Lockup Anniversary- Spring 2021 — Musings From the Road

I’m turning on the laptop and checking in with the world since December of last year. Been in the house, basically like everyone, for a year now. Of course, we did get to spend the first third of it in Sicily. The kicker is that we haven’t been anywhere to capture new photos, so I’m going to curse you with old ones.

I’m going into the files of a trip we took in 2013. Rae was graduating from a combined San Diego State University/University of Malta Masters program so we took the opportunity to travel to Malta with side trips to Istanbul and Sicily over 3-3.5 weeks. We spent 4 days in Istanbul, during the riots at Taskim Square, and 5 days in Sicily with friends.

I think I’ll start with a chronological order to my photos. I’ll begin with the Malta photos, move to the Istanbul and finish with the Sicily ones. I’m planning on doing a couple posts to cover this trip we took and then look through my earlier trips to Italy and Sicily when we went to Rome, Calabria, Palermo, Agrigento and the Valley of the Temples, Selinunte and Corleone.

I may not be able to adequately identify all the places and sites since it’s been 8 years, and more, since we did the trips but the photos will speak for themselves, I hope.

My Malta photos start with a trip to Mosta. The cathedral in Mosta was hit by a German 500 lb bomb while the church was full of people sheltering from a bombing raid. (The Germans destroyed 95% of the islands’ buildings during the 2nd World War, trying to drive the British out of this strategic series of islands. British aircraft from the island’s base harassed the Luftwaffe and German armies in North Africa.) When the bomb hit the dome of the church it pierced the dome and fell into the body of the church but did not detonate. This is celebrated as a miracle in Malta, which is 95% Catholic. The church’s dome is a series of stacked stones in concentric circles building to the final height, an unusual type of construction, yet one that may have allowed the bomb to fall through without collapsing the entire dome.

The capital of Malta is Valletta, a heavily fortified city with multiple forts guarding the many natural harbors. From the city’s main fortifications you can see 6-7 other fortifications. All the walls are pockmarked with damage from WW II, but the thick stone walls withheld. Most walls are several feet thick, remnants from the days of fighting the Turks, built and maintained by the Knights of St. John, an order of Jesuit knights, warrior priests, defending the island against the “infidels”. In 1091 the Arab rulers were driven out by Roger I, a result of the defeat of the Arabs in Sicily.

One one of our first nights we were invited to a dinner party by one of Rae’s classmates who had been the Maltese ambassador to the US. He had opened one of the first true wineries on the island and we were headed out there for a big dinner. It was excellent. Later in the trip we were able to have dinner with him and his wife in Valletta. Nice couple. When we get back we would like to reconnect with her friends there. We hope to do it during one of our extended Sicilian retreats. We’ll drive to Pozzallo and walk-on for the ferry to Malta. Take cabs or busses when there. The busses used to be good, but the public line was shut down. The busses were HUGE. They were originally bought by London but were too big for the city’s streets so they “gave” then to Malta on the cheap. Now, Malta’s roads are no bigger, in fact, the majority of city streets are smaller. The Brits screwed them again.

The method of stacking the blocks to create the dome is evident in this photo

The towers have clocks that provide the date and the time.

A good idea of what most of Malta looks like.

These next 3 shots are the view from our hotel room in the Silema neighborhood

One of Rachel’s “classmates” owned a vineyard, one of only two at the time that grew real wine grapes.

He was ex-ambassador from Malta to the UK, US and Bermuda and his family owned the largest and maybe only brewery on Malta. The beer was definitely local.

The vineyard, Meridiana, was on the old RAF airbase and used the huge underground reservoir of the closed base for its irrigation.

We had a tour of the winery before heading to the terrace for dinner.

He hosted about 30 people. Rae’s classmates, some professors and students from other international programs for a typical Maltese dinner with great wines from the vineyard.

M’dina from the terrace. (Telephoto}

M’dina after sunset with the cathedral illuminated.

There are several large Arab constructed walled cities preserved. M’Dina (Medina) is probably the best one and is a wonderful World Heritage site. The city’s walls are all intact. The streets are all curved, a defensive strategy, and there are few first floor windows, again a defensive design. The few windows that do exist are small, narrow and placed high in the wall where someone on the street could not attack anyone inside. Access for vehicles is restricted to residents and there are no busses or trolleys.

You enter M’dina via a bridge over a dry moat

The moat. It’s dry because there’s not a lot of water on this rock.

Graves in churches. You know you’re in old churches.

The Mederania vineyard from M’dina

The streets are curved as a defensive design

Mosta from M’dina

Narrow streets, barely wide enough for a carriage.

Note the Bacchus restaurant sign,

The front door to Bacchus

Bacchus door knocker

The beauty of an unadorned church.

We stayed in the Siliema neighborhood but spent lots of time in the capital city of Valletta, The city is constructed around one of the best harbors in the world. There are many docks, due to the large number of inlets and bays, and every point has a fortress, making the importance of this island evident. The German air war has left it’s mark on the forts. You see pockmarked walls everywhere. It’s surprising to see the huge walls still standing since most of the island’s buildings were destroyed in the war.

The St. John’s Co-Cathedral, a 16th. Century baroque structure is almost overwhelming. There are multiple naves, each one “sponsored” by a “Langue” or company of knights from a particular European country who signed up with the Knights of St. John to defend the island against the Turks. Each country tried to outdo the others in the baroque embellishments of it’s own nave.

Another moat. This one defines Valetta on the landward side.

View of the harbor entrance from the Barrakka Gardens and battery.

Fort St. Angelo

Fort Ricasoli and the eastern breakwater.

Interior photos of St. John Co-Cathedral

St. John’s

The cathedral has clocks for time, date and day.

This gives you an idea of how massive the fortifications were. We were headed for a restaurant in the walls by the city’s main gate.

A view over the walls. You get a little idea of the thickness.

A crenellation overlooking the moat and entry bridge to the city. A cannon would have protected the gate from this aim point.

The restaurant we had lunch at is built into the wall of the fortress. This part was an armory or stable and gives you a real good idea of the wall’s thickness.

A beautiful place to eat.

In Malta there is a tradition of celebrating events, like graduations, with big parties. Usually “caravans”, renting a semi truck and flatbed trailer. Putting sidewalls on it, a bar and DJ with a sound system that can be heard for blocks. The celebrants get on board and dance and party all around the island for the entire day.

Rachel’s cohort decided on something different. They pooled their money and rented an 85’ catamaran for a day on the water, sailing around the country, literally. The boat was qualified for 85 people and we had about 25. It had a full kitchen and a crew of 5. We were supposed to sail from Siliema, but the winds on the south side of the island made it impossible to board at the harbor. In fact, the skipper had fallen off the gangway before we got there, and ruined his cell phone for the second time in two weeks. A quick re-plan was in order. He suggested we go to the north side of the island and board at a small harbor up there. We quickly found some vans that could carry us and off we went. The boat sailed around the island and picked us up. It was a wonderful day. Sunny and warm. We even had a chance to go swimming in a cove off of Gozo.

Boarding the vans

Waiting for the boat at the north harbor

Our ride arrives

A full kitchen

We brought music on iPods and partied all day

The landmark Azure Window. This landform fell down a few years ago. A great loss.

The ride back.

The opening photo is a shot from a side trip we took to Istanbul. We spent about 4 days, enjoying the sights and food. We stayed in the Fatah neighborhood near the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia. We would go to the Blue Mosque at night, when the crowds were smaller and the temperature cooler. The Sultan Ahmet Park, between the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, sits atop a huge underground reservoir and is full of people in the evening enjoying the night air. You can tour the cistern and you should do so if you get the chance. You can see how the city was able to withstand sieges for centuries. There are other cisterns under the city, including the Hagia and the Topkapi Palace. We took transit to the New Mosque and the Spice Market, where you find literally every spice imaginable in big open baskets. The Hagia Sophia was converted to a museum years ago and had been undergoing renovation, exposing the mosaics from the original Orthodox church. Last year the president of Turkey, wishing to cement his “Islamic” position, declared that the structure was to be turned back into a mosque. This means the many icons and mosaics could be recovered in plaster and paint after much work to expose the original works.

Entrance to the Hagia Sophia

This is a huge space. Even the scaffolding doesn’t impose too much.

This wall separated the public from the holiest places.

Here the plaster and paint, placed over the mosaics is being removed. It may be replaced now due to Erdogan’s decree to return it to a mosque.

Large depictions of saints surround the upper walls.

The Blue Mosque from the Hagia Sophia

The Archangel Michael is a figure from Islam so that image was never covered

Still digging through Istanbul photos. We went into the Basilica Cistern, a giant reservoir under the park. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_Cistern). A great place to visit when it’s hot out. Note that the capitals on the columns are from all periods of Greek temple construction, Doric, Ionic and Corinthian. Sorry about focus on some photos taken without a flash. When in Istanbul another spot to visit is the Topkapi Palace, the original palace of the Sultans. Beautifully ornate stonework throughout. There is also an Inman reading the Koran 24/7 in one room of the palace.

The Topkapi is also a history lesson through it’s descriptions of the various palace buildings and rooms’ histories. The Sultans often had any brothers who might contend for the sultanate put to death immediately upon ascension to the throne. One had 40 siblings driven through the city to a field outside the walls where they were murdered. The public outrage resulted in succeeding sultans simply locking them up in solitary confinement until they, or the sultan, died.