28 08 04 + 1 - 0 Chapels, Temples, Caves & Nature
For those who can appreciate the beautiful landscapes and history that Malta has to offer...
When our friend Peter Gauci, a passionate historian, TV Producer and Arsenal Fan, offered to take us on a day tour of Malta's historal Chapels, Temples and Caves, we couldn't refuse. So it was the three of us, Peter, Susan, the German Physiotherapy Student and I on our little step-back-in-time adventure! The first image is of a Capsicum or Pepper field that is situation just to the left of the Maqluba Chapel. It amazed me how perfectly cultivated the field was although it was situated in such a small and cumbersome piece of field. It must all be hand sewn and nurtured...there was no room for machinery in there!
The Maqluba Chapel at the top of the Maqluba valley...on the left of it is the small chapel of St Matthew and stairs leading down to the Maqluba valley. Maqluba means "turned upside down" and legend has it that there was once a village of bad people that lived in the valley with only one good lady who would pray in this little chapel. One day while she was praying there was an earthquake that turned the village upside down and killed all the bad people, but the good lady who prayed was safe. Some also believe that part of Filfla landed here in this valley...now that's a hard one to believe. I suppose this story was also used to encourage children to pray....hmmm.
Maqluba Valley...One of the only deep valleys like this in Malta. There are fig and olve trees and many others...
...and of course houses built right up to the edge of the cliff face!...only in Malta.
Dingli Cliffs named after a Maltese architect or possibly his namesake, 16th century English Sir Thomas Dingley, who lived nearby. Here the land falls away at the impressive height of 220 metres...it is amazing to see as you fly into Malta from the air!
Near this look out there were Bronze Age ruins that unfortuneately had been used in more recent years by a car battery retailer. This hole was used in the Bronze age times to store food and other things but more recently had car battery acid thrown down it! This makes it a bit hard to then find let alone date back any artefacts or found in this area!
The next stop was the "Ghar Il-Kbir" or Big Caves and the Cart Ruts...this was the only signage to these sites. It is such a pity that once you get there, if you find them and don't just drive past, that there is no explanation of the historical significance of these sites. Thank God we had our tour guide who made sense of it all for us!
These caves were inhabited by primitive cave people probably during the 17th Century round the time when the British claimed Malta. When the British found how unhygienic and primitive their living conditions were they asked them to move out and leave. When they refused the British decided to bomb the caves so they would collapse and kill any who refused to leave...as you do in those times...well maybe some still do today too. Anyway our tour and photos consisted of what was left of the caves. If it was not for Peter i firstly would not have found the caves and if i did would not have had the courage to venture in. However once we were in the caves were refreshingly cool compared to the outdoor 35 degree humid day and were very open and spacious. The green plants you can see in the pictures are wild caper bushes...yum!
The Cart Ruts...I have explained in another section of the site are a prehistoric mystery. The arheologists are uncertain of their significance although theories include that a form of cart was used to transport goods from the sea to higher on the land. An aerial view of this site is truly amazing as it shows the complexities of the paths. If only the ruts could talk and tell us of the history they hold!
Mgarr Church with its spectacular dome is the main feature of Mgarr. It is referred to as the Egg Dome as it was built in the 30's with funds raised by parishioners through locally produced eggs...and i thought it was because the dome looked like an egg! It is a mammoth sized church and marks the centre of Mgarr on the skyline as you will see in later photos. Mgarr is also the hub of "Fenkata" restaurants, that is traditional Maltese restaurants that serve the traditional Rabbit or "Fenek" Stew.
Up the hill from Mgarr you can find this little ancient chapel fo Bingemma...
You can see the Mgarr church in the view from this chapel...
To the right of the chapel there part of the Victoria Line (fortifications built by the British to protect the main part of the island, but did not see any military action, hence a waste of time except to give the British Garrison something to do). They run 12km from FommIr-Rih to Bahar Ic-Caqq. Below this there are also Roman or Punic tombs evident built-in to the side of the rockface (have to check with Peter on this one again).
Mnajdra was a must. We never get sick of visiting it...it is always thought-provoking and holds so much mystery!
For example...Look at this symmetry!?! This is over 4000 years old and we can't get some buildings right still...and look at the size of these boulders!
Susan and I...little did we know that we would return here together to see the Equinox.
And more temples...the Skorba Temples...
And the TaHagrat Temples....
