The Out Island

By Angela Leuker

As the first rays of a Mediterranean morning bathe the island in languid warmth, its unique features emerge in gentle relief: towering megalithic monuments, colonial facades, a pristine expanse of beach. Along the palm-fringed harbors, sailboats nudge their moorings, and beach lovers prepare for another round of sun, sea and sand. This is an island of captivating contrasts.

But this is not Majorca, the all-too-famous Mediterranean resort. It is Minorca, the lesser-known jewel of the Balearic Islands. Its attractions tend to be subtler but are often deeper. Over 4,000 years of its inhabited history, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Arabs, French and British have come and left their various imprints on Minorcan life, enriching its language and architecture. More than a beach vacation, Minorca is a 270-sq.-mi. museum, filled with ancient treasures. As many as 1,000 archaeological sites dot the countryside. Most of the monuments--including Bronze Age structures and early Christian basilicas--are integral features of the landscape, unfenced and open to all. From the circular stone constructions called talayots, used from about 1500 B.C. as dwelling or burial places by some of the island's earliest settlers, to the mighty T-shaped taulas, hewn from two limestone blocks, these monuments stand mysterious and largely undisturbed--seldom visited and free of entrance fees, guards and ice-cream vendors.

Minorca was ruled by Arabs from the 8th to the 18th century, then by Spaniards from the ancient city of Ciudadela (Ciutadella, in the Minorcan language), at the western end of the island. In 1713 the British moved their administrative capital to the town of Mahon (Mao) in the southeast, where it remains to this day. While Ciudadela boasts a Catholic cathedral and the imposing town houses of ancient nobility, Mahon is Georgian in flavor, with a commercial, matter-of-fact bustle. "Minorca is different in so many ways," observes a longtime resident, British-born historian Bruce Laurie. "And the diversity of their history is what makes the Minorcans a special people."

Mahon's star attraction is its fabulous natural harbor, three miles long and big enough to shelter a whole fleet of ships. The legendary British Admiral Horatio, Lord Nelson, is said to have called Mahon's harbor the finest in the world. He is also said to have been so captivated by the island that he brought along Lady Emma Hamilton for a few days of relaxation in the colonial-style Golden Farm mansion that still overlooks the port. British influence lives on in a taste for gin drinking ("Lord Nelson" was one of the brands produced on the island) and in the sprinkling of Anglicisms (among them xumeca for shoemaker and tornescru for screwdriver) that add a quaint historical dimension to the Minorcan language.

Mahon's former strategic importance is captured in a visually exciting museum in British-built Fort Marlborough, near the harbor mouth. Quieter testimony can be found in the small, peaceful harborside cemetery, whose chipped slate gravestones carry pitifully meager details of the young seamen buried there--all that remains of an early 19th century American naval presence on the island. Elsewhere in the broad sweep of the harbor, several tiny islands, which formerly housed military and quarantine hospitals, highlight Minorca's colorful past.

Minorca has largely avoided the excesses of other Mediterranean resorts. In 1993 UNESCO declared it a Biosphere Reserve, thereby protecting some 50% of its remaining land from further development. It is hoped that the emphasis on quality, conservation and restoration will enable locals and visitors alike to enjoy the island's diverse heritage. The plan is to ensure that Minorca is not ravaged by modern-day invaders. But they, like many before them, remain in danger of being captivated by Minorca.

--By Angela Leuker