Amazing Sights of Mahon at Menorca
MAÓ or Mahón, as the locals would call it, is the capital of this island of Menorca. Its inhabitants are courteous, making it a respectable town resort as tourists come flocking in.
Its architecture is a strange combination of classic Georgian town houses and apartment blocks that rise high as the skies. It is basically a harbor town with cafes and restaurants splattered around its port catering to the tourists who arrive.
Sights of Mahon
Although the island is not so small that you can walk everywhere, it is still best to discover the island on foot. There are ancient mansions in this beautiful island resort that allow you to explore its beauty in a day. You will find that the ferry terminal is uniquely set underneath the cliff which holds the city wall remnants that gives way to a wide stoned stairway leading on to four concise shopping areas.
The Plaça Espanya provides a direct bay and port view with a local fish market that was established in 1927. The Plaça Carme square houses a Carmelite church that has its covered passage lined with food stalls and a supermarket at its basement, whereas the Plaça Constitució houses Santa María, the town church that was founded by Alfonso III in 1287 as a celebration of the Re-Conquest’s victory on the island.
Having been remodeled several times, the church holds a pleasant architecture with a high altar and huge Baroque excesses that reaches the roof with spiral columns. The pride and joy of this building is its monumental woodwork organ that was build in 1810 with its trumpeting angel figurines and pipes which were built in Austria before being transported from Europe during the Napoleonic wars. Next to this church is an 18th century British sponsored monument with an impressive façade clock; a gift from the first British governor to the islanders.
Historical Sights
Another church, the Sant Francesc, has a Baroque façade of light golden stones on its round arched doorway of Romanesque style. This church was built over 2 centuries – 17th and 18th – as the town was burned down by Barbarossa in the year 1535. It still has the original pink tint in its stones with unique spiral motives on its pillars.
Up at the north, the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception is brightly lit with garlanded vine as well as rose plants around this octagonal structure. There is also a chapel and some monastic buildings which house the island’s best and largest museum, the Museu de Menorca. This museum displays prehistoric artifacts from Neolithic settlers since 4,000 BC, to displays from the Talayotic era.
A 5 minute walk to the town will take you to the main square lined with flowerbeds and some fountain pieces. Outside of town there is a taula, which is one of the biggest and well preserved T-shaped monoliths that this island has to offer. This taula is placed at the center of a round compound encircled by remnants of round and wide buildings which were excavated by the Cambridge University archeologist team in the latter years of 1920s; but until today, no one could figure out how the structure was constructed.
Laying close by are two talayots which are cone shaped with one larger than the other; the latter being not accessible. The larger talayot has been reconstructed slightly as the French invasion in 1781 has modified its width to cater to mounting their firearms.