08/09/2026
We honestly felt like we had stepped into a movie 😂🏴☠️
When we travel somewhere, we always love experiencing and learning about the history of the place - but we had NEVER experienced anything quite like this before.
We ended up in the middle of Es Firó, one of Sóller’s biggest and most intense traditions, where the whole town recreates a pirate attack from more than 460 years ago.
And the history behind it is very interesting:
On 11 May 1561, around 1,600 Turkish-Algerian corsairs arrived in Sóller to attack the town. Corsairs were basically sailors allowed by their rulers to attack enemy ships and towns.
At that time, attacks like this were a real threat around Mallorca. The corsairs took goods and, sadly, people who could be held for ransom or sold.
But why did they do it?
The Mediterranean was in the middle of a big struggle between Spain and the Ottoman Empire, and the North African corsairs were closely connected to the Ottoman world.
Mallorca also actually had a long Muslim history. The Balearic Islands had been under Muslim rule for more than 300 years, from around 902 until the Christian conquest of Mallorca in 1229.
Just three years before the attack on Sóller, in 1558, an Ottoman-led attack had devastated parts of the Balearic Islands and thousands of people were taken captive.
So when the people of Sóller were warned that an attack was coming, they gathered to defend their homes.
And this time, they managed to defeat the attackers!
The victory became such an important part of Sóller’s history that they have kept celebrating it ever since. The first celebration was already held in 1562, and in 1855 it became a reenactment of the battle. Over the years, Es Firó grew into the huge celebration it is today.
We felt so lucky to experience it and to be welcomed into such a unique part of Mallorcan culture.
This is exactly why we love travelling slowly.
Because sometimes the most memorable experiences aren't the places you came to see…
but the stories you discover along the way. ❤️
And yes… somehow we even ended up making friends with the pirates afterwards. 😂🏴☠️
What a day.
Muchas gracias 🫶�
