Of all the islands in the Balearic archipelago, Ibiza is the third largest. It lies in the west of the Mediterranean Sea, and enjoys a surface area of around 572 square kilometres, with 200km of coast. The island is home to some of the biggest, and most expensive nightclubs in the world, and so is perhaps most widely known for its party tourism. Thousands come from the world over just to enjoy these clubs, the availability of drugs, and nurse their hangovers on the beautiful coastline.
To just concentrate on this aspect of Ibiza, however, is to do it an injustice. Ibiza is a stunning island with a long and rich history. Though the party tourist trade brings a lot of wealth to the country, it also has some extremely negative effects. It increases the demand for drugs, which encourages gang crime, which in turn makes it a less desirable place to go for holiday makers that want a more cultural experience.
This fact has lead many politicians to try to encourage the tourist trade away from the clubbing culture, and revitalise people's interest in the rest of the island. To help with this, this is an article about some of the key points in Ibiza's history, which make it such a beautiful place to visit.
Because of this, many politicians on the island have been trying to encourage a shift in the tourist industry away from the party culture, in a hope to spark people's interest in the rest the island has to offer. In this vein, what follows is a brief look at the history of Ibiza, and why this makes it a beautiful place to visit.
Obviously the history of Ibiza stretches back further, but the first categorical reference to the island was in the year 654 when Diodoro Siculo wrote "... having been named Sardinia first, the island was called Pitiusa, due to the number of pines on it..." The name "Pitusa" comes from the Greek meaning "pines". After the Carthaginian period, Ibiza fell under Roman domination. The five following centuries were the "dark centuries because of the lack of information left behind.
The island was owned by the Barbarians and the Byzantines until around 711 when Arabs landed on the island and named it "Yebisah". The next historically significant moment was 1235, when during the Catalan Conquest the island joined the western world. Because of this rich history, there is much beautiful architecture to be seen across the island, with influences from varying cultures.
To just concentrate on this aspect of Ibiza, however, is to do it an injustice. Ibiza is a stunning island with a long and rich history. Though the party tourist trade brings a lot of wealth to the country, it also has some extremely negative effects. It increases the demand for drugs, which encourages gang crime, which in turn makes it a less desirable place to go for holiday makers that want a more cultural experience.
This fact has lead many politicians to try to encourage the tourist trade away from the clubbing culture, and revitalise people's interest in the rest of the island. To help with this, this is an article about some of the key points in Ibiza's history, which make it such a beautiful place to visit.
Because of this, many politicians on the island have been trying to encourage a shift in the tourist industry away from the party culture, in a hope to spark people's interest in the rest the island has to offer. In this vein, what follows is a brief look at the history of Ibiza, and why this makes it a beautiful place to visit.
Obviously the history of Ibiza stretches back further, but the first categorical reference to the island was in the year 654 when Diodoro Siculo wrote "... having been named Sardinia first, the island was called Pitiusa, due to the number of pines on it..." The name "Pitusa" comes from the Greek meaning "pines". After the Carthaginian period, Ibiza fell under Roman domination. The five following centuries were the "dark centuries because of the lack of information left behind.
The island was owned by the Barbarians and the Byzantines until around 711 when Arabs landed on the island and named it "Yebisah". The next historically significant moment was 1235, when during the Catalan Conquest the island joined the western world. Because of this rich history, there is much beautiful architecture to be seen across the island, with influences from varying cultures.
