S2 Leg 9 - Ibiza - Old Town

The official, Catalan name is Eivissa (locally [əjˈvisə]). Its name in Spanish is Ibiza pronounced eye-BEE-thə, whereas in Canadian English the pronunciation is closer to the Latin American Spanish variant ib-EE-zə. The old town is located on the Southern coast of the island and is the capital city. We saved this city to the end of our island tour. 45NORTH anchored in the back harbour and it was a short two minute bike ride to the bustling port harbour.

Ibiza is well known for its nightlife and electronic dance music club scene in the summer, which attract large numbers of tourists. The island's government and the Spanish Tourist Office have worked toward promoting more family-oriented tourism. We expected some noisy nights, like we had in Portimao, but it was pretty tame when we were there on the last week of May.

The port is busy with cruise ships and ferry boats that are coming and going all day long. There is also a harbour ferry to take you from one side of the port to the other.

In 654 BC, Phoenician settlers founded a port on Ibiza. With the decline of Phoenicia after the Assyrian invasions, Ibiza came under the control of Carthage, also a former Phoenician colony. The island produced dye, salt, fish sauce (garum) and wool.

The Renaissance walls of the old town of Ibiza City, which were awarded UNESCO World Heritage Status in 1999. They are one of the world's few Renaissance walls that were not demolished, and part of the medieval wall is still visible. There are some Ibizan cultural sites, such as the remains of the first Phoenician settlement at Sa Caleta.

Panoramic water views from Castell d'Eivissa surrounded by medieval fortifications & narrow laneways.

Catedral de Santa Maria de la Neu de Vila d'Eivissa. In 1234, the future conquerors of the island, Guillermo de Montgrí, Peter of Portugal and Nuno Sanç, signed an agreement stipulating that establishing a parish dedicated to Saint Mary would be one of their first obligations upon conquest. As a result, the parish was established once the City of Eivissa was taken on August 8, 1235.

Short cut!!

Made you look ♫♪♬

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