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The Group
Temples
Spirals
Big-Legged Women
Mary
Sea
Birds
Flora
Cityscapes
Food
Knights
Limestone
Catacombs
Objets
Shopping
You Had To Be There
The neolithic temples of Malta were the main focus of our journey. Built by an advanced civilization that began thousands of years before Egypt and Stonehenge, they are the oldest freestanding stone structures in the world. Seen from the air, the shape of many of the temples resembles the amply proportioned figurines found in them. This and other evidence strongly suggests worship of a great goddess. (As they left no written record and most sites were looted and trashed before serious archaelogy could be done, the beliefs and customs of these people can ony be surmised.)
We enjoyed many interesting lectures, including one by an amateur astronomer who has calculated the solar orientation of Mnajdra temple, and found that the entire temple served as an elaborate calendar. We were lucky to be there for sunrise on the vernal equinox, when the first rays of the sun come through the main entryway to strike the top of the central altar stone.
Upon her return home, Margie found the fantastic site The Megalithic Temples of Malta. Enjoy!
Moonset before sunrise at Mnajdra Mnajdra, after sunrise The Hypogeum and the temples are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. As we waited for our flights home,
The science of Mnajdra Solar Temple
(on Megalithic Temples of Malta)
Flowers at Xaghra stone circle
An elaborate series of underground chambers used for burial and other rituals that are yet a mystery (possibly originally for ritual and in later centuries for burial) , the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum was the highlight of our trip for many of us. The "sleeping lady" was found here. Shirley and Susan were so excited we could hardly stand it.
we were delighted to find that the Mnajdra temple sunrise had made the front page.
The Group
Temples
Spirals
Big-Legged Women
Mary
Sea
Birds
Flora
Cityscapes
Food
Knights
Limestone
Catacombs
Objets
Shopping
You Had To Be There
