The Luzzu

(Luzzu moored at Marsaxlokk)

Around 1000BC the Phoenicians decided to colonize Malta, bringing their Semitic language and culture, and becoming the direct male-line ancestors of about a half of the modern Maltese population. They used the islands as an outpost from which they expanded sea explorations and trade in the Mediterranean. They bequethed us the designs of their lovely coloured boats. Our Luzzu (pronounced loot-su in Maltese) like the Maltese cross is one of the symbols associated with Malta. The luzzu, painted in the traditional colours of red, blue and yellow, is a sturdy and reliable sea craft and can be put to sea in almost every kind of weather. Primarily, the luzzu is a fishing boat but it has other uses such as ferrying locals and tourists across the Grand Harbour.

(Luzzu on its way out at sea - taken at sunset)

When the sea is dead calm and it’s a clear and beautiful summer day, you may get the opportunity to catch a solitary luzzu out at sea – a soothing and breathtakingly beautiful sight that will make a perfect postcard moment. You can also catch a glimpse of these unique Maltese boats at Wied iz-Zurrieq, Marsascala, St Paul’s Bay and at many other seaside villages. They are indeed one of the main attractions in Marsaxlokk, which is Malta’s largest fishing village.

(One of the many luzzus berthed at Marsascala -taken at dawn)

This Maltese boat is a highly sturdy sea craft and is very much preferred by the local fishermen to other modern sea crafts. In the old days, it was much smaller and had sails. Nowadays, these boats are much larger and are powered by a diesel engine.

The colours of the boat are rarely ever changed, mainly out of superstition. So a fisherman will continue painting his boat in the same colours that his father and grandfather had used before him. Superstition plays an important role with these boats. All Maltese boats have the Eye of Osiris painted on them. The eye is believed to protect the fishermen from any harm when they’re at sea. On either side of the prow will be the carved and painted eye of Osiris: the Phoenicians' god of protection against evil: an example of ancient myth in modern times. The Maltese people are very superstitious and the eye is there to ward off the devil and to give protection to the small fishing boats.

The Past and the Present

Mellieha

Here are 3 sets of photos, the past and the present. In the first one, one can see the Mellieha Parish church in the background. Now that I placed mine right under it I realised that I took the wrong angle of the church but it's definitely the same church.

The area beneath the church seems more or less the same.

Pretty Bay

I'm not sure which area of Pretty Bay this was but last summer I took one just for comparison.

Marsascala

I think this old photo, which was taken in 1885, was shot on the hill where the present church stands. I tried to take the same angle but couldn't since the church building is in the way. The last house on the right in the old photo can still be seen in my photo - it's the house behind the red kiosk.

Oh! For a little bit of freedom

This is a photo I took of my parents' pet cat called Rusty. He is such an adorable cat. My sister heard his sad mewing outside when he was still a blind kitten, the size of a hamster, and when mum took him under her wing we fell head over heels in love with him. We took turns to feed him a small toy bottle full of milk and nursed him back to health until he grew into this lovely big cat that you see in this photo. He's got everything he can wish for, except, the liberty to roam the streets outside. Sometimes I feel sorry for him when he sits on the polysterene box which mum set up for him next to the main door so that he could at least smell the interesting air outside.

Whenever he tried to escape he always ended up scared to death under a stationary car, hissing like a crazy cat. So, no, he's not allowed outside. Once, I decided to take him out in our porch holding him like a baby but it happened to be a rainy day and as soon as a car whizzed by, the splashing sound of rain water scared Rusty and he regalled me with a deep scratch on my shoulder and back for he jumped down and went back inside. So much for kindness! At other times I allowed him to come up on the roof while I hung the clothes on the line but whenever our neighbour's pigeons happened to attract his attention he liked to make a disappearing act and God knows how many walls I had to jump to retrieve him back.

Now his latest fad is to watch the garden because some stray cats have found a way up the garden walls of our neighbours and they are enjoying their daily stroll on the garden walls. Poor Rusty is not enjoying himself much seeing other cats invading his territory and sometimes even sleeping in my parents' garden. It's as if they enjoy teasing our poor cat whose sole existence is destined to be inside.

103 Famous persons in one picture

Today I received this e-mail challenging me to see how many names of famous persons I could manage to remember from the picture above. This was clearly a case of 'Art meets Knowledge.' It's one of those things that makes you stop and admire the endless creativity of people in all walks of life. Someone on the Web combined the image with links to the Wikipedia entries for each person he can identify. In only a glance you get the concept and think, "Imagine the conversations at that house party."

This e-mail stated that if you know 25 persons then you're really well educated. I really got into this game and drew a list of 35 persons. But I was grossly disappointed not to find the answers written beneath in the same e-mail. So I started my research until I got to some interesting information about this picture. In 2006, Chinese painters Dai Dudu, Li Tiezi, and Zhang An created an oil on canvas work incorporating many of history's most interesting and influential people entitled 'Discussing the Divine Comedy with Dante.' The last three additional faces belong to the artists themselves. According to Dai at the time, they wanted to represent world history within a single painting. They wanted to showcase the world’s story, and let viewers feel as if they were flipping the pages of a history book.

You can see the entire painting here, nicely tagged with tooltips (if you hover over a face) and with links to the appropriate wiki page (if you click on the face). When you visit the site, be sure to scroll your browser window all the way to the right, as the painting is quite wide. (P.S Don't forget to hover on the animals too - some of them have got a name too!). Enjoy!

Crazy Maltese House names 2

As I drive along the streets I often come across absurd house names. I see so many of these that I just couldn't help writing a second post about them. Some are plain ridiculous while others make you scratch your head in bafflement. Take these names below for example..

"Don't worry!" Who said I was worried?


Excuse me??!! Could it be a slang version of the Maltese word for 'fart'?? Please note their correction of house number. Oh my!

AAh! Did the owner win this house?

Do they have a pink kitchen? Pink bathroom, pink toiletpaper? Do they like strawberry ice-cream? Do they have pink cars? Do they chew pink bubble-gum only? Do they watch pink panther only? Do they love singer Pink only? The questions never cease...

Cookies anyone?

Apart from the horrendous spelling of the actual phrase 'Jaghli ghax jisbah' it's actually an idiom often referred to lazy people who get frustrated each time the sun rises cos that means another day of work. Can you imagine someone calling his house so? I just can't imagine why he took the painstaking effort to hang this large name plate on his house. Too much thought exerted in choosing this name, and too much hassle to nail this large plate on the wall.

Dwejra

The Azure Window

Last weekend, Friday being a holiday, my husband and I decided to join our friends for a weekend break in a farmhouse on our sister island of Gozo. We were very lucky to have such beautiful weather and my husband and another guy even had a dip in the pool. On Saturday afternoon I left my female friends tending to their babes, while our hubbies played poker beside the pool and went for a drive without any particular direction in mind. I kept driving until I reached one of the most emblematic nature reserves in the Maltese islands: Dwejra. Sun was setting soon so I took out my new camera to snap away at the beautiful views in front of me.

It was a a gentle wind that blew around me. I stood fascinated looking at this beautiful sight in front of me which has been witness to so many eons of time; where rocks, sea and sky have played together in all their majesty for longer than any of us can hope to remember. On one side there was Fungus rock which seemed suspended in a perennial timelessness of its own, a silent sentinel to the surrounding area. This islet, which rises about 60 metres above the lapping waves, has been nicknamed "Il-Gebla tal-General and "Il-Hagra tal-General" all alluding to the once presumed fungus growing on this islet. Actually, in real fact it was found to be a plant which was highly valued at the time of the Knights of St John. They discovered a number of thereapeutic powers in this plant. They found it had the ability to cure typhoid, dysentery, venereal disease, hypertension and haemorrhage. A sort of primitive baskets and pulley system was connected from the cliffs of Dwejra to this islet and the place was guarded day and night. Grandmaster Pinto ordered that trespassers found on the islet would be forced to row in the Order's galleys.

A short distance away of Fungus Rock there's the iconic Azure Window, known as iz-Zerqa in Maltese. Unfortunately, this majestic natural arch is in imminent danger of collapsing. The name Dwejra which means "little house", with its curious rock formations and spilling seas, is a magical attraction offering opportunities for swimming in the spectacular deep-sea or in the Inland Sea and the unique experience of diving in the so called "Blue-Hole" near the Azure Window.

Kusksu

Since broad beans are in season I thought of posting the recipe of this lovely and easy soup. This Maltese dish is sometimes confused with the North African couscous since the pasta resembles the very coarse couscous.

Ingredients (for 2 persons)



1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp tomato puree
300g fresh broad beans
50g kusksu pasta (available from all supermarkets)
700 ml of water
salt and pepper
3 tbsp olive oil


(Optional)
1 egg
some ricotta
2 gbejniet (Maltese cheeselets)

Fry the onion and garlic in the oil, add the tomato paste and fry a few minutes longer, then add the broad beans. These should be podded and if preferred the individual skins of the beans could also be removed. Once the onions achieve that golden colour add the water to cover and cook gently for about half an hour until the onion is cooked and the beans not quite tender. Add the kusksu and continue cooking for a further 10 minutes. Stir frequently as kusksku pasta tends to stick to the pan. Cover and turn off the heat and leaver for about 10 minuts. To make a complete meal out of this soup add an egg, fresh gbejniet (Maltese cheeselets) and even some rikotta.

Kusksu can be made with frozen beans but the final result won't be as good as the one made from fresh veggies.

Some Maltese Door Knockers

Yesterday at one of my training courses (which by the way had nothing to do with door knockers) I learnt that in the past people did not knock on doors but they used to scratch at them. I had never heard of such a thing!! I wonder how they heard anyone scratching if they were upstairs!

Anyway I thought of sharing some information about some of our old and beautiful door knockers. In Maltese they are known as il-“Habbata”. Long after the method of scratching was scrapped the 'Habbata' entered in the picture many years ago as a matter of necessity. Somehow it has survived the mechanical and electric doorbell and has become part of our street embellishment. These door knockers used to reflect the personality and taste of the house owner. They were available in numerous motifs, shapes and sizes.

Some of our old buildings throughout the Maltese Islands can boast of some exceptionally fine examples which can ultimately be described as truly works of art. Perhaps the most traditional motif in the Islands is that in the shape of a dolphin. These are still manufactured in significant quantities and much in demand albeit very costly.

The above photos with the exception of the ninth one ( taken at Valletta) were taken during one of my walks at Zabbar and Birgu.