   
We'd like to let you into a little secret - what do Michael Douglas,
Catherine Zeta Jones, Claudia Schiffer, Boris Becker and King Rey Juan Carlos all have
in common? A passion for Mallorca. The old image of yesteryear
has been truly shrugged off and a new Mallorca has emerged, attracting
the jet set from far and wide.
An island of contrasts, from the courteous, proud and self-sufficient
people with their slow Mediterranean ways, to the excitement of the cosmopolitan
city of Palma with its international bars and restaurants and Gothic
architecture; the idyllic white sandy beaches and blue Mediterranean
seas offering a multitude of water sports and activities, to it's stunning
mountain scenery waiting to be explored… Come and discover your
passion!
Landscape
The largest of the Balearic Islands, lying longitude 3°E and latitude
39°N, Mallorca offers over 555 km of coastline with 179 beaches
- it's even still possible to find a deserted beach in the middle of
summer if you know where to look!
In the North, the Tramuntana Mountain range runs parallel to the north
west coast, offering stunning mountain scenery. It is also the source
of the island's fresh water, which courses down through the island's
growing regions where orange, clementine and lemon trees grow, along
the long hillside terraces of olives, and down to the rows of the wine
producing grapes, now producing some of the most highly acclaimed wines
of Spain.
The centre of the island of Mallorca is known locally as Es Raiguer,
lying to the East of the Tramuntana Mountains. With a lack of flat land
but an abundance of water, olive and almond groves are in abundance and
offer a spectacular sight when in blossom in February. In contrast, the
plain or Plá, has large areas of flat land from which the majority
of the island's agricultural produce comes.
From the Northwest to the Southwest, the land gradually leads down to
the sea, forming bays, long beaches and small coves of fine sand and
transparent, green water, tinged with the reflection of the pines and
fig trees which reach the shore. In the Southwest of Mallorca is the
huge Bay of Palma, which protects and shelters the former kingdom's capital.
History
Due to its strategic geographical situation at the heart of the western
Mediterranean, Mallorca has been subject to numerous invasions in its
history. The Phoenicians*1 first invaded around 1000 BC, followed by
the Greeks*1 who controlled the Island for several centuries and gave
the Balearic Islands their name, from ballein , meaning “to
throw from a sling”, after the skilled mercenary sling-shot throwers
who fought in the Punic Wars of the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC.
For 5 centuries the Romans*2 brought peace and prosperity, along with
wine, olives and Christianity, and constructed cities at Pollentia (now
Alcudia) and Palmaria (Palma). Further conquests by Vandals
(an East German tribe) and Byzantines in the 5 th and 6 th centuries
followed, and then a series of attacks by the Muslim Moors*3, with the
Islanders finally surrendering in 902. Oranges, almonds and apricots
were introduced, windmills and irrigation systems built, and the Medina
Mayurqa (now Palma) was transformed into a highly sophisticated
capital with heated baths, streetlights and sewers.
Word spread of this luxurious city, being added to the conquest list
of the young Catalan King Jaume I of Aragon, who decided to invade and
convert the “unbelievers”. On September 12, 1229 Jaume I landed at Sa
Caleta with 150 ships, 16,000 conquistadors , and 1,500 horses.
He finally conquered the City on January 1, 1230, and set about replacing
mosques with churches, building Castell de Bellver and converting the
old Arab palace into a Gothic fortress. The Kingdom of Mallorca flourished
under his rule, becoming one of the most economically successful societies
in Christendom*4, at the forefront of maritime trade.
The Island's prosperity faltered once again during the Spanish civil
war, when Franco brought repression throughout Spain (1939-75). The Catalan
language was banned, and all expressions of non-Castilian culture were
suppressed during his dictatorship. Although predominantly Nationalist,
many Republican Islanders fought a underground battle against this regime – suffering
reprisal and even the firing squad. However, Franco remained neutral
during the World War II ensuring Mallorca remained a combat-free zone,
with the dictator surviving the fall of both Hitler and Mussolini.
Towards the end of the Franco era the pulse of mass tourism began to
beat in Mallorca. Nice beaches, villages and towns like Arenal, Cala
Major or Alcudia began to be strewn with hotels to accommodate the increasing
number of tourists. In 1960 Mallorca's airport was built, and tourism
began to replace agriculture and fishing as Mallorca's main source of
income.
The end of Franco's regime brought more security to the Islanders, but
little peace, for the mass tourist invasion truly began in force, with
crowds of package holiday makers heading for the Island, reaching a peak
of over 9.5 million visitors by the late 1990's. The desire to capitalise
on this massive cash injection lead to many serious mistakes being made
with giant concrete monstrosities springing up in ugly tourist enclaves,
ruining much of the island's coastline.
Thankfully these errors have since been recognised and most rectified,
with many of Mallorca's ruling parties embracing greener policies, with
strict building regulations now in place. The bigger resorts or Alcudia
and Magaluf have cleaned up their acts and, although not possible to
completely eradicate the ugly concrete hotels of yesteryear, the improvements
have made them much cleaner, more family-friendly resorts.
Since the mass tourism bubble burst, the new face of Mallorca has slowly
appeared, a more attractive, greener, more sophisticated face, attracting
celebrities from far and wide (the most public of those being Michael
Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones, who have signed an agreement with the
government to promote tourism to the region). Chic resorts have also
appeared, with long stretches of stunning coastline still in tact. In
contrast inland, there is peace and quiet in abundance, and a great variety
of sights to seek out.
A new face, a new Mallorca, an old land.
Where to see evidence of these periods in history:
*1 = Prehistoric – Ses Paisses (see Arta)
*2 = Roman – see Alcudia
*3 = Moorish – see Palma
*4 = Gothic/Christian architecture – see Palma: Palau de l'Almundaina,
La Seu, Castell de Bellver.
Life
The Romans discovered the beauty of Mallorca when they reached the island
in the 8th century. Their buildings and public baths are still existing;
of particular interest for visitors are the historic towns and villages
with houses, churches and windmills dating back to the 13th and 14th
centuries.
Mallorca has around 400,000 residents, almost half of whom live in the
capital of Palma. The roads are spacious, and the traffic light - you
can drive from any point on the island to another in under two hours.
The newly built international airport with more than 20 million passengers
every year, offers a wide variety of flights every day - with this ease
of access many Europeans have their second homes on the island.
The array of exciting leisure activities is wide and varied, with something
to suit everyone - a popular destination for avid cyclists, you'll also
find 18 golf courses and over 25 marinas. In addition you can choose
from hot-air ballooning, abseiling, mountain climbing, diving, go-kart
racing and quad biking, to an array of water parks, horse riding, multi-screen
cinema complexes showing international films, bowling alleys and much
more.
Shopping is interesting and plentiful, with most major international
brands available in the city of Palma and the larger resorts, and local
goods and produce from quaint local markets in the outlying villages.
Traditional Mallorcan restaurants, “Tapas” bars and sidewalk cafes sit
alongside a wide array of excellent international restaurants, adding
to the flavour of this fascinating island.
All this in itself makes a very attractive destination. Add to this
the sunny Mediterranean summer, mild winters and a diverse landscape
and you have a heady combination, making Mallorca a perfect home or holiday
destination all year round.
Fiestas
The Spanish are known for their love of fiestas, and the Mallorcan's
are no exception. Given any old excuse it is said, and the Spanish will
celebrate it! And thankfully for us, the visitor is welcomed in with
open arms!
Each town or village has its own patron saint, and their special Saint's
Day is celebrated by all in the surrounding area, so essentially every
month there will be one or two fiestas going on somewhere on the Island!
A fiesta listing can be found under the villages listed in this directory,
but a synopsis of the biggest and the best can be found below.
The fiesta diary commences with the Parade of the Three Kings on
the 5th of January , celebrated in Spain with much more
enthusiasm than Christmas Day, offering a wonderful street procession
in Palma (said to be the biggest in Spain), Port de Pollença and
Puerto Portals. Thousands of people gather to celebrate what is known
as the Revolta on January 17th, the
feast of Saint Antoni. The streets and squares of many villages are
filled with bonfires, colour and merriment when the saint's triumph over
the devil is remembered. Pet processions and animal blessing ceremonies,
also take place, primarily in Palma, Sa Pobla and Artá. This is
followed closely by San Sebastián on January
19th, the patron saint of Palma. A spectacular fireworks display lights
up the sky, street-side barbecues and
campfires are lit throughout Palma the night before, and bands perform
in many of the plazas – the City really comes alive!
Sa Rua is carnival time, commencing the weekend before Lent,
with a grand parade through Palma, and people wearing fancy dress and
partying in almost every town on the Island. Semana Santa,
holy week, is an even bigger do: Palma holds processions every day and
the smaller towns and villages have an assortment of festivities too.
In May Sóller is “defended” against the “Moorish
invasion”, in a stirring re-creation of Mallorcan history (with a similar
fiesta taking place in August in Pollença).
In July the party moves to Valldemossa, where the Carro
Triunfal commemorates Santa Catalina Tomás, the patron
saint of Mallorca, as well as the Fisherman's Festival throughout
the Island where a procession of fishing boats honour the Virgin Mary.
In August, Cavallets is celebrated
in Felanitx, where children gallop about on papier-maché hobby-horses,
chased through the streets by “cabezudos”, the traditional Spanish giants.
Harvest festivals are observed all over the island in September/October,
and the Autumn wine festival is celebrated in Binissalem
on the last Sunday of September. The La Beata parade
takes place around Palma on the 3rd Saturday of October honouring
Santa Catalina Tomàs.
Mid-November the Dijous Bo (directly
translated means “Good Thursday”) fair takes place in Inca–the Island's
largest commercial fair.
Navidad or Christmas is celebrated and enjoyed by
all on the Island, but slightly more reserved than the rest of Europe
with small private parties at home, with the majority of children having
to wait for their presents until the Coming of the Kings early in the
New Year.
For smaller, more localised fiestas go to the specific Location of interest
listed in this section. | 
