Lockup Anniversary- Spring 2021 Volume 3

Well, if the church isn’t enough of a clue, we’re back in Malta. Baroque churches galore. The next set of photos are from a bus trip we took to get a “feel” for the island’s geography (hint: rocky and dry). We covered a lot of ground, though there’s not a lot of ground here to begin with. We did manage to get to the center of the island to Mosta and the Meridiana vineyard. The bus actually stopped at the site of the old RAF base Quonset huts that served as barracks, offices, etc. This area is now a crafts mall where locals sell traditional Maltese products, and tourist trinkets.

Note the dust on the Land Rover. It rained a little. That’s bad because all the dust from North Africa turns to yellow mud. It’s the Sirocco.

Valetta harbor.

Roman aqueduct in Valetta.

M’dina

RAF base

Meridiana vineyard

The “Chateau” at the vineyard

An old military base that someone did up with the Cleveland mascot. Remember, this is in 2013.

More from day tripping around the island. We walked around Valetta. We found the St. Paul’s church. Legend has it that he was shipwrecked here on his way to Rome and since then has been revered as the patron saint of sailors and fishermen. We found the Valletta branch of the University of Malta, the EU embassy, and a hella lot of churches, all baroque. Looks like the Renaissance had ben overtaken in many of the churches. Gaudy is not enough. Every church tried to outdo the others in interior decorations. You can tell that a lot of money flowed through this place back in the day. What didn’t end up in palaces went into churches to try and buy salvation.

The Maltese Eye. A good luck charm, same as the Turkish Eye beads.

Rae and friends at breakfast.

The moat around Valletta’s fortress.

University of Malta, one of the Valletta buildings.

Rabbit, the most common meat in Malta.

Sheep, ready to cook.

An excellent example of Maltese balconies. They are enclosed for warmth in the winter and to keep out the dust from the dessert.

The harbor for passenger ships. Rae has friends who used to rent an apartment in the walls of the fort over the dock.

Vatican Embassy

We did a short trip to Sicily to see our friends in Sciacca. We did a day trip to Selinunte since Rae hadn’t been there yet. She’d been to Agrigento, twice I think. and then back to Malta. The scenery is real similar, except there’s not Greek temples in Malta because Sicily was Magna Grecia. It was better for colonization because it had water and enough soil for extensive farming, unlike the rocks of Malta.

Sunset view from Verditecnica

Back to Malta for a few days before heading home. We took a bus tour of Valletta, as opposed to the entire island and got more shots of the lay of the land. It’s starkly beautiful. No real high views like in Sicily and a lot “browner”. Most food is imported because of that. This island has depended on trade for its existence since its early history. Rabbits have been the main source of protein, other than fish, for centuries. During the time of the Knights of St. John, the peasants weren’t allowed to eat them, they were reserved for the knights. The falcons of Malta, peregrines, were restricted to nobility because of their use in hunting rabbits. No question about “pet or meat” , bunnies are meat….

The pock marks are from shrapnel and bullets from WW II

The city walls down by the cruise dock. Rae’s friends Mike and Jess lived inside the big walls just ahead of here.

Even some churches were built as fortifications. You do what you had to to keep out the Turks.

Rae and friends in her apartment.

OK sports fans, I’m done for this day, and 2013 trip to Malta, Turkey and Sicily. I’m going to go into the deep files, back to the “oughts” for photos from earlier trips to Italy and Sicily. I’ve got Rome, Pompei, Herculaneum, Agrigento, Erice, Palermo, Monreale, Paestum, Sybari, Tropea, Regio Calabria and Corleone to share. I could do this for weeks, if I had the stamina and the web holds up.

So, as usual,

Ciao for now.