Another from the temporary art installation in the city….
This one in perhaps a little less subtle than the others, the text reads:
“Those who insert themselves between the onion and its skin will be marked by its odour – those who poke their noses in other people’s affairs are asking for trouble.”
There are numerous of these temporary art installations around Valletta and they are each based around proverbs of various kinds. This one is:
“In from one ear and out of the other – That is said of people who choose to ignore whatever others try to tell them.”
There seem to be a lot of feral cats around Malta, or at least, a lot of domestic cats that are going round in mini herds. And I don’t think domestic cats tend to do that, I think it’s just a lot of feral cats.
I confess to not being an expert in Roman history, but I’m never heard of a Roman apiary being a thing to look out for. I never really gave much thought to whether the Roman kept bees, but it appears that they did and they kept them here. This is also, so I’ve read in numerous places, the best example of a Roman apiary in the world (although there’s at least one other in Malta, so it’s not unique), so at least I’ve been introduced to the subject matter in style.
The bees were kept in the holes and there was access behind the holes for people to, well, tend the bees or whatever it is they do. I decided not to investigate in these tunnels as they weren’t that high and more importantly, it looked too scary.
This is a troglodyte dwelling which was used until relatively recently as living accommodation. It was though originally a prehistoric tomb which was repurposed over the centuries, and it’s tall enough to stand up easily in.
There’s quite a substantial stone entrance which has been added at some time. Always good to give a positive first impression to any visitors.
The name ‘cave of the galley’ is because of this carving into the stone on the door jamb, but a date can’t accurately be given. I like the thought that it has something to do with the country’s Great Siege, but it could have been pirates, shipwrecks or any other number of other things.
Inside the cave.
I noticed this crack in the wall so I thought that I’d end my cave exploration. I’d have been bloody irritated though if the cave had collapsed when I was in it after it had been there for over 3,000 years.
I was pleased with myself on arriving into Malta, getting on the right bus and realising the bus stop was right by my hotel. Then I realised that I was two hours before the check-in time, so I stayed on the bus and thought I’d walk back. A bit of exploration is good for the soul.
Anyway, whilst walking back down the side of a busy road with no pavement I started to regret this stupidity. But, things got better quickly, and I arrived back on the road that was marked on Google Maps. The road seemed to be quite a sizeable path and it ended up at the back of my hotel, so I went for that plan.
After about 100 metres the lovely road turned into some rough and shoddy path. Although, intriguingly, it was unlike any path I’ve followed as some of it was built into the rock. And parts of it were very smooth, something that could only be achieved by centuries of people walking over it. At this stage, I wasn’t aware that I was walking along what was a Roman road and pilgrim’s route.
And then the history started to unfold, the ruts along the Roman road, an ancient village, dry stone walls, standing stones, a Neolithic temple, a Punic tomb, a troglodyte cave, a Roman apiary, a pill-box, a medieval farmhouse and numerous other ancient structures. Which means that for a simple walk I have an enormous number of photos which are out of all proportion to the three miles I walked.
There’s an episode of Time Team which was filmed at Llygadwy, which transpired to be a salted site. There was so much history within such a small space that it didn’t make sense, and Time Team uncovered an archaeological fraud. But here, the history is all authentic and it combined to be one of the most history packed walks that I’ve ever gone on.
Below are photos of the walk before the history began (or, more accurately, before I realised it began), as I’ll post separately about those highlights….
On my heritage trail walk, more on which later, I noticed these crosses scratched into the wall. The big board sign above them also alerted me to their presence though if I’m being fair, and not just claiming to be particularly noticeable.
Pilgrims used to walk this route, along the old Roman road, to Old Lady’s Sanctuary in Mellieħa, towards the north of Malta. I assume that the pilgrims had no idea that they walked by a Punic tomb on their route up the hill. In any event, the crosses were thought to have been marked by pilgrims after resting from walking up the hill.
Located in Xemxija, this rather dangerous looking hole in the ground is one of the most interesting ancient monuments in Malta. It’s a Punic tomb and dates to around 500BC and is over two metres deep, with a link to a separate and covered burial chamber at the base.
I obviously didn’t get in to have a little look in the hole of the burial chamber, but inside it is almost two metres wide, there’s a flat ceiling and a smooth floor. I know this as helpfully a sign has been placed up nearby giving these useful details.
It’s a wonderful piece of history, although I suspect that in the UK it would have been fenced off. Especially as around 15 years ago this site was vandalised with paint and stones thrown in to try and block access to it. Fortunately, the museums service corrected the damage quickly, and pleasingly access to the site hasn’t been limited.
The British Airways aircraft at Malta Airport having just arrived in the morning sun.
But, back to the start of the flight. The flight boarded early and the new group system was being enforced by the staff member at the desk, she sent someone back to the seating area who was none too pleased at that. But, if you’re going to have a group boarding system, it does need enforcing.
The flight was around 70% full and everyone had boarded about 15 minutes before the expected take-off. There was then a delay when something went wrong with the aircraft that an engineer checked to examine, but that only took a few minutes extra.
I was seated in 1A, so this was my view for the flight. As I understand seats 1A and 1C (there isn’t a 1B) have been created from where the wardrobe used to be. And as a reminder of that, a customer asked to put their coat up, a service which can no longer be offered. Seat 1C isn’t a great seat, as it’s exposed when boarded, so anyone sitting there is likely to get their knees banged by customers boarding the aircraft.
The menu card.
I’m not usually a tea drinker, but the peppermint tea seemed refreshing given the early morning start.
The breakfast, which was perfect for my needs and is much better in my view than the cooked full English breakfast option they offer. Although, more people went for the cooked full English than for the plate of cured meats and cheeses, so it still seems a popular option.
I looked out of the window and thought that the clouds looked like mountains. There was a reason for this, these are mountains poking up through the clouds.
My first sight of Malta.
The service on the flight was pro-active, indeed on the higher end of my BA experiences. The meal service was efficient and I got my first choice of food, although that was rather inevitable sitting in Row 1 as unlike long-haul, they just go straight to back in Club Europe.
All in all, a rather lovely flight.
