The Maltese Bus Stop

one thing that is hard to comprehend in Malta is the bus stop. Most of them are along the narrow road, some just by the cliff. This small sight in familiar blue color denotes a bus stop without a shelter and in most places and without any information on the bus number and its route or destination. Imagine standing there and waiting for the bus under the temperature that soars as high as 40C in the summer and the wind that blows as hard as it can be in the winter. The bus service is still very rare and irregular in this country and thus one really needs the strong determination to use the public transport especially in those extreme weather conditions.

Hello Kinnie

This is the one and only Maltese soft drink. The color looks like Cola or root beer; it has a relatively strong and unique herby taste. A slice of orange to it will make Kinnie even more refreshing and distinct. Just a taste of it I already fall in love with Kinnie. Unfortunately Kinnie is not easily obtainable outside Malta. So I am going to miss Kinnie...

Moving Fibre

One thing I started to realize at the end of day 2 is that fresh fruits and vegetables are limited in Malta. They are not available in mini stores or reasonable size supermarkets but selling through the van or in the market. The fruits and vegetables that I found in the so called mini markets are usually rotten and dried up as if they have been on display for ages. Thanked God that we are not vegetarians, otherwise we will have a hard time in finding the fresh produce.

Gozo Highlights

29-10-2007

Today we joined a day tour to another sister island of Malta called Gozo.

Gozo Channel

We took a ferry from Cirkerwwa to Gozo’s Mgarr. The journey from Qawra to Cirkerwwa itself is very panoramic and pass by Buggiba, St. Paul’s bay, Xemija, Mellieha and the last strip is vertically up hill and down hill before reaching Cirkerwwa.

Ggantija Temples – located on the crest of the hill south of Xaghr, this is a really Gigantic megalithic temples dated between 3600 – 3000 BC. Historians have no clue why this is built and how those stones were carried up to the hill and by whom, as the largest stone weight around 57 tone.

Xlendi Bay – This is a picturesque fishing village surround by sheer cliffs. The highlight of the Gozo trip is a punch at Xlendi Bay. The water is so clam that there isn’t any wave at all. Although Xlendi bay is generally pebble but the patch that close by Stone Crab restaurant and the cliff is bedded with smooth sands and shallow. The temperature is perfect and in fact I can feel the warm current come by me as I swim.

Dwejra - The two highlights of this area is the Azure Window and the Inland Sea.

Azure Window – a huge natural arch in the sea cliffs. In the rocks in front of it is another geological freak called the Blue Hole a about 10m in diameter and 25m deep that connect the open sea through an underwater arch. Again I am impressed by my Creator of Heaven and Earth of such a beautiful master piece.

Inland Sea – situated within 3 min from Azure Window is a cliff-bound lagoon connected to open sea by a tunnel that runs from 100 m through the headland of Dwejra point. The lagoon is largely made of pebbles and I took another quick punch in this shallow end. There were plenty colorful fishing boats offering the ride to the inlet of the cliff. Other famous activities are diving and rock/cliff climbing.

Ta’Pinu Church – Also situated in Gharb, the Basillica of Ta’Pinu which is now Malta’s national shrine to the Virgin Mary. Malta is still largely a catholic country and that is reflected in the architecture or display at most house we see in Malta.

The church is built in Romanesque style with pale golden stone, this is a relatively new building compared to the ancient history of Malta .

The Citadel at Victoria – the capital of Gozo with a superb view of the island from the ramparts. After the steep walk up to the Citadel, we decided not to go in to the church but spend rest of the time at the fortress platform observing the different views of Gozo.

The Apples Eye Bay

28-10-2007
The fertile Pwales valley stretches from the head of St Paul’s bay to Ghajn Tuffieha (mean the spring of the apple) on the west coast. It is located deep down from the car park beside the derelict old Riviera hotel, sliding down hill to the sea. The 250m strips of red brown sand, backed by slopes covered in acacia and tamarisk tree.

This is quite an impressive view, the height and the steep cliff reminded me of my Creator who is every enriching and never boring in His creation be it the sea, the sands, the hills. I could feel His greatness when standing on the hilltop enjoying the view of the sandy beach.

Domus Romana

Domus Romana is located at Rabat, which is another town but it is only 230 meters away from Mdina (imagine how small Malta is). Domus Romana is an excavated site of a large Roman townhouse from the 1^st century BC. The mosaic floor has a geometric boarder around an image of two birds perched on a water bowl, known as ‘Drinking Doves of Sosos’. This site is very small and ordinary compared to those in Italy, but because this is found in Malta and thus a common Roman townhouse as such shines…

Mosta Dome

28-10-2007

Mosta is located at the level plateau atop the Victoria Line escarpment. There is a renowned parish church in the town square of Mosta, claiming to be the third largest church dome in the world, after St. Peter's in the Vatican and St. Paul's in London. The Parish Church is called Santa Maria or rather more commonly known as Mosta Dome. The church’s circular design is closely based on the Pantheon in Rome.