WEEKENDER
LEFT: Traditional fishing boats, Marsaxlokk PREVIOUS PAGE, FROM LEFT: View of Valletta from a boat; Villegaignon Street in Mdina, Malta’s former capital
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Prehistoric sites
GGANTIJA TEMPLES A majestic sight on a Gozo hilltop, these limestone megaliths are among the planet’s most ancient freestanding prehistoric structures, older than both Stonehenge and the Pyramids of Giza. The stones are believed to form a temple where fertility rituals were practised by an ancient cult and local lore says they were laid by a giantess.
DAY TWO CAFES, CAVES AND CAPITALS
MORNING Make for the historic fishing village of Marsaxlokk in Malta’s south and marvel at the colourful luzzijiet — traditional fishing boats vibrantly painted with the Eye of Horus. Crunch into fresh pastizzi (filled savoury pastries) from one of the nearby cafes as you watch the fishermen varnish their boats and mend their nets before heading out to sea. Every Sunday, the village hosts a busy fish market — it’s one of Malta’s biggest and liveliest, where restaurateurs handpick the season’s best catch; typically lampuki (common dolphinfish), tuna and swordfish. As you leave, look out for Fort San Lucian on a nearby cliff. The early 17th-century fortress and watchtower was built following an Ottoman attack that a local woman had supposedly foreseen.
AFTERNOON Pack a picnic and head west. The soaring cliffs at Had-Dingli, the islands’ highest point, mark the starting point of a wild and windswept seven-mile hike to the cobalt waters of the Blue Grotto. Follow the marked ‘red route’ past a number of ancient relics, including millennia-old cart ruts carved into the rock (the chaotic crisscrossings have earned the site the moniker of ‘Clapham Junction’) and the prehistoric temples of Mnajdra and Hagar Qim. The route ends at Wied iz-Zurrieq, where you can admire caverns, rock arches and the Blue Grotto (in fact a series of grottoes). From here, a bus can whisk you back to Had-Dingli for a pick-me-up of sweetly spiced Maltese coffee from Carmen’s refreshment truck.
EVENING Continue up the coast and veer inland to historic Mdina, Malta’s former capital, dubbed the ‘Silent City’. It’s anything but silent by day, but an evening stroll here reveals the fortified city at its mellow, lamplit best. Only around 250 people reside inside the walls and vehicle access is mostly off- limits. Time here is best-spent strolling the angular streets (designed both for defence and to keep the city cool), dotted with baroque palazzi, small galleries and museums. Make your way to Bastion Square for sweeping views of the Maltese countryside, then while away the evening at The Medina Restaurant, set in a romantic, vine-covered courtyard. Try the local imqaret dessert: date fritters with helwa tat-tork (tahini fudge) ice cream.
THE HYPOGEUM OF HAL SAFLIENI This underground necropolis in Paola is where 7,000 people were laid to rest; their remains, and the network of chambers they were entombed in, were discovered following a construction accident in 1902. One of the site’s best-known figurines, The Sleeping Lady, is now on display at Valletta’s Museum of Archaeology. Tickets to the Hypogeum are extremely limited, so book well ahead.
TARXIEN TEMPLES A huddle of megaliths forming a series of interconnected chambers make these unusually ornate temples. Phallic structures and carved stone spirals said to represent ovaries are believed to convey the temples’ purpose as a place of ritualistic fertility sacrifice.
heritagemalta.org
Jan/Feb 2021 51
IMAGE: AWL IMAGES
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