Mahon (alternately, Maó; Catalan it is also the official name, Spanish Mahón), is a municipality and the capital city of the Balearic Island of Menorca (an autonomic Spanish community), located in the eastern part of the island. Mahon boasts one of the deepest natural ports in the world. Get a ferry ticket to Mahon and don’t miss the shopping area which is along pedestrian streets with wonderful cake shops, leather, pottery and fresh fish and food in the markets.
The name is attributed to the eponymous Carthaginian general Mago Barca, brother to Hannibal, who is thought to have taken refuge there in 205 BC. Mahon was captured in 1287 from the Moors by Alfonso III of Aragon and incorporated into the Kingdom of Majorca, a vassal kingdom of the Kingdom of Aragon. Its harbour, one of the most strategically important in the western Mediterranean, was re-fortified.
Minorca was captured by the British during the War of the Spanish Succession in 1707, and its status as a British possession was confirmed by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. During the island's years as a British dependency in the 18th century, Mahon served as its capital and residence for the governor, the most famous being General Sir Richard Kane.
Today it serves as the seat of the Island Council of Minorca (Consell Insular de Menorca). Towards the end of the 20th century, a refurbishment of its historic centre was made possible by income from tourism.
Balearia: Alcudia, Barcellona
Iscomar: Barcelona
Trasmediterranea: Barcellona, Palma Mallorca, Valencia
