Malta

Mdina

Grand Harbor

Marsaxlok

March 28, 2014

More Megala-Wonders

Sorry for the gibberish & misspellings in yesterday's email. The Pages app I use lost the ability to spell check, copy, & paste. After checking all sorts of settings, David resorted to the ultimate solution. He showed the iPad who's boss. He shut it off then turned it on. Magic! My hero!

We were fortunate to have known way in advance to buy timed tickets on line to the Hypogeum. Only ten people per hour are admitted to the site & tickets go quickly. We bought ours Feb. 13. Our guide, Martess met us bright & early & we wiggled our way through rush hour traffic. Our driver, George, made David look good. His shifting was jerky, he stalled twice during the day, but he did get through the congestion with nary a mishap. David only audibly gasped once. Since there is a racetrack on Malta, part of the traffic included sulkies with horses in training. Picturesque, but challenging.

The Hypogeum, a UNESCO site, was uncovered in the late 1800's when an attempt was made to sink a well. The excavation began in 1903, revealing an underground Temple for the dead, Built between 3500-2500 BC, using the same technique as the Ggigantia Temple we saw yesterday, it is a unique example of subterranean architecture. This wonder of the Megalithic Age was a testament to their understanding of physics, grasp of mathematics, & creativity. Seven thousand bodies (bones now removed) were found in the many halls & caverns carved into the rock using animal bone implements. When first unearthed, there were rumors of giants who must have lived here six thousand years ago. It was the only explanation the locals could grasp for moving & erecting the enormous carved stones.

Before descending, we had to divest ourselves of purses, backpacks, coats, & anything that might damage the site. Cameras (& cell phones) were forbidden, of course. We walked down metal steps made slippery from the humidity going ever deeper into the chambers. Individual audio guides explained what we were seeing as dim lights on timers illuminated the highlights. Our human escort was there to warn us of the number of steps we had to ascend or descend & to ride herd on our behavior. We were within touching distance of the precious carved surfaces. I wondered if someone touched them they'd be next thrown into a pit.

The last room we saw was the Holy of Holies. Its walls were sculpted to resemble the rest of the Temple structure with arches, columns, & faux multi-tiered roof. It reminded me of Petra but not colorful.

A most impressive thing about the site was the decoration of walls & ceilings. Using red ochre paint thousands of years ago & clearly visible today, spirals similar to those we'd seen at the Temple yesterday danced in the dim light. No soot marred any walls & scientists wondered what provided illumination besides a few narrow shafts leading to the surface. The burial site was abandoned thousands of years ago for no reason apparent to us.

Miracle?

Moving on in time, we drove to Mosta to see the Church of the Assumption built in the early 1800's. It holds eight thousand people, but on August 8,1942, there were only two hundred worshippers. A German bomb (remember, Malta was an Ally with a British air base) fell through the dome & into the sanctuary missing everyone & not exploding. Ironically, the bomb came from a formerly British munitions factory in Yugoslavia that the Germans had appropriated. The Feast of the Assumption was August 15. It was quite a celebration they had rejoicing at the miracle. The statue of the Virgin, still used today, was paraded through the streets with renewed gusto.

Modernity

Zigzagging through time brought us back to the Mdina (they pronounce it "em-deena"). Begun in 800 BC, it was added onto through the ages & is now an exquisite collection of just about everyone's architectural style. Families pass buildings down from generation to generation to maintain its authenticity. Martess pointed out the different styles & the custom of placing two clocks on church facades. One told the time of day & the other was a calendar clock indicating the day of the month. All were still operating.

When asked about the movie of the same name, she gave us the real meaning of the Maltese Falcon. When Charles V gave Malta to the Knights of St. John, he insisted they send him a live falcon annually. It is thought that was his way of showing he still was in control & had the power.

Uphill we drove to Valletta, the capital of Malta & high point on the island. Houses of the Knights encircled the area we walked with each order having its own "auberge." We strolled over to the city gardens & gazed down at the Grand Harbor. One prominent old fort below was where the film Gladiator was shot.  Looking down at the water it was easy to imagine the plight of the Maltese during WWII. They had blocked the entrance to this harbor as a protective measure, but soon realized they had besieged themselves.  They sought help from the Allied fleet near North Africa, but ships had to battle their way through Germans. The SS Ohio was the one that saved the day.

Lunch was in a fishing village, Marsaxlokk (mar-sash-lock). We walked along the jetty enjoying the Maltese fishing boats painted in primary colors with eyes on their prows to ward off evil. Ron, the owner of a restaurant by the same name, stopped to chat & proclaim the quality of his food, especially fish. He's Maltese married to a woman from a Maltese family living in Detroit. It was old home week. We took him up on his recommendation & feasted al fresco on three kinds of grilled fish (bream, snapper, & sea bass) along with salad, chips, & delicious Maltese bread. Fully satisfied, we wandered to our van thinking we'd be heading right back to the hotel.

Martess, not wanting to miss a corner of the island, continued on to show us a desalinization plant, a monument marking the place where Bush, Sr. & Gorbachev signed a pact to end the Cold War in 1989, & the Blue Grotto, a cave entrance rimmed by the azure water typical of this sea. Not to be missed, as we skirted the harbor, we passed shipping containers from the Maersk Line made famous in the movie Captain Phillips, which, as I mentioned yesterday, was filmed here.

Martess was obsessed with giving us directions to the ferry tomorrow. She showed us how to go as we were driving around today. She showed us alternate routes on the map. It was obvious she was concerned about us getting lost as we head for our 5AM ferry departure. We plan to leave the hotel at 3AM. It's a thirty-minute trip. We heard that the ferry is full. We have our tickets. The huge crowd is traveling to Taormina for a concert of someone we've never heard of. I bet the concert will be in the Greek Amphitheater. Should be spectacular.

We walked to a nearby restaurant, Bianco's, for dinner. What a find! We had pureed parsnip soup, David had Cajun chicken pasta while Judi & I had warm salad. Hers had chicken; mine had duck marinated in honey & sesame. Best meal here yet.

Tomorrow will be the half way mark of our time in Sicily & Malta. We head for Agrigento after landing in Pozzallo early, early in the morning.

Toby