The Port of Addaia Development dates back to 1970. Currently it includes 2,313 tourist units, spread over approximately 42.41 hectacres. The residential population is estimated at 412 inhabitants, although during the summer season there may be as many as 2,970. Situation: On the northern coast of the island, there lies the natural port of Addaia—one of the most important ports on the island. The Addaia Development was erected alongside this natural setting. How to get there: The only entrance point into Addaia is the access road that goes to Arenal d'en Castell, M-9, which connects the development with the town of Alaior. However, access when coming from Es Mercadal is possible by following M-15, which connects Es Mercadal and Fornells and intersects with the Mahon-Fornells road and provides access to M-9.
At the easternmost tip of the beach of Son Bou there is a peculiar rectangular-shaped building, oriented from east to west. It is the Basilica of Son Bou, dated in the 5th century, one of Menorca’s oldest testimonies to the Paleo-Christian era. It is a basilica with three naves and a tripartite chevet where there is an apse flanked by auxiliary chambers. The church was entered via a portico of which little remains, and the narthex or vestibule where the faithful who had not yet been baptised were located. It has been confirmed that above the narthex there was a high choir which overlooked the naves of the basilica, accessed by means of some steps, a few remains of which have been found. The last central section, closer to the apse, is slightly raised in relation to the level of the naves, and separated from the rest of the church by inner doors. The paving was very simple, made of mortar. The two chambers adjoining the apse are the prothesis or propositions room, on the left, and the diaconicum or diacons’ chamber, on the right, where the utensils for celebrating liturgy were held. Everything would appear to indicate that the baptistery was located in a small free-standing room that may have been close to the portico, and which now no longer exists. By contrast the small baptism pool, which was moved to its location in the prothesis, beside the baptistery, has been preserved. It consists of a cylindrical limestone with a lobed cross cut out of it. On the outside, beside the southern wall of the basilica, there was a small cemetery, some of the tombs of which can still be seen. The basilica was destroyed by a fire in the 18th century
This 4000-year-old collective ossuary will allow new data on the island of Menorca's society and pre-Talayotic culture to be collected. The prehistoric burial ground at Son Olivaret, an unknown and intact site discovered by the Museu de Menorca's team of archaeologists in 2004, is situated at a point with wonderful panoramic views in the vicinity of the military battery at Son Olivaret in Ciutadella . This collective ossuary was in use between 2,300 and 900 B.C. and the enclosure was covered by stone slabs. It consists of an oval-shaped double wall with an entrance facing the southwest, a corridor and an inner chamber where most of the human and ceramic remains can be found. Approximately six hundred ceramic shards and bone fragments were recovered during last year's excavations, which may correspond to more than 50 children and adults. Among the most striking findings are a dozen ceramic glasses, several triangular-shaped bones, beads, a pendant, a bronze needle and even a slingshot stone. The remains are being studied in the Museu de Menorca and will shortly be on display at Ciutadella's Municipal Museu.
The most emblematic settlement in Minorcan prehistory, thanks to its unique taula and wide variety of monuments. Only four kilometres from Maó on the Ciutadella-Maó road stands Talatí de Dalt, a prehistoric talayotic settlement that preserves a number of important monuments, including the central talayot, a sanctuary with a taula, several chambers with stone-clad columns and natural caves. The settlement is ringed by a dry stone wall and its highest point, the talayot in the centre, was used as a watchtower to control the territory as well as the sanctuary with its spectacular taula supported by the enclosure's pilaster, which was erected between the sixth and fourth centuries BC and used as the venue for rituals and offerings for fertile lands and livestock. The many excavations carried out by the Amics del Museu Association in Menorca and Arqueomenorca have led to findings that indicate the settlement housed around one hundred of people at its most populated point in time, around the third century BC.
A prehistoric settlement in the vicinity of Ciutadella with round dwellings and a number of caves, as well as the customary megalithic talayot. Protected by a dense oak forest between the old Maó road and the main road lies the prehistoric settlement of Torre Llafuda, which includes the remains of round dwellings, caves, a wall, a talayot and an enormous taula more than three metres high. Upon reaching this settlement, which dates from the third Talayotic period (800-450 BC), visitors are greeted by a series of huge boulders standing vertically in an arch that make up an enclosure in the entrance. Directly opposite is the talayot, which must have been hollow, since the upper part is partially collapsed. Entering the oak forest with the talayot to the right leads visitors to the rear of a sanctuary that includes an enormous three-and-a-half-metre-high taula (the island's second widest after Trepucó). In fact, it is actually a perfect taula-shaped pilaster, as are most Minorcan taules, embedded in the sanctuary wall slightly behind the central monument. Further information: Arqueobalear
Remains of a castle of Roman origin but with Moorish towers. It was here that the Moors surrendered the Island to King Alfonso III of Aragón in 1287.
La church parish de Santa Eulalia, located in the high part of municipality of Alaior , is one of the monuments more prominent and representative the village. Its origins date back to the fourteenth century, when King James II founded a parish on a Muslim mosque for the ancient Arab settlement "Ihalor". The structure of the temple was rebuilt and restored in the seventeenth century, between 1674 and 1690. The interior of the church is very late Gothic while abroad, whose imposing appearance resembles a fortified church, a factory shows solid lateral façade buttressed with balustrade and two octagonal turrets at the corners.
The church of San Martín de Mercadal is built on the foundations of what was then called the Old Church. This building began construction in August 1767, when the people of Mercadal undergoes a slight expansion. This is a spacious temple and simple lines with clear reminiscences Renaissance, giving it a sleek look. The windows which are provided in the upper part to a magnificent illumination coverage. Adjoining the nave is a solid belfry that spreads the ringing of the bells for the entire population.
Constructed on the site of the Gothic church of the 13th-15th centuries, the present-day parish church of Santa María dates back to the 18th century. Building began during the first British period, in 1748, and did not finish until forty years later. The bell tower was built between 1859 and 1868. Santa María, which is larger than its medieval predecessor, is a hall church with a single nave. In spite of its late construction – when Neoclassicism was beginning to triumph in Europe – the nave partially follows the structural patterns of Gothic architecture, as it has six sections covered by cross vaults. The spaces between buttresses contain the side chapels. In the late 19th century the side chapels were decorated with Neo-Gothic ornamentation. The interior is inspired by Neo-Gothic, and has a monumental organ of great instrumental and artistic quality. In 1806 the rector Gabriel Alenyar commissioned the master organ-builders Francisco Otter and Johan Kiburz, residents of Barcelona, to build it. When it was completed, in 1809, transportation problems arose, due to the Napoleonic Wars and its size (15 metres high by 9 wide). It has four keyboards and 3006 sound pipes, 197 of which are made of wood and the rest of metal. Eventually it was inaugurated in 1810 and the artistic ornamentation was carried out by the Menorcan sculptor, Francesc Comas.
On the 7th of October 1993, the island of Minorca was declared a Biosphere Reserve by the International Committee of UNESCO. S'Albufera des Grau Nature Park is located in the northeastern part of the island of Menorca. It encompasses a broad expanse of characteristic, well-conserved land and includes two wetlands ('S'Albufera des Grau' and 'Es Prat de Morella'), wide swaths of shoreline, an islet and a number of farms which use traditional farming practices. Albufera des Grau, a 2-km-long, oval-shaped lagoon, is Menorca's largest wetland, one of the most important in the Balearic Islands and the nucleus of the Biosphere Reserve. It is located next to the village of Grau and its beach, and lies on a Palaeozoic basin into which three torrents empty and which is separated from the sea by a series of dunes On the 7th of October 1993, the island of Minorca was declared a Biosphere Reserve by the International Committee of UNESCO, because of its environmental diversity and landscapes, with natural spaces of special relevance, such as the Natural Park of s'Albufera des Grau. There are two ways to reach the park: PMV-7102 (es Grau) and PM-715 (cabo de Favàritx) both in the Maó municipal area.
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