In December 2022, we visited Malta. When our week there started coming close to an end, we looked at what more we wanted to see during our sixth day in the country. We had a few times during the week talked about the many temples on the island, so we decided to check one out. In fact, we had actually even visited one last year in Birżebbuġa, the Borġ in-Nadur. Our destination this time was the village of Tarxien, a short distance from the capital Valletta. Here our target was set on the Tarxien Temples, three megalithic temples that are part of the island’s UNESCO World Heritage Site Megalithic Temples of Malta.
Ħal Tarxien Temples
We took a taxi from Marsaskala, where we were staying, to the village of Tarxien. The taxi dropped us off outside the entrance of the Tarxien Temples, one of the main sights in this part of Malta. It is probably only overshadowed by the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum.
The Tarxien Temples is a temple complex consisting of three temples. These are Megalithic temples that are believed to be more than 5.000 years old. The site has been a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, which consists of several Megalithic temples in Malta, since 1992.
The first temple is believed to date back to about 3100 BC with the last one being just 100 years younger. A tent covers the whole complex to protect the temples from the weather. There is a nice walking path along the rocks, making it possible to explore the site without disturbing it. Little A did, however, not like to just walk around. Her opinion is that stones are there to be climbed. Her inner future teenager shone through when she commented something along the lines of “this is boring”. Susann and I did, however, think it was quite an interesting visit. Just the fact that people had been building temples here so long ago really is impressive. Sadly the information was written in a way that felt arranged as if there was only one single truth. That’s not really possible when describing any historical event.
A Walk Through Tarxien and Fgura
Once we had left the temples we headed towards the center of Tarxien, the area around the Tarxien Parish Church. It did not really seem to be the normal kind of center as there was not much to see here and Little A really wanted an ice cream by now. So instead of wasting our time here, we continued the short walk to the nearby village of Fgura. We had been to Fgura several times during earlier trips and knew that we could find what we wanted there.
The walk through Tarxien was not the nicest one. The area is mostly residential and many buildings were in fairly bad shape. Even worse, the pavement for pedestrians was horrible in some parts. Well, we made it to Fgura and were happy to find a Turkish fast-food restaurant for a pizza and a hamburger. It was after all lunchtime and Little A wanted a hamburger.
Fgura is quite cozy along its main street, with a few shops and restaurants available. So it is usually a safe bet when not in the tourist areas of Malta. It is where we as tourists could meet the normal life with less crowded streets and commercial areas not created for tourists.
The Three Cities
After our lunch in Fgura our walk continued toward the Three Cities. Yes, these villages and towns in Malta are small and located directly next to each other. Our next destination for the day was actually the Christmas market in the capital Valletta. It was the ferry from Senglea that we were heading towards and that walk do pass by some amazing sights. First of all the fortifications of the Cottonera Lines and then through the St. Helen’s Gate the Santa Margherita Lines. Two impressive walls later and we were standing along the waterfront of the town of Cospicua, just a stone’s throw away from Senglea and the ferry that would take us across the bay to Valletta.
Stay tuned to read more about our 2022 December Visit to Malta. Read more here >>
