4/17: Visit Malta Ancient Temples and the Three Cities

I had hoped to complete this post last night, but it is taking forever to complete because of problems with trying to caption some of the photos which sometimes disappear or rearrange themselves. When I closed it and came back to edit, it said there were HTML problems, but I never touched the HTML directly. I am hoping when I start the next post, that the issues will disappear.

 In addition to the Neolithic temples we saw on Gozo, there are several Megalithic (bigger stones) here too. We visited one and walked toward another, but didn't have time to explore both. We started with a 3D movie that showed how they think these huge stones were moved and then what happened gradually when the temple builders disappeared around 2500 B.C. The day was insanely windy and I was glad I had a hat to keep my pony tail some what tamed. On our way to the temples, we stopped at the Blue Grotto and I found a place to leave one of Jim's marbles.

From there, we went to the Three Cities -- across the Grand Harbor from Valletta where all the yachts were that we saw from Upper Barrakka Gardens. We walked along this very affluent area before stopping for lunch and heading back to the hotel.

The blues here were even more intense than the photo

The rock formation looks like a sea turtle heading out.

This is the same bombed out island from a few days ago,
in clearer weather.

The view away from the grotto

One of Jim's marbles is in the sheltered area of the
cave-like area on the left of the 'keyhole'.

A falconer was showing off his bird while we
visited.

The map colors show the types of limestone found in
the Malta archipelago. Only the blue is not limestone
but a type of clay.

Another headless female statue. Note the tiny hands.
Some also have feet, all of which are also tiny

Above and below: Layout of the w temple complexes.
We walked in and around the top one.

The middle-ish rock has a hole about halfway down.
When the sun shone through it into the temple, it
marked a change in the seasons, this one was summer
I think.

The tallest stone at about 16 feet.

The biggest stone found -- it weighs 20 tons!

A painting done in 1787 of the temple. Much of it was
buried and later excavated.

We left the temple complex and drove to the Three Cities and walked around them. The entrance was a series of three gates. The passage from Gate 1 to 2 was pretty open, but the area from Gate 2 to 3 was a high-walled trap with defenders waiting to eliminate the invaders. We wandered around the cities and learned that in addition to fancy houses, there was also an inquisition building. The back door of it was just across an alley from a home that appeared to belong to the executioner. The back door is below. Look at the detail above the blue window under that. The 2 axes on either side of a person is the clue to the resident's employment. It is currently used as a warehouse.

There were lots of houses with colorful
doors and interesting knockers and gates.
We were told that goat herders would
bring goats here to sell their milk
and the gates kept the goats out during
the transactions.

The house below is was built in the 1300s, so one of the oldest in the city. The current owner leaves it open so people can take a look inside and a feeling for life back then. The spaces seem really cramped, but it was the lap of luxury compared to how the common folk lived.