Majorca

Majorca

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About Majorca

Mallorca or Majorca is one of the Balearic Islands, which are located in the Mediterranean Sea and are part of Spain. Like the other Balearic Islands Ibiza, Formentera, and Minorca, the island is a popular tourist destination. In the United Kingdom and Germany, where package tourism to Mallorca has been popular since the 1960s, it has become a synonym for mass tourism.
The capital of the island is Palma de Mallorca, which is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Cabrera archipelago is administratively grouped with Mallorca (in the municipality of Palma).
Typical dishes of Mallorca are ensaïmada, a pastry made with pork lard (saïm) and sobrassada, sausage with lard and paprika.

Mallorca was inhabited since antiquity. Burial chambers and traces of habitation from the Paleolithic period, 6000-4000 BC, have been discovered. The island was occupied by the Carthaginians before passing to the Romans in 123 BC under Quintus Caecilius Metellus. It flourished under Roman rule, during which time the towns of Pollentia (Alcúdia), and Palmaria (Palma) were founded. Olive cultivation, viniculture, and salt mining supported the economy.

The Vandals sacked the island in 426, and annexed it to their kingdom in 465. In 534, Mallorca was conquered by the Byzantine Empire, and administered as part of the province of Sardinia. Under Byzantine rule, Christianity flourished and numerous churches were built. But from 707, the island was increasingly attacked by Muslim raiders from North Africa.
In 902, the Caliphate of Cordoba conquered Mallorca, ushering in a new period of prosperity for the island. The Moors improved agriculture with irrigation, and developed local industries. In 1015, Mallorca came under rule by the Taifa of Denia, and from 1087-1114 was an independent taifa. However, in 1114, a group of Pisa-Catalans overran the island, laying siege to Palma for 8 months. After the city fell, the invaders retreated, and were replaced by the Almoravides from North Africa, who ruled till 1203. The Almoravides were replaced by the Almohad dynasty until 1229, and in the ensuring confusion and unrest, King James I of Aragon launched an invasion with 15,000 men and 1,500 horses, annexing the island to his Crown of Aragon after a 3 month campaign.

After the death of James I in 1276, his kingdom was divided between his sons. James II becomes king of the new Kingdom of Mallorca. In 1344, King Peter IV of Aragon invaded, and re-incorporated the island into the Crown.
From 1479, the Crown of Aragon was in dynastic union with that of Castile. In the early 18th century, the War of the Spanish Succession resulted in the replacement of that dynastic union with a unified Spanish monarchy. In 1716 the Decretos de Nueva Planta made Mallorca part of the Spanish province of Baleares, roughly equivalent to present-day Illes Balears province and autonomous community.

The local language is Catalan, with a great deal of dialectal variety when compared to the Catalan of other areas (Catalonia, Valencia) or even the other Balearic Islands. There is also a relatively large amount of variation between Mallorcan localities. In view of the diversity, the local language is often termed "Mallorcan" (mallorquí) or Balearic (balear) rather than the general term Catalan (català).

Despite several differences between Mallorcan and Central Catalan (spoken around Barcelona), islanders generally agree that they are varieties of the same language, whereas Valencians are more likely to deny that their language is Catalan.
Spanish also has the status of an official language, and many Spanish speakers moved from other parts of Spain to the island in the twentieth century. Young Mallorcans are typically bilingual in Catalan and Spanish, with some knowledge of English or German as a foreign language, especially due to the large number of tourists on the island.

Around the Island

Mondrago

Situated within Mondragó Natural Park. It is equipped with several services and facilities, making for a very picturesque beach. It is possible to walk to S'Amarador and Caló des Borgit from this beach. The cove is set in pleasant surroundings, full of vegetation and a pine grove. Easy parking.

 

 

Cala Mesquida

Cala Mesquida is just north of Cal ratjada. It is a lovely wide sandy bay, a mixture of dunes and white soft sand that makes the beach very special. A small watchtower stands on the cliff atone end of the beach looking down over the more built up end of the beach. Everything about this beach make it ideal for a great family day out, it has walks, and shallow clear waters ideal for the younger tourists. But just make sure that you swim within the flags when being used.

Cala Mesquida is only a small resort with limited accomodation in a hand full of hotels and apartments.

Porto Cristo

The resort of Porto Cristo is situated on the east coast of Majorca approximately 65 kilometres to the east of Palma.
Porto Cristo is still a very typical Majorcan fishing village, the harbour once used exclusively by fishing boats now shares the harbour with tourist boats.

Nightlife in Porto Cristo is quite low key with a number of restaurants and bars to choose from.

 

Santa Ponsa

The resort of Santa Ponsa is situated about 20 kilometres west of Palma near the resorts of Magaluf and Palma Nova.
Over the years the beach has been worked on and imported sand added to the beach to increase the size. The beach operates a flag system so please use this when in use. A second smaller cve is situated next to the main beach and this is not quite so crowded at peak times. Excellent facilities can be found on both beaches including many varieties of water sports. There are many restaurants and bars that can be used during lunch time and in the evenings. Local facilities are very good and generally cater for the tourists who are self catering. Boat trips along can be taken from the beach or the small marina. Generally they will take you along the coast to expore the small coves that can found.

At night Santa Ponsa is not quite as lively as Magaluf but it has its share of restaurants, bars and night clubs all trying to entice you in when you walk by.

Formentor

A small cove with fine white sand and pine trees that come down to the beach offiering some shade. The views form the cliffs on the way to the beach are breath taking and not to be missed. But the beach is a must, the charm and beauty of this resort will live on in your memory long after your holiday is over.

 

 

Polensa

Pollença (Pollensa) is situated in the far north-east corner of the island of Mallorca, near Formentor and Alcúdia.. It lies about six kilometres west of its port, Port de Pollença (Puerto Pollensa).
Most of its houses are built in the 17th and 18th centuries and many of its streets are very narrow and compact, a leftover from its medieval past. The central square is called Plaça Major with many outdoor cafés and dominated by a large church Nostra Senyora del Roser. One of the town's most distintive features is its 365 step stairway north of the square, which leads up to a chapel.
The town is popular with tourists and holidaymakers, particularly from Britain and other European nations. One of the best kept secrets of the region is the underwater world and numerous diving centres have opened there in the past few years
Alcudia
Alcúdia is in the north of the island andhas become one of the main tourist attrctions on majorca. The lond stretch of sandy beach and the Hydropark has helped tp make it one of Majorca premier resorts.

Palma

Palma de Mallorca is the major city and port in the island of Majorca and capital city of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is situated on the south coast of the island on the Bay of Palma. As of the 2005 census, the population of the city of Palma proper was 375,773, and the population of the entire urban area was estimated to be 474,035, ranking as the 12th-largest urban area of Spain. Almost half of the total population of Majorca live in Palma.

Cala d’Or

Cala d’Or has been developed around a number of small sandy coves, Cala Gran, Cala Esmerelda and Cala Ferrera. The area is one of Majorca’s most picturesque and has been a favourite with the tourists for a number of years.
The area has been well developed around the marina and three coves making it very cosmopolitan. Quite expensive boutiques and touristy shops can be found in the town centre.
The beaches can get a little overcrowded at the height of the summer but overall this area is well worth a visit. Boat trips can be had from here to the other beaches close by.

Cala Millor & Cala Bona

Just north of Sa Coma on the east coast of Majorca is a wide sweeping bay where two resorts Cala Millor and Cala Bona are linked by a promenade.
Cala Millor with its wide stretch of sand that stretches for over 2 kilometres is the largest of the two resorts and probably the more lively of the two although the night life is not yet in the same league as Palma. You can find the night clubs, bars and restaurants in the town.
The beach is ideal for families and rarely gets too crowded. It offers all sorts of water sports and at the rear of the beach is a wide pedestrian way that links to the town making the area very clean and tidy.
Cala Bona is in complete contrast to this, being developed from a small fishing village the resort has retained much of its original charm. If you like fish try one of the many fish restaurants in Cala Bona.

C'an Picafort

In the center of this large sweeping bay of d’Alcudia just before you reach the resort of Alcudia you will find C'an Picafort, originally a small fishing village it is now a thriving tourist resort.
The small harbour at C'an Picafort is now home to many bars and restaurants and the main town is the result of the development to the area.
The beach is about 13 kilometres long all the way to Alcudia and offers many different types of beach including sand dunes as you leave the town behind.
Night life in C'an Picafort is fairly low key with restaurants and small bars.

Cala Ratjada

The resort of Cala Ratjada is situated in the north east corner of Majorca and is about 70 km from the island capital of Palma. The resort was originaly built around a small fishing village but this is now a marina for expensive yachts. The town has developed considerably and has a very cosmapolitan feel, being favoured generally by the German Tourists. It almost seems that the British have made Magaluf their town and the Germans have made Ratjada their town. But don't be put off by this because Cala ratjada has a lot to offer all tourists.

There are a number of beaches that are accessible from Cala ratjada such as Cala de Sa Font, Cala Carregador, Cala Pedruscada in the south and Cala Agulla and Cala Malio in the north. All theses beaches are excellent but a little further nort and you find Cala Mesquida, this is my favourite beach of this area.

The stretch coastline to the north of Cala Ratjada around Cala Mesquida and Cala Agulla has been declared a protected area By the Balearic Government the idea being to protect the area for its wild life particularly the birds.