July 20 - Marsascala (Day trip to the Ħaġar Qim Temples)

 July 20 - Marsascala (Day trip to the Ħaġar Qim Temples)

A bit of a history lesson today as we bussed ourselves around the southern coastline to the ‘Ħaġar Qim Temples’.  A megalithic temple complex dating from around 3600 BC (earlier than Stonehenge and about 1000 years before the Pyramids!), the name Ħaġar Qim means ‘worshipping stones’, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  It was a great place to visit but it also raised quite a few questions.  “Who were the people who built the temples?”, “Where did they come from?”, “Did they use slaves?”, “Are they the original Maltese?”, these were just some among many.  Unfortunately though, as Heritage Malta don’t employ guides on site, there was nobody around to assist. 

A model (from above) of the temple site

Our next port of call (literally) was just along the coast to the Blue Grotto (Taht il-Hnejja) where we took another boat ride. This grotto, part of a beautiful group of sea caves, features a 30m arch, a deep cavern, a white sandy seabed, and the colour of the water is absolutely stunning.  It’s said that the cave earned its name from a British soldier who likened the cave to the famous Grotta Azzurra on the Isle of Capri, we’ll have to go and compare! 😊



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