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  • Malta – Gozo – Ta’ Kola Windmill

    Located just a few metres from the entrance to the Ġgantija Temples, this windmill was first constructed in 1725. Unfortunately it wasn’t built very well, some dodgy use of stone and mortar was to blame, so they had to rebuild it in the 1780s.

    Bread is very important to the people of Malta, and they make it very well from what I’ve experienced, and the miller would have lived and worked here.

    The staff member at the front desk was enthusiastic and gave me a comprehensive introduction to the building and what there was to see in it. There are a lot of milling related items on display, some of which are from the last miller to have worked here.

    The recreated bedroom of the miller.

    Some kind of machine.

    And then the climb to the top of the windmill, up some fairly narrow steps at times. Fortunately I was the only visitor at the site, so I didn’t have to worry about passing people on the way up or down.

    This was what was at the top of the steps, the two stones which would have ground up the cereals into flour. There was also a lot less space than I had been expecting when I reached the top. I think I had expected some kind of viewing deck, rather than a functional windmill, but only two or three people could be up here at a time.

    Incidentally, one TripAdvisor review noted the below, and I certainly agree with them….. I was very brave though and struggled up.

    “There are very steep and narrow stairs to the top so if you have trouble walking or are nervous with heights it probably isn’t a good idea to go up.”

    I was using my Heritage Malta pass, but I think visitors who went to the temples next door also got free entrance into this mill. That has probably realistically boosted visitor numbers to a level which the mill might not otherwise have got, but it’s still an interesting site.

  • Malta (Northern Region) – St. Paul’s Bay – Steps

    Of very little importance, but I just quite liked this photo of some steps which go from the harbour area up to the main road. I’m fairly sure that these were wider, but a new frontage has been added to the old harbour walls which are centuries old, with the steps now being much narrower….

  • Malta (Northern Region) – St. Paul’s Bay – McDonald’s

    It’s important for me to visit a McDonald’s in a country that I haven’t been to before just in case Dylan and Leon ask me about it. It’s definitely essential to be able to answer any critical questions about the various features of non-UK McDonald’s…..

    A Big Mac meal, which I’m delighted to say tastes exactly the same as the ones throughout the rest of Europe. Isn’t globalisation marvellous…..

    Of note though in this McDonald’s is the charming view over the local bay and I can’t recall visiting a better terrace in any other restaurant in this chain.

    And another photo from the terrace, although it was unfortunately raining at the time. There’s not much else to say about McDonald’s, the service was efficient, the restaurant was clean, there was working wi-fi, power points for customers and the food tasted as it should. A meal worked out at around £5.50, so marginally more expensive than in the UK.

  • Malta (Northern Region) – St. Paul’s Bay – Then and Now

    A photo of American troops on the island during the Second World War who defended the Italian fleet which were brought into St. Paul’s Bay after Italy surrendered in September 1943. As the sign points out, there’s a baseball bat in the middle of the photo showing how the troops could amuse themselves between air raids.

    My photo taken from the same spot.

  • Malta (Northern Region) – St. Paul’s Bay – Bathing Pools

    These stone constructions are bathing pools which are around 1.5 to 2 metres tall. They’re also an archaeological mystery, as no-one knows how old they are. The sign near to them states that they might date to the Roman period, others suggest that they were owned by wealthy families in a later period of history. They don’t give a time estimate for this latter option, but I assume that they mean in the sixteenth to eighteenth century time period as it’s also mentioned that locals believe they’re been there for “time immemorial”.

  • Malta – Northern Region – Mosta – Mosta Rotunda

    The imposing, but still beautiful, frontage of Mosta Rotunda where work started in 1833 and was finished after just 28 years…. Great civil engineers they had there. Anyway, they built this building around the existing church, and then demolished the church when they had finished it, so that must have been a giant construction site for three decades.

    Wikipedia tells me that this was the third largest unsupported dome in the world when it was constructed…. The frontage was also modelled on the Pantheon in Rome, a noble endeavour for a town in Malta to want to recreate.

    The domed ceiling, although photos can’t really do this justice.

    The altar in what felt a spacious and elegant environment.

    Visitors can visit the sacristy at the rear of the church, this is one of the connecting corridors and there are tombs on one side.

    One of the elegant tombstones on the floor of the church. I say (well, type) church although it was elevated to the status of a minor basilica in July 2018.

    I feel very slightly cheated by this, the church proudly signs internally their unexploded bomb. This was an amazing piece of good fortune, not that the bomb fell through the roof in an bombing raid which in itself is bad news, but that it didn’t explode. Anyway, I thought that this was the bomb. But it isn’t, the actual bomb was chucked in the sea by the Royal Engineers who didn’t want it to explode. However, the story is still marvellous because there were 300 people inside the Rotunda when the bomb fell through the roof, so it could have been one of the worst tragedies of the war if it had gone off.

    The pulpit and view across the interior of the Rotunda. The church was quite busy with visitors, but everything was organised and well signed. I got a joint ticket with the war shelter for €3, which was perfectly reasonable value.

  • Malta – Northern Region – Mosta – Freddie Micallef Statue

    Statues of politicians are quite useful in a country that I don’t know, as they give me an opportunity to find out more about them. Freddie Micallef was a Government Minister for a few years in the 1970s and a representative in Parliament for a much longer period, from 1966 until 1996 (serving in the country’s second to seventh legislatures).

    I’m not sure that he had any standout policies, certainly the country’s Labour party didn’t mention any when commenting on his death, but they said “he was a man of whom one could never speak badly and was always on everyone’s good side. He also never held back from mixing with anyone, no matter their background or history” which is rather nice.

  • Malta – Northern Region – Mosta – Honeycomb

    I thought that it’d be easy to find out more about this sculpture, located near to the Rotunda in Mosta. But I’ve failed to find anything useful, although I think it’s related to when they opened the government offices nearby. I’m entirely guessing, but the local stone often takes on a soft of honeycomb effect when it’s weathered, so perhaps the sculpture is a representation of that. Although it probably isn’t.

  • Flights – Malta to London Gatwick South (British Airways) (Second Time)

    This is the second time I’ve done this flight this month, around a three hour flight from Malta to Gatwick South. Here’s the aircraft, ready and waiting. Some of the highlights that were visible outside during the flight included seeing Malta from the air and also Mount Etna.

    The flight seemed quite light initially, but there was a sudden burst of passengers who filled up most of the front cabin. I’m not sure whether they all came from the lounge at the same time or whether there was a delay at passport control, but it was busier than the flight out the previous Sunday.

    The aircraft hadn’t been very well cleaned though, the cleaners hadn’t taken extraneous items out of seat pockets and there was some litter on the floor. Malta is served by airlines such as Ryanair, easyJet and others, and if British Airways wants to be seen as a better option it does need to sort out this constant cleanliness issue.

    I’ve reused this image from the last flight, since it’s the same menu.

    For some variety I went for the main course of Parmesan, rocket, penne pasta and lemon peppered chicken. The pasta was well seasoned and the mustard seeds added texture and flavour, with the chicken being tender and the peppered lemon coating was surprisingly quite strong. All very pleasant, with the chocolate and cherry torte being rich and luxurious… The Coastal Cheddar was excellent, whilst the Somerset Brie seemed unexceptional, although I prefer harder cheeses.

    The crew were helpful and efficient throughout, not particularly pro-active in offering additional items, but it was easy enough to ask for anything else. The service was though always professional and there was a relaxed feel to proceedings.

    The flight landed just a few minutes later than expected due to heavy headwinds, and the pilot made a few updates during the flight giving information about what could be seen out of the window.

    So another efficient and well managed flight….

     

  • Malta – From Overhead

    I don’t normally get a window seat on aircraft, but since on my return from Malta I had, these are some photos of the islands.

    Valletta is the strip of land jutting out at the rear.

    Valletta is at the top right, showing the urban sprawl in front of it.

    Buġibba on the right hand side of the bay, my hotel was on the edge of bay itself, at the mid-left of the photo.

    Towards the north of the main island, much of this is a nature reserve.

    This is the ferry terminal on the main island where I crossed over to Gozo, with the island of Comino at the rear.

    The island of Comino on the right, and Gozo on the left.