Malta

We went up to Malta for Easter last year. Easter came too early that year and most places weren't warm enough. But I've had enough of the London's never ending winter so any sunshine is better weather.

Hence, when we went to Malta it was slightly ahead of the beach season. It is most famous for its beaches but the beach crowd hadn't gathered yet and the 40min we spent on a beach was with jackets zipped up to the neck and hoodies protecting the ears from the cold wind. But that meant we saw Malta for Malta.

Hagar Qim and Mnadjra temples - we saw these on our last day though this is the first thing on the list of why to visit Malta. These are the oldest temples in the world, pre-dating the pyramids by about 2500 years. These temples however are not the oldest structures in Malta only dating to about 3500-4000 BC. But certainly the most well-preserved and standing structures. You can see clearly the different chambers, the pinkness of some of these limestone blocks that indicate the use of fire and the magnificent alignment that ensures sun rays flow through and focus on the inner most chamber on spring and autumn equinox as well as the summer and winter solstices. There were various pots and figurines found in these temples. Funnily enough, these well preserved structures are made out of large limestone blocks. They were preserved because they were surrounded by layers of different mud. Once the excavators found them, the limestone began to corrode due to the air and rain. Now they have this huge canopy over it but the sites need a better solution.

Azure Window - this is the second reason people come to Malta (the first being the beaches). It's a beautiful window of rock that has been eroded by the sea. Reminded me a lot of Durdle Door, Jurassic coast. Apart from being extraordinarily beautiful, it has recently become more popular because of Game of Thrones (the show, GoT) for being the location of the barbaric wedding of Khal Drogo to  Daenerys Targaryen. Much of Season 1 was shot in Malta but the shooting of this particular scene apparently altered some of the natural rock formations and the environmental authority was not very happy, causing the shooting to be moved to Croatia instead. Given the boost to economy and tourism I'm sure Croatia is not complaining.

The two of these are on either ends of the country, so naturally on the either ends of the trip. On the first day of our trip, we made our way first by bus to the edge of Malta island, then by ferry across to Gozo island, then by bus again to the other edge of the Gozo island where the Azure Window is. After spending about an hour at the formation, we grabbed that same (hop-on hop-off) bus to Marslaforn which was the beach where we were freezing in the wind. Then we went to The Citadel in Victoria (Gozo) which again inspires a fan of A Song of Ice and Fire (ASOIF) with its narrow roads and high walls. We then went to Ggantija Temple which is yet another temple of similar age but unfortunately it was closed that day (for Easter). 

The next day we went to Valletta which is the capital city and a beautifully walled city that just screams GoT. We took a walking tour (of the city from the historic perspective rathar GoT but you just can't miss it when you are walking in the walkways of the Red Keep. We also crossed the water to the fort (which was also closed!) and to Cospicua In the evening we went to St Julian's for dinner which is a touristy area where all the fancy hotels overlooking the beach are. (We were staying at Sliema)

The day after we went to Mdina, the old capital, probably the tiniest ever walled city which ask explodes with GoT. For example, as you walk into Mdina you remember this is also the entrance of King's Landing and you feel you just walked into the sets. The whole city is so well-preserved that it is nearly like a set. The walls probably get washed every week, they are so sparkling clean, unlike a relic you would usually except. We also walked the road to Rabat, and I can't remember why. I vaguely recollect we wanted to watch the Dwejra cart ruts (Misraħ Għar il-Kbir) which are essentially some sort of tracks carved into the stones during prehistoric times and no one knows why. But we didn't go because they looked some what underwhelming.

The final day, as I already said, we visited the temples. Ghar Dalam caves were closed for viewing that day. Ghar Dalam caves trace the first of human activity that has been preserved dating some 5200 BC. Anyway, we had a brilliant historic visit to a beach country and flew back.