The Countryside

MERCADAL

Rural area of Es Mercadal

The Countryside

Agriculture and livestock have traditionally been the main source of resources for Es Mercadal. Currently, the livestock activity of the farms remains fundamental for the municipality, not only because the well-known cheese with the "Mahón" denomination of origin—highly appreciated throughout the country—is produced, but also because they constitute a guarantee of conservation of Menorcan traditions and the singular interior landscape of the island. A landscape characterized in winter by green meadows destined for livestock grazing, and configured by its grid of stone walls, patiently raised, and its typical wild olive wood barriers. The toponymy of the farms of the municipality reveals, in many cases, their Arab origins, as is the case of those hamlets whose names begin with the particle "bini" (such as Binigurdó, Binicodrell, Binifabini, and Binidonaire) or "al" (such as Alcotx, Albaida, Albranca, etc.). The need to take advantage of rainwater, an especially valuable element on an island, is a constant in Menorcan rural construction, through the addition of elements such as slanted Arabic tile roofs, gutters, drains, irrigation ditches, wells, cisterns, and water tanks.