International Travel Desk

The Carthaginians were traders, and iBiza became a very important trading center. Even in those days, iBiza had a large harbor and good city walls. The most important of the goods traded was Salt. The salt pans of Salinas were constructed by the Carthaginians are still used to day to win salt from sea water, by a process of evaporation.

The Carthaginians also used iBiza to bury there dead. It's thought they chose the island as there were no wild animals to dig up the corpses.

The Romans conquered iBiza in 123 B.C. Evidence of the Roman occupation can still be seen in Santa Eulalia, where the old Roman bridge crosses the now dried-up river at the entrance to the town.

After the Romans, between the 5th and 9th centuries A.D. Ibiza was invaded and conquered by the Vandals, the Barbarians and the Byzantines.

The Arabs came in the 9th century A.D. and stayed for almost 500 years. The Arabic influence can still be felt strongly today in many customs, such as the construction of the houses, traditional costumes and the island dialect 'Ibicenco'.

iBiza was conquered by the Catalans on the 8th August, 1235. They demolished down the Arab mosque to build the Cathedral on its foundations. It's still standing. The villages of the island were renamed after Christian Saints, and the church building began The oldest churches can be found in Santa Eulalia, San Miguel, Sant Jordi and San Antonio.

The island is now only really invaded by the British who on a Saturday night in San Antonio do more damage to the reputation of the island than the Vandals ever did.