A short history of Valletta (over several thousand years or so)

Today we had a brief lesson in Maltese prehistory when we visited the Hypogeum, one of Malta’s most interesting historic sites. This prehistoric complex was built about 3,600 years ago by the local people. It was in use for about 1,000 years as a burial site for an estimated 7,000 bodies. The complex was built as an underground temple, and expanded chamber by chamber as each room was filled with decomposed bodies. It was cut into the rock using stone and horn implements, an amazing feat, as the walls are quite smooth. The walls and ceiling were painted with geometric patterns in red ochre imported from Italy.  Even today, scholars are unsure of the exact purpose of this underground temple, exactly how it was built, or why, and what caused building of the site to suddenly cease after a thousand years of use.

We couldn’t take pictures in the Hypogeum, as conditions inside are strictly controlled to prevent further damage to the structure. Only 60 people per day are able to visit, in groups of 10 and tickets are quite expensive, but it was an amazing experience to be three levels below street level in a prehistoric temple.

We also visited the nearby Tarxien Temples, built over the same period, and they gave us another insight into this mysterious people. This was an above ground group of temples, built of huge, closely fitted stones and decorated with elaborate spirals. The remains of a “fat lady”, a prehistoric statue of a huge figure is in situ in one of the temple rooms.

 

From there, we jumped several thousand years to explore the streets of Valletta itself. Valletta is a huge walled fortress, once the home of the Knights of St John. The bastion features immense walls, buttresses, and fortifications designed to withstand the attacks of the Arabs from the 1500s.

A typical Valletta street	Straight out of Patrick O’Brien or Hornblower…
Another Valletta street, with the Church of St Paul’s Shipwreck	Inside the Church of St Paul’s Shipwreck. Very atmospheric.
Not too sure about this one – it’s on the building currently used for the Maltese Parliament…!	Hanging out at our apartment

Much of the city is pedestrian only, which makes it so easy to enjoy the lovely old buildings constructed of local honey coloured stone. And the Grand Harbour must truly be one of the great harbours of the world.

The Grand Harbour at dusk. Yes, that is an oil rig in dock on the right.  Our apartment is in the building on the extreme left

Malta was again under siege during World War II, when it was heavily bombed from 1940-1943. Parts of the city are still bomb sites, including the Opera House which was left as a ruin to remind the people of the War.

For Australians, it was interesting to see some familiar names cropping up on many businesses – Micallef, Camillieri and Attard, to name a few.

Been away for just over 5 weeks now, and am still enjoying all the new sights.