Malta October 2002

Purpose of visit:- To visit friends brother in Sliema and explore and find some of the caves shown on maps and mentioned in books.

Here is  a pictorial tour of where we went, the places should be marked on a tourist map of Malta and Gozo:

On the Rabat - Dingli uplands are the Caves and Cart Ruts.

 

These are the ancient cart ruts eroded by sledges in the limestone pavement at Clapham Junction.

There are caves at the cart rut site that used to be inhabited.

Information about the caves and cart ruts is in the book 'Caves and Cart Ruts, .....off the beaten track in Malta', by Mary Sant, a lady who lives at the site, and Paul Wakely.

Inside the caves there were walls dividing the chambers and loops carved in the rock to tie the animals.

After we drove past the quarry area near the airport.

We visited one of the many quarries cutting the stone into blocks.

Visit to Ghar Hasan, Hasans Cave.

The path on the beautiful coastline to Hasans Cave, which is situated on the precipitous cliff face some 60-100 meters above sea level.

The entrance going in at right angles to the cliff.

The passage ways branch to the left an right of the entrance passage.

Considering most of Malta is ruined and they shoot most of the birds, it is amazing that a gate has been put on one passage to protect the bats, or is it just the prehistoric hand paintings!

The left and right passageways run parallel to the cliff and the right has a couple more entrances on the cliff edge, where the story tells us that the saracen Hasan is supposed to have hidden himself after the expulsion of his countrymen from Malta in 1120.

A number of these stooping sized passages led off at slight angles to the next.

Visit to the Blue Grotto.

Near to the Blue Grotto were the Megalithic Temples of Hagar Quim.

This is the nearest we got to the Blue Grotto, as a storm was whipping up and the boats were not running.  Instead we eat snails in a local restaurant!

GOZO:  We has a day trip to Gozo.

This the house where the show cave, Xerris Grotto was found when the owner was digging for a well.

Close to the house in the back yard a stone spiral staircase winds down to the grotto.

A path goes round in a circle in the small grotto.

The grotto was very well decorated.

I have not been too in depth about the holiday at the moment because I feel as if I'll never get the web site finished!!!!!