorca – the Spanish name means «the small island» – named after her older sister and major Spanish islands in the western north of the Mediterranean island of Mallorca, whose name means also «Big Island».

However, this injustice case for this type of islands has many benefits in terms of tourism, especially when the large main island fulled with tourists and with the increasing number of tourists seeking a quiet and comfortable place. Therefore, these islands provide a good refuge from the usually crowded with tourists and islanders, as it is known that Mallorca is the most famous island in the Spanish Mediterranean islands and in the world especially for Europe and the Middle East and North Africa.

 

 

Since the fifties, tourism has changed the modern face of the island, and turned Menorca from a traditional southern Spanish culture that has been created since the ancient times to the present day, to the island that welcome tourists and provide them with good accommodation, no more no less, which means to be a first class tourist heaven, where all the resources of the island are dedicated to this sector growth, that the number of foreign tourists to the Spanish islands in general rose from 500 thousand in the sixties to nearly 7 million tourists in the nineties, to 22 million tourists last year and throughout the year.

 

  

 

The small islands, which began in recent years to attract tourists such as the Spanish Balearic Islands in the north-west of the Mediterranean which have seen human settlements in the Stone Age with a huge and ancient stones scattered around the island, including a small house is said to be one of the oldest houses in Europe (Naveta d’es Tudons) with the myth of the conflict between two men were competing to marry one of the most beautiful women of the island. According to the myth that the missing stone in that house used by one of the men to kill his opponent.

The island culturally influenced by the Mediterranean civilizations and in particular the Greek civilizations (especially the old Manichean Cretan or as it called the «Atlantis») since ancient times.

The island was a canter for attacks and invasions by pirates on the Romanian trade caravans after the Roman occupation of Spain. During the Roman period trade flourished between Italy and Spain, which has benefited the island, but the Romans occupied the group of islands to stop the pirates in 121 AD. The Roman Emperor Augustus in the thirteenth century interest in the Iberian islands, especially Mallorca and Menorca, so he turned the city of Magu from the Qirtajip style to the Roman identity and architecture. After the Byzantine period was the role of Muslims and Arabs in al-Andalus (Andalusia), where it was under their power by the Caliph of  Cordoba in 903 AD, and named it «Al-mankorah».

 

 

Menorca Remained like an independent Islamic republic for long periods, until Alfonso III at the end of the thirteenth century who end the presence of the Islamic and Jewish citizens. After that he kept a one hundred Muslim in the island and sale the remaining Muslims in the slave markets in Obitha, Valencia, Barcelona and others.

the Turks attacked the island in the sixteenth century, and destroyed a number of cities, and took some locals and sold them in the slave market in Istanbul, before the British role in 1708, which focused on the town Mahon, as the capital of Menorca. The British left the island in 1803 and the effects of their presence still in the island as is the case with the Muslims and you can see it in the architectural styles and urban areas. Celebrations, horses and Alviasta still held in the island every year since the fourteenth century. The historical relationship between the British and the islands of Mallorca and Menorca, made the island to be considered as the most important tourist destinations for the British in Europe and possibly the world since many years until this day.

 

 

 

Menorca island is one of the quietest and most beautiful Balearic Islands in general, and still her untouched beauty by the modern civilization and the many beautiful beaches and excellent same as Mallorca island and Obitha. One of these beaches is Iigrao (Es Grau) in the North and (Blatya de Punta Prima) in the south, which can be accessed easily by buses cheaply from the capital Mahon. There are at least a dozen daily trips.

 

 

There is also another well-known beaches such as Cala Macarrilita and Kala and Kala Oontroqueta Brivounda. you Can enjoy the beaches with  glass bottom boat that allows tourists to watch the marine animals, fish and more.

The island divided into eight provinces or regions: the capital Mahon, Aluor Wise, Marcadal Wise, Megkhorn, Vereres, St. Louis, Castille and the famous «Ciutadella».

 

 

Mahon is the capital, its port is the most famous tourist areas on the island, of course, the southern coastal shoreline is full with tourists, especially resorts of  Santo Tomas, Son Bou, Punta Prima and others, especially British tourists who visit it all year long becuase of bars, nightclubs, restaurants and entertainment centers. This shorline is known for its Georgian Britain style, which dates back to the eighteenth century. The harbor is considered to be one of the deepest natural ports of the world after Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Islands, which were attacked by the Japanese during World War II.

The fact that 80% of the island are protected areas, natural and environmentally by UNESCO, the tourists can enjoy the natural resources of plants and animals and birds.

Menorca is very important for the Spanish tourism nowadays especially as an alternative and natural tourist sites and an excellent choice for those looking for nature and relaxation.