Hagar Qim and Mnajdra Temples

If there is only one site you can visit on Malta, this should be it. Although we haven’t been to the Hypogeum yet, this site definitely gets my vote as number one. A little info, Hagar Qim, or “Standing/Worshiping Stones” is a megalithic temple complex found in southern Malta, dating from the Ggantija period (3600-3200 BC).The Megalithic Temples on Malta are among the most ancient religious sites on Earth. The Ħaġar Qim complex consists of a main temple and three additional megalithic structures beside it. Some of the features of this temple support animal sacrifices but no human remains have been found in or around this temple. If you wonder at the marvel of ancient technology and capabilities, this will certainly be the highlight of you visit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were just amazed at how big this structure is and the size of some of the stones making up the outer wall, one stone weighing more than 20 tons! How did these simple people, with no apparent written language, design this structure, get the materials in the right size and order and instruct people on how to put it together?

 

 

How did they move these large stones and raise them into position? One theory on moving these stones is that they used round rocks to roll them into place. Who devised that scheme? How did they know rolling on round rocks was easier? Who made the round rocks? And not that it matters, but how did they handle these massive stones, with ropes? Where did the ropes come from, or did they use vines? Was pre-historic Malta a tropical environment so vines and trees were abundant? Too many questions and not enough good answers. Maybe sometime over a glass of wine we’ll share our thoughts on how this was accomplished and no it wasn’t aliens.

Mnajdra Temples

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both of these sites are within view of each other with Mnajdra being down the hill from Hagar Qim, a bit of a walk actually! The single ticket purchased at the visitor’s center gets you in to both sites as well as the museum and viewing of a short movie on the history of the site. Cost was 10EU per person, 8.50EU for those of us over 60, Yea!

After such a busy day we decided to get take away for dinner, kabab take away from the nearby Turkish restaurant. Now not being familiar with the meals we expected the kababs to be simply grilled meat on a stick so we ordered two each of both beef and chicken. While these were cooking the prep-chef asked us what salads we would like with our dinners. We selected four items from the counter and then he asked us what we would like for the second dinner. Uh, that’s a lot of food. Thought this was only going to be a kabab but it turned out to be a meal for a family of about 10 people. That actually turned out to be good because the 31EU we paid for dinner was one of the most expensive meals we’ve had in the last 2 months! Good thing Collette is creative with leftovers!