In the southern part of the island of Ibiza, within the municipality of Sant Josep de sa Talaia, there is a very special cove, Cala Llentia. Cala Llentia is famous because of two iconic elements, The Sundial and the gates of Ibiza. A regular pilgrimage site for residents and well-informed tourists
HOW TO GET THERE
To get to Cala Llentía we must go to Sant Josep, in the direction of Cala Comte. One kilometre before Cala Comte, take a detour to the left along a sandy path that is signposted “Cala Codolar”. Cross the entrance to a residential area, leave your vehicle and continue for about 150 metres on foot. Here you have the location.
THE SUNDIAL
At the end of this path we will find the first monument, known as the clock. It is formed by 13 columns, up to 24 metres high. 12 of the columns are situated in a circular shape, while the 13th, which is the tallest and has a slight gold coating on top to reflect the light of the sunset, is situated in the centre. The author of this work is Andrew Rodgers, who entitled it “Time and Space”.
In 1998 Rogers initiated a project of 56 megalithic sculptures in 16 countries, which he called “Rythms of Life”. This one is aligned with the winter solstice and symbolises the movement of the planets around the sun. Circ du Solei founder Guy Laliberté was the driving force behind the project. It is said that he brought the materials from Turkey to be assembled in less than a week at its current location. This work is also popularly known as the ” Ibizas Stonehenge “, or the “Ibiza sundial”.
THE GATES OF IBIZA
A little over 100 metres in the direction of Cala Codolar and visible from the columns, is another small monument of unknown authorship. It is formed by two doors facing each other that symbolise a room. They are decorated with Arabic engravings, some of them symbolising the goddess Tanit. The goddess Tanit was one of the most important goddesses of Carthaginian mythology.
Tanit was also worshipped in many places in the Mediterranean that belonged to the Carthaginian empire. But without a doubt, it was in Ibiza where the worship of Tanit became more palpable and where various temples of worship have been found. Tanit was the Goddess of love, fertility, life, prosperity, harvest, death and the moon. She was one of the most important goddesses of the Carthaginians, as she defended a sacred island, as it was Ibiza, defended from poisonous animals.
From these gates, with the right angle, you can also see the famous islet of es Vedrá in a row, making this spot an iconic place for photo shoots, and being a hotspot of the most used social networks also to enjoy the sunset from a different angle.
