1 April 2025 Sliema: Mara is in Malta

 

After a missed flight and a long delay in Heathrow, Mara arrived in the early morning of the 1st of April.  We were long asleep by the time she got to her hotel room.  Since we had already visited her room and left "Welcome to Malta" goodies she had a nice experience on her arrival.  We picked her up at 11:45 and drove to the Church of Our Lady of Victory for a Spanish guitar concert.  We met Elliot there and then headed out for a bite.  

On our way to deliver the goodies

This tiny face was used to lock the open shutters in place

Another fancy knocker

Another window shutter lock

Not sure if these are knockers of door knobs

Yet another very decorative church

Dusty but still nice

Let the good times roll

We have made it to Valetta for the concert

The guitarist was already warming up

https://youtube.com/shorts/HiVtPE6-twU

In the Church of our Lady of Victory

https://youtube.com/shorts/xBKLaMVUjLY

So much great art

Prop up that foot

Spanish guitar

The crown above the altar

The dome looks grand but is rather small

Out at the upper gardens

Lots of arches

Who will take my brochures?

Lovely blues

Leslie , Mara and Elliot, the three PhD's

The innermost of the walled cities

The middle of the three

Many canon ready to defend

Stone to spare

This looks like a cucpake

Across the Grand Harbor

One of the three fortified cities 

Ferry service is readily available

One huge flag!

Rocking the zoom lens

\

Preparing to fire the 2:00 cannon

The guards of the time keepers

So many large knobs and knockers

Americano with warm cream

Loving the European coffee!

Off to explore Valetta some more

 It has been 2 years and 300 days since we began our Migration

29 March 2025 Sliema: Hal Tarxian Neolithic and Megalithic

 

Hal Tarxian is a neolithic site with an estimated beginning of construction around 3800 BCE, over 5000 years ago.   A point of comparison, the very first pyramid, the stepped pyramid in Saqqara, was built tin 3400 BCE a full 400 years after the Hal Tarxizn site was being built.  There were very large stone slabs were used in the building of the walls.  Even the paving stones were quite large.  There were several items out of place.  A concrete lintel placed over the two main gate pillars in 1957 as was the practice back in the day. Some walls were also reconstructed in a more modern style when the original excavation was conduced in 1957.  However these constructions were minor and the main sections were still very much intact.  When we got down into the thick of the site the size of the slabs and stones really impressed us.

A very extensive "teaching" garden

Some walls are original and some were "rebuilt" in the 1957 style

It is a large area covered by a huge industrial style cover

The big slabs are all "in situ" 

The rounded areas reminded me of the circular houses in Ireland

A small scale model of the site made with small stones

The folks in the center for scale

This area is the oldest and since it is at the highest altitude, it has suffered the most damage.

A mock up of the jars found during the excavation

Some climate monitors right in the thick of things 

The holes in the rocks indicated doors or screens

These big slabs are interlocked

The walkways between are so level because gigantic slabs that were used as paving stones

The faint outline of a bison

A pig and piglets

A pit in a ceremonial cremation area

Interconnected

A spiral decoration on a recent carved stone

This huge bowl, reassembled 

There is evidence that these stones curve inward and may have met in the middle as a roof structure

The 1957 top of the gate

Door connections?

Looks like an altar

Here are the original spiral decorations

This design was repeated on the gates to the area

Very fancy 

This rock was solid and then carved out to create a sacred cubby hole

The top of the rock

What might this be?

This remnant of a huge sculpture is already 6 feet tall!  

In the gift shop this figurine must  be similar to the one outside 

The youngest region built 750 years later is the best preserved

Looking back at the site

The spirals from the stones were reused for the design of the gates

A modern cemetery 

A big dome in town

Knockers!

Bonkers for knockers

Rude coffee cups 

Not purchased

Two different clocks again.  The time seemed off

But this one was not a clock, it is a calendar

This actual clock was displaying the correct time

Fantastic wooden doors

Some darker clouds

A very fancy McLaurin car

An Aston Martin

Not so fancy place for a hen party picture

Tight rope walking

Why the clipboard?

More grand buildings

Little pink tails

Cutie!

 It has been 2 years and 297 days since we began our Migration