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Tuesday, November 22, 2022
We took the public bus to the town of Tarxien. It’s on the other side of the Harbor and not too far from The Three Cities. Today’s objective was to see the ancient, Megalithic, Tarxien Temples, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The site, which was included in our combination ticket from the other site, includes four structures built between 3,600 and 2,500 BC. They were discovered in 1917 when farmers found something unusual when trying to plow a field. The people who built these temples probably came over from Sicily about 5,000 years ago and over the next 1,000 years built more than 30 temples in Malta.
The entire open-air site has been covered to prevent further decay. Automated stations monitor the conditions and report to a central location. The first, and oldest temple, is little more than an outline on the ground. Three other temples can easily be seen. They are outlined with large, megalithic stones. Any relics found have subsequently been moved to the museum of archeology. In fact, we saw quite a few of them days ago during our visit there.
Originally the site was probably used for rituals and animal sacrifices. By the Bronze Age it was used as a cemetery for cremated remains. During Roman times the area was used for farming.
Wednesday, November 23, 2022
It was a day off. Nothing much else happened.
Thursday, November 24, 2022
Our last day in town. We toured the mansion that was built in 1580. It has been the home of Noble families who have been members of the Order of Saint John. The present family acquired the property about 150 years when they swapped the owners for another property. You can wander about the mansion by yourself but we went on a guided tour. The cost was €9.50 per person. Credit cards are accepted.
We started off in the garden in the back waiting for the tour to begin. While waiting we enjoyed the fountain whose basin contained several large turtles. To the side was a large parrot named Kiki. He was friendly enough but didn’t have much to say. In the middle of the garden was a set of stairs that led to a World War II bomb shelter. There were open spaces at three different levels. One of the smaller spaces was exclusively for the family and the larger spaces, which were accessed through tunnels to the side of the property, were for the general public.
We toured most of the ground floor level of the house. The family still lives in the upper two floors and has been known to occasionally use the downstairs even when tours are happening. As is typical in great houses there were paintings of the family throughout many generations, there was a chapel, a very fine art collection that spanned the Renaissance to the modern, and all sorts of memorabilia.
The family is distantly related to the royal family of England. There were pictures of Princess Elizabeth from the time she lived in Malta, and there were framed invitations from the Coronation of King George VI, and Elizabeth II. The family attended both. They had commemorative stools from both occasions which apparently can be purchased for £1 for attendees.
Another room contained several family trees and the coat of arms of all of the ancestors. The guide was very well informed and knew everything about the family and the house. We learned that the present owner and his son are both Knights of the Order of Saint John. It was money well spent.
We’ve found that a week is usually enough time to fully explore a city. In this case, we had just over a week to explore an entire country. We certainly covered the highlights but given time there is a lot more to see, do, and learn about. Given that the islands have been under English rule for almost 200 years, and English is one of the official languages, it’s surprising to us that the primary language for natives is Maltese. Yes, everyone speaks and understands English but they tend to speak it somewhat haltingly, with a thick accent, and with less than perfect grammar. Certainly, the foods have been heavily influenced by the English but also by the Arabs and the Italians. It’s a very interesting place with a very colorful history.