Binigaus, Menorca

Sant Tomás has two beaches separated by a headland  . The eastern beach (Platja de Sant  Tomàs) is deeper with extensive dune systems and lies in front of the mainly hotels area which occupy the front line positions in the eastern part of the resort. The western beach (Platja Sant Adeodato) is a longer (extending towards Binigaus) less deep beach with lifeguard, beach bar (Es Brucs) plus water sports including wind surfing, pedaloes and Motor boats & water jet skis for hire. 

Further westwards is the huge virgin beach of Platja de Binigaus which is extremely beautiful, natural and less frequented. Its also a favourite location for nudists but everyone is welcome (no need to strip and plenty of space if you are shy). Sant Tomàs can suffer from quite strong water currents, so care should be taken ( keep within 40 meters of shore, make sure you are not drifting ) and keep an eye on the red and green safety flags.

Barranc de Binigaus is a fabulous valley ending in a huge virgin beach - Playa de Binigaus. Along the road route there is the well known landmark of Binigaus Nou country house.

Along the Barranc de Binigaus ( Binigaus Ravine ) you will find a spectacular cave called Cova des Coloms also known as the 'Cathedral cave' due to the sheer height of its ceiling (24 meters high!). Previously used as a place of pre-historic worship. Binigaus valley is reached in land from Es Migjorn Gran ( follow the red arrows down a track starting at the old cemetery ) and from the coast from behind Binigaus beach.

Cala Pregonda - Menorca - Balearic Islands

I will describe a special place for me: Pregonda. It is a beach in Es Mercadal, in Menorca. I like to be there because it is very relaxing, like a paradise. When you are there, you can forget everything and be happy with all the nature around you. It is the most beautiful and peaceful place you could ever see in the world.

To arrive at this beach, you have to leave your car at a previous beach called Binimel·là. You have to walk for about twenty minutes until you arrive at Pregondó which is very close to Pregonda. To get to Pregonda from Pregondó you have to walk for about five more minutes. Walking is worth it when you arrive there but you can also get there by bike.

This beach has some little islands in front. The sand is thick and depending on where you are, it can be a little bit reddish. There are also three houses and one of them is camouflaged by the surrounding rocks.

For me, the best season to visit is in winter. I occasionally go there when I want to feel free, as it was my own place. It is extremely quiet and completely deserted. You can smell the happiness and feel how time stops.

To conclude, if I were you and if I had the chance, I would definitely go there and have a rest forgetting the world.

Sara Ortego Huguet

Trevi (Umbria - Italy)

Hi there!

we are Sara and Ylenia from Foligno and we have done you a small description of Trevi, a small town near Foligno. Good bye guys. A big kiss to all!

Trevi is a small town near Foligno, Umbria, founded by the Romans. In fact there are still massive walls of the first century BC. The walls surrounding the old town that overlooks the olive groves: the walk is a magnificent avenue of trees along 800 meters with beautiful panoramic view of the valley below.

 

Among the most interesting buildings is the Church of St. Emiliano of the twelfth century, the Church of San Francesco in the Gothic style, the Palace Comunale of 1400, the Art Gallery which houses a Madonna by Pinturicchio.

Of particular interest is the Clitunno River, which flows south into the Umbrian valley.  At Trevi, is grown black celery of Trevi, a quality product, rich in history and tradition. The name “black” derives from its age-old physiological trait of keeping its green leaves until it ripens (“not self-whitening” variety).

At present the vegetable is grown by a small number of farmers in reduced quantities but there are examples of young enterprising and highly motivated farmers determined to preserve and hand down the growing of Black Celery and the traditions.

Foligno (Umbria, Italy)

Hello boys and girls. I’m Nesserin and someone has already met me in Foligno. Now I would like to present my town

Foligno is one of the very few Umbrian cities built in the plain. It rises up on the banks of Topino river where the river erupts into the valley in an area where extensive drainage of the large swamplands took place, first during Roman times, then during the 15th and 16th centuries, and finally in the 19th century.

Very probably, the most significant part of one's stay at Foligno is a visit to the Piazza della Repubblica and the adjoining Piazza Duomo. The former, in its present-day appearance, with its elongated shape and the junction of four streets at the corners was planned according to the lay-out popular in the 12th and the 13th centuries for many Umbrian town squares. The Cathedral and the Town Hall, erected between 1262 and 1265, the Pretorio Palace, the Orfini Palace (1515) and the Trinci Palace, which preserves traces of the original beautiful decorations and some rooms with valuable frescoes, look down on the square. 

More attentive tourists should not leave Foligno without having visited the Romanic church of St. Mary Infraportas and the Abbey of Sassovivo, situated at only 6 km's distance from the city center. The former is distinguished, other than by the frescoes dating back to to the 15th and 16th centuries, by its beautiful bell-tower and by its 11th century portico. You'll remember the latter because of its Romanic cloister (13th century), with its 128 slender columns and its mystical atmosphere, typical of Benedictine places of worship. 

Among the most important manifestations taking place in the city we should absolutely mention the Tournament of the Quintana

Feeling a Fresh Atmosphere: The Harbour of Maó (Menorca)

Menorca is the second biggest island in the Balearics. This peaceful and attractive bit of land can offer you a relaxing place to rest. I’d like to emphasize the picturesque Harbour of Maó, which is really successful due to its natural length. Moreover, our port is located in Maó, which makes it easier to be visited.

Firstly, when you look at your surroundings, you can feel a historical atmosphere, because Menorca was the perfect place for pirates to get power or to be the owners of the Mediterranean. Furthermore, during the summer holidays, our harbour is usually used so as to carry out some exciting activities like sailing small boats, which are called optimist.

Finally, if you walk along the seafront, on one side you will see the dark blue sea, where, frequently, quite big ships moor and on the other side, there is plenty of whatever you want to find, well-known restaurants, busy bars at nights, lively pubs, little businesses, etc. I should say that what I love most are the tasty ice-creams, which are made of several flavours by Italian experts.

For this reason, if you are looking for huge cities, this is not your suitable place; but, who wants big places if you can enjoy yourself in a place like this! you will not only fall in love with it, but you will also look forward to coming back. That’s for sure!

Salomé Mir Sánchez

Rasiglia (Comune di Foligno, Umbria, Italy)

Rasiglia is a mountain village situated about 19 km from Foligno.  The country retains the typical aspect of medieval Umbrian, gathering in a structure of an amphitheatres. The first information on the existence of the country dates from the early thirteenth century.

Rasiglia was flanked by the ancient Via della Spina, about three kilometres, which is important for commercial traffic between the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian and especially between Rome and the March of Ancona. In the fourteenth century, even in defence of the road were built some fortifications. Of these, recalled in Rasiglia, the castle of the Trinci (lords of Foligno), which with its strategic position allows to control the valley Menotre.

In the first half of the seventeenth century, the diminishing role of the military, it said Rasiglia for craft activities (mills, factories) through hydropower from the river Menotre.  From about 1945 to 1980, he Rasiglia maximize economic development. In recent decades, however, with the closure of industrial activities, most inhabitants moved to Foligno.

Let`s visit Cracow - a beautiful town in the south of Poland

Hi! I am Zosia from Poland and I would like to take you on a short trip to Cracow. So …

 

This is a beautiful town in Poland - one of the oldest ones. Sights, attractions and events mean that everyone will find something interesting. Until 1596 the town was the Polish capital and the seat of the royal family. In Cracow there is the oldest university in Poland - the Jagiellonian University. On the Wawel hill stand two famous monuments - the Wawel Castle and the Wawel Cathedral. You can’t forget the legendary dragon living in a dark cave. The hill offers a beautiful view of the Wisła river. In Cracow you can also see the St. Mary's Church.

I was there a few times. I like this place very much. After a tiring trip you can eat and take a rest in the meadow around the hill. 

I hope that some day you will have the opportunity to visit our beautiful city.

Bye

Zosia

Illa de l'Aire, Menorca (Radio Clype)

My favourite place on the island is Illa de l'Aire. It is a small uninhabited island situated in the most extreme south east point of the island of Menorca, just in front of Punta Prima beach, about a kilometre away.

I like to go there because it is a natural protected space and it is very quiet (not in peak season, July and August, of course, because then, there is a large number of visitors). The best time to go there is in spring. It is a paradisiacal place.

Illa de l'Aire is a very interesting place from an ecological point of view. For there, you can observe migration birds which rest to cross Sahara and others that live there all the year, for example an endemic species of the Balearics like the seagull. But the most important animal is the Podarcis lilfordi lilfordi. It's a lizard that is characterized by its large size and its black colour. It's a protected species and if you try to move it away from its habitat it changes its colour into green.

Illa the l'Aire is interesting too to practise scuba-diving and discover the bottom of the sea and to contemplate the sea life.

Of course you have to get there by boat, and you have to remember that it is a natural protected area so it's forbidden to take away animals or plants!

Kasandra Pons

Cap de Favàritx, Menorca (Radio Clype)

My name is Cristina. I live in Menorca, a small island on the East coast of Spain. It has many wonderful landscapes, but my favourite one is called “Favàritx”. It’s located on the north coast of the island. You can go there by car, boat, bike or motorbike because there isn’t a bus which goes there, and it’s far away from all the villages. It’s on a diversion from the road Maó-Fornells. It’s a very well-known place.

There’s a narrow curved way which takes you to a parking area. From there you can see a natural lake and a tall striped lighthouse built in 1922, with lots of steep cliffs and slate rocks surrounding it. There’s hardly any vegetation and no animals (only seagulls flying and other kind of birds). In summer it’s normally hot and sunny like many other places and in winter it depends (it can be sunny, rainy, cloudy…) but the climate is colder than in other seasons, especially when “Tramuntana” (a typical strong north wind) blows. Then, the sea becomes rough and there are big waves.

Even though there are always lots of visitors, it’s a really relaxing and peaceful place. You can hear the noise of waves hitting the rocks and see the reliefs of other coastal places like “Es Grau”, the huge blue sea or the skyline. There, you can smell a marine atmosphere, pure air and swim in its natural pools. It’s also a good fishing area.

I would recommend everybody to visit it because it’s the most famous lighthouse in Menorca. You can’t go into the lighthouse or do anything special there, but it’s a nice place just for its sights.

Cris Melià

Antakya, Antioch - Hatay, Turkey

It is rumoured, when Earth was given a birth, mother Earth hugged her very affectionately; touched her and the places she tapped filled up with her everlasting fertility.

Mother Earth had bestowed fertile lands throughout the world. She had loved the earth so much that her eyes misted over and just one drop of tear had fallen to one part of the Earth. The place drop had fallen became more fertile and richer; an endless number of fruit appeared on the ground and the nature was covered with all the colours imaginable. That unique place in Myths is Antakya, the place where we live. There had been many many great emperors fallen in love with her beauty and there had been many many fights for Antioch’s cause. Each emperor who deserved her love presented her with great work of arts.

Antioch… The coddled bride…had accepted all these gifts with her pure modesty and has let them rest on her body … They are still resting…

Now we’d like to take you to a world where you can compose your own music using the notes from history… Haron

One of the precious places that Antioch keeps its mystery lies in the rocks where you can see the Sinner’s Bath. In these rocks where myths spring to life, you’ll come across the Boatman of Hell guiding the deceased between the worlds of the living and the dead.

There is even a legend about this boatman, Haron, amongst the people here. During the reign of VI. Epiphanes, a plague disease broke out. The people in the city asked a soothsayer for the help desperately. He advised them to carve a mask viewing the city high above and he also whispered some mystical words. They carved the mask and on it wrote those mystical words to prevent deaths. Miraculously, the plague came to an end.

Today, you can still see the mask but unfortunately the words have all swept away at present.  Who knows, Haron whispers those words in your ear.

Before the odour passing through the dark corridors of Antioch’s history fades away, lay your eyes upon St. Pierre Church shining like a pearl on the Mount Habib Neccar. You’ll feel that the nimbus emanating from its old look touches your heart gently and gives you a glow of peacefulness.

The tolerance and good manners of Habib Neccar, one of the first Christians in the area and after whom the mountain was named, penetrated into the mount’s air and the church has become the symbol of religious toleration throughout the world as a result. In fact, a mosque named after this apostle is one of the historical places in Antioch. 

The moment you crack the door of St. Pierre Church ajar, sounds of the prayer calls mingling with the sounds of St. Pierre, St. Paul and Barnabas, some of the first apostles of Jesus, the ding-dongs of the bell and crazy waves of Asi washing up on to the shore spread into the air in a magical harmony and a melody throughout Antioch resonates in your ears… 

You will sense rushing steps running away and quick breaths full of fear and thrill ,sounds of history, as you go through the tunnel leading to altar…We give you the key of the door opening to a fairy tale. If what you are in pursuit of is to experience a tale to the fullest rather than just listening to it, Antioch is the ideal place you are looking for…