Page 27 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Mallorca, Menorca & Ibiza

A POR TR AIT OF THE BALEARIC ISLANDS  25

Churches
Triple arcades Typical
Whitewashed churches are typical of Ibiza, small belfry
although they can also be seen on Menorca
and Formentera. Often they stand at the centre
of the village or on a hillside at its outskirts. The Three crosses on the
entrance to the dark interior is usually preceded façade – the symbol of
by a triple arcade. Golgotha

The belfry on a
village church is
usually a simple affair.
It consists of a
distinctive arcade
rising above the
façade, crowned with
an iron cross and
housing a bell. A church is often adjoined by a single-storey parish
building or a vestry. It may be surrounded by a low stone wall
and feature an enclosed forecourt.
Watchtowers
The stone towers that can be seen
along the coastline were built to
protect the islands from attacks by
pirates, mainly from North Africa, who
raided the ports and inland towns. The
towers stand in secluded, inaccessible
spots, so that they could be easily
defended. Most of the towers are
deserted, and closed to visitors. A
few are used as viewpoints.
Towers on Mallorca are slender. For extra Martello towers are dotted all over
protection, their entrances were high Menorca. These round towers with thick
above the ground. Their walls feature walls and flat roofs were built by either
narrow loopholes. the British or the Spanish.
Windmills of the Balearic Islands
Stone-built windmills are another typical feature of the Balearic
landscape. Early mills were used to grind grain; later they were
used to pump water. Most stone-built mills are no longer in
use and are slowly falling into disrepair. Some have lost their
sails, and they now resemble watchtowers. Others have been
converted into restaurants, with the machinery and millstones
serving as tourist attractions.

Typical windmills were usually
Windmills were built mostly on the plains among green fields, and were built near towns with food
used to grind corn or to drive the pumps of deep-water wells. Some farmers markets, such as Sineu. The
still use wind power to pump water even today because they are cheaper miller would often live in
to run than petrol-driven pumps. the tower.

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