Legend tells that the winds of Menorca modify the personality of people. Maybe that is the reason why those who came here once as tourists mostly return ... Menorca certainly has a very strong personality, and a very different one to the rest of the islands. Menorca, the "minor" island, as it was called by Romans, has an almost virginal interior (compared for instance to the "major" island, Mallorca) and shows interesting remains of its old history. On the other hand, there are beaches and lonely bays around it at a length of 216 kilometers. An ideal resort for all those who are looking for true relaxation.
Minorca has a land area of 702 square kilometres and a coastline of 216 kilometres. The maximum distance between two points is 47 kilometres, that is, between Ciutadella and Maó. The coast of Sant Lluís, at the eastern end of the island, is the first spot in Spain where the sun rises.
Geologically the island is divided into two symmetrical but very different halves. The North, has an uneven and rugged coastline with sparse vegetation and numerous islets and reddish and dark sandy beaches. The South is made up of calcareous rock, is flat and has smooth cliffs, gullies sculpted by water and coves of white sand surrounded by pines. The highest elevation of the island is Monte Toro at 357 metres.
The island's climate is typically Mediterranean and is well known for its mild temperatures.
The average annual temperature is between 16º and 17º centigrade.
In summer , the average is 24ºC and in winter, 11ºC. The climate can be classified as "mild" and the cool north wind, known as the tramuntana, characterizes the Minorcan landscape.
The average annual rainfall varies from one place to another on the island and is between 450 mm. in the south eastern region and 650 mm. in the interior and the north eastern end. The rainfall distribution throughout the months of the year is also very irregular.
Thus, as in a normal rainfall pattern, the maximum seasonal rainfall is in autumn and very little falls in the summer period.
Several words that are unique to the Menorqui language derive from English. Grevi is gravy, bifi is beef and plumqueque is presumably the cake the British rulers had for afternoon tea.
The British influence also lingers on in the bow and sash windows of some of the elegant Georgian houses in Mahon.
Mahon is the birthplace of mayonnaise. The word was invented by the amorous French Duke of Richelieu, who used it as an aphrodisiac. Mahonesa translates as ?a girl from Mahon?.
To the Greeks, Menorca was Meloussa, meaning Island of Cattle, to the Phoenicians it was Nura, or Island of Fire. Its present name - meaning ?little one? as opposed to Majorca, the ?big one? - dates from Roman times.
Some people maintain that Golden Farm to the north of Mahon is where Nelson hid out with his lady love Emma Hamilton. Others believe he spent his time here alone, writing "Sketches of My Life".
