Gnien l-Istazzjon, Birkirkara

One of the greatest inventions ever to come about during the Industrial revolution was the steam engine. The first commercial steam engine appeared in 1698. Here, in Malta, this great invention took a long time to reach our shores. In fact almost two centuries passed since the introduction of the first trains. The Malta Railway was officially inaugurated on February 1883 and lasted for a period of around fifty years.

The train was lovingly known by the Maltese, as 'Il-Vapur tal-Art', meaning the land steamer. The dark green carriages were constructed out of wood and framed in steel chassis. There were only first and third class carriages. Prior to the introduction of electricity, carriages were simply illuminated by candles. After 1900 the carriages were lit up by electricity.

Trains were expensive to run and the introduction of trams and buses adversely affected the Malta Railway. Buses soon became popular. After almost 50 years the train performed its last service on the 31st of March 1931 . Unfortunately, from a total of 10 engines and about 34 passenger carriages, nothing is left to remind us of the existence of a railway system except for one surviving carriage which can be found in Gnien L-Istazzjon in Birkirkara.

The carriage that is in the garden is very dark, with no windows at all. I wonder why they were constructed in this way. Was it because they were third class carriages or for safety measures?

The Railway station at Birkirkara, is one of the most well preserved buildings in Malta. For a number of years, the station was used as office for the Local Council. Now it is presently being used as a childcare centre. The building is surrounded by pleasant gardens.

Marsaxlokk Sunday Market

Yesterday morning I went to the Marsaxlokk's famous open market along the quay. Crochet tablecloths, souvenirs, fruit, vegetables, clothes, shoes and traditional items... almost everything can be found on the stalls. The traditional fish market takes place every Sunday and fish of all shapes, colors and sizes are a proof that Marsaxlokk deserves to be named Malta's most famous fishing village. Couldn't help taking pictures of all the bright and colourful items on display. Many of the photos speak for themselves.

Tablecloths


Fresh vegetables

People from all walks of life

The caper seller

Fresh fish

Lots of colourful aprons

Two old women chatting

Cheap shoes by the dozen

Haggling for the cheapest prices

Hair accessories

Freshly baked bread

Colourful fruit

So many watermelons

Legumes and beans

Turtle Release - 30th June

Last Tuesday I was invited to watch eleven turtles being released at Golden Bay. It was a lovely experience to see such large turtles being set free again. Nature Trust (Malta) in collaboration with the San Lucjan Fisheries centre organised the Turtle Release event together with Eko skola. There were various schools who attended this event. The turtles had been saved and now were being released back into the wild after their long rehabilitation period at the San Lucjan Aquaculture Centre. These were injured turtles that had been brought ashore in the past months by members of the public, fishermen, NGos such as Birdlife and BICREF and or the Wildlife Rescue Team of Nature Trust (Malta). These turtles were taken care of at the San Lucjan Rehabilitation Centre in Marsaxlokk. Volunteers of Nature Trust went each week to San Lucjan to help clean, medicate and care for these turtles till they were fit again to be released.

The turtles were brought in plastic basins and were covered with wet towels to protect them from dehydration. You can see the silhouette of one turtle in the blue basin.


The first turtle is released! Everyone awaits its arrival with trepidation.

Some kids try to pat its back before it goes back to the beckoning sea.

Last couple of steps and off to swim!

Paparazzi follow baby turtle's path.

Ready...... Steady.....Go!

I hope they are left free to catch those dreaded jellyfish and eat them to their hearts' content!

The Cricket (Il-Grillu)

I used to think that the sound that emanated from the cicada in the morning was the same as that which the cricket produced at night. It took me a long time to realise that these two insects were completely different from each other. The diurnal insect is the one which we call il-werzieq in Maltese (cicada), whereas the nocturnal one is called il-grillu (cricket).

In the past the latter insect was very popular with the Maltese children. They used to capture this poor insect and put it inside jars so that they would hear it strumming its legs to produce its chirping sound at night inside the children’s homes. Most often they used to capture more than one and then they used to spend their time selecting which one of the crickets made the loudest sound.

Since this insect seeks warm temperatures and humid places we often hear it singing during summer nights. During the day the cricket seeks shelter under the foliage. The cricket's sound can be heard from afar but it’s not that easy to detect its place of concealment. It has a knack of hiding itself well. Moreover, as soon as the cricket detects sound it stops immediately making it all the more difficult to discover where its hiding place could be.

Sadly enough, certain human activities, coupled with the high population density, are threatening this insect. These threats which have significantly reduced the extent of many insects’ and animals’ habitats are mainly related to Malta’s relatively large built-up land area. Whereas before we used to hear a whole cacophony of crickets at night now you might hear one every so often.

The Old Red Telephone Booth

Our island, due to its strategic importance has been conquered by a sequence of powers including the Phoenicians, Romans, Fatimids, Sicilians, Knights of St John, French and British.

It was in 1800, that Malta voluntarily became part of the British Empire. The British took over Malta, and transformed the island into a Naval base. It wasn't until 1964, after 100 years of British rule, that the islands were granted independence and eventually became a Republic in 1974. It's been 35 years now since the Britons left our country but so many things around us still bear traces of their influence on our country. The famous red telephone booths which can be spotted in certain old streets in Malta are one such example .


The red telephone box was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. It's not only a familiar sight on the streets of the United Kingdom and Malta, but also in Bermuda and Gibraltar - the latter two being also ex-British colonies. Sir Scott originally suggested mild steel colour for the kiosks but the British Post Office chose the colour red to make them easy to spot. Some of these phone booths in use today have been converted to internet kiosks.

Snails in summer

As I was driving along the countryside in the limits of Zejtun I came across these weird masses of white shelled snails on top of stones and poles. These creatures are really weird. With the onset of summer they enter a period of inactivity known as estivation. They find the highest possible places so as to avoid damage from high temperatures of summer. Doesn't the heat of the sun bother them when they are under its cruel mercy? They're lucky that they've got white coloured shells but I still cannot understand how they survive the intense heat of our Maltese summers! Instead of finding places in the shade they suction themselves to the walls, dry branches or poles and retreat into their shells. Thus protected, they wait until the weather becomes more suitable.

The Valletta Waterfront

In the 18th century Grandmaster Pinto built these baroque style warehouses in the Grand Harbour, a natural deep water port, which for many thousand of years was the centre of Malta’s maritime activity. There are 19 warehouses in all and these stretch along the water's edge and the historical Quay Wall where the Knights of St John and European merchants used to unload their wares.

The Valletta Waterfront has been brought back to life with the restoration works carried out by the private consortium VISET Malta. The Valletta Waterfront is also the gateway to Malta’s capital city, Valletta – a city built by gentlemen for gentlemen. In fact, as one of the most successful Mediterranean ports, the Port of Valletta welcomes more than half-a-million cruise passengers a year.

The Waterfront is currently being used as a popular venue with a concentration of upmarket bars, retail outlets and restaurants. International names such as Hard Rock Cafe operate in the area. Whether you are looking for a dining experience, shopping, a memorable event, or simply a stroll along the promenade, the Valletta Waterfront has something for all your senses.

Il-Majjistral Park Walk

This is the best time to go out for a walk in the countryside. We went to the Majjistral Park Guided Nature Walk when it was still free and I can say it was a really lovely experience! It's a walk that offers you an opportunity to learn more about Malta's flora and enjoy the spectacular countryside. The walk is six kilometres long and takes approximately two-and-half hours, while the terrain consists mostly of rocky paths along the cliffs, and dirt tracks.



The site is rich of biodiversity and history giving you an experience of natural beauty, a walk in history and a sense of wilderness that is hard to imagine and experience in Malta – an island densely populated and under the pressure of development and progress. The highlights of the area included amongst others: beautiful views on the northwest coast, wild rugged landscapes along the boulder scree below the plateaus, a large number of traditional corbelled stone huts (giren) and a rich garigue bursting with flowers.

The park extends from ir-Ramla tal-Mixquqa (Golden Bay) to Il-Prajjet (Anchor Bay) and the walks are led by a qualified and experienced guide. The site was first earmarked as an area to host a Golf course with an aim to attract a niche of golf tourism to our Island. In the process the authorities changed their decision and declared the site a national park aimed for public enjoyment and with a focus to attract niche tourism – this time ecotourism. The NGos that had lobbied to convince the Authorities to change their position on Golf ended up being assigned the management of the Park. Today Din L-Art Helwa, Nature Trust (Malta) and Gaia Foundation are working hard withthe local authorities to conserve the area.

Here are some more highlights of our nature walk :

The cart ruts

The Cave Dwellings

A lost cameleon

A rare view of sheep grazing in the fields

The place which marked the end of our Nature walk.

For more details go to http://www.majjistral.org/.

Malta in the old days

This week a friend of mine forwarded me some beautiful photos of Malta in the past. Were it not for these photos our generation and future ones would not be able to appreciate how Malta was before we started demolishing the lovely buildings and replacing them with high ones...

The photo below depicts the tram passing through Fleur de Lys in 1912.

In the second photo the tram is seen passing through Portes de Bombes in Floriana. I never knew that the fortresses were attached to Portes de Bombes..




In the third photo one can see the train passing through the tunnels underneath the main entrance of Valletta. The train station was situated there. This photo dates back to c 1890.





An old bus..


The Alhambra theatre in Sliema which now houses the Zara complex. Been going through that shop so many times and never realised it was that old!

The Sliema coast.

In the photo below the famous chalet can be clearly seen built on a reef projecting out from the shoreline. The structure was completed in 1926 to the design of the British architect B.W. Cordwell. The two tier reinforced concrete structure was interpreted in the contemporary Neo-Liberty/Art Deco architectural style. The chalet at Ghar id-Dud was a popular rendezvous as an open air café and dance floor until the early 1960’s when it was closed down due to severe deterioration which rendered the structure unsound. Ever since its closure the platform structure support on concrete columns has suffered even further deterioration due to its highly vulnerable location exposed as it is to the elements. Today it is a derelict remnant of a by-gone age and is an aesthetic eyesore. Years have passed and yet we still use the famous Maltese expression "Mela hsibtek qieghed ix-Chalet?" which translates to : "Do you think you are at the Chalet?" We refer this question at someone who's lying somewhere very relaxed.

Tower Road in Sliema. What a difference from the present Road!