Malta

AN OLD MALTESE RECIPE BOOK

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Today I found a very old recipe book in the library in Ghajnsielem. It dates back to 1958 and it was compiled by Carmen Carbonaro, it is called ‘Maltese Dishes’ and seeing that I cannot find copyright information I am going to use some of the information to share it here. It is a wonderful little book! Apart of the interesting recipes it has also got illustrated advertisings from the time period it was written in, fabulous bit of information for foodies and those interested in traditional facts of twentieth century Malta or Gozo.
Even before I got home and had a good look at it, the little book was the topic of conversation big time. I stopped at the organic vegetable shop in the village across from an ancient church with the nice baroque façade and on the pleasant Piazza Indipendenza. Doris, the young woman that owns the shop (Pomona) started to check the recipes, she told me that in the time of her grandmother people did not use butter in Gozo, only lard and this, she said was reflected in the recipes. In walked Charlie, one of her nice and regular customers and he added more information to the conversation, we had got on to vegetables, artichokes as a matter of fact, which is a vegetable that I have never cooked myself and was rather interested in and luck would have it that they are in season at the moment, so I bought some. I intend to try out the recipe on page 27 of the little book, there it gives the recipe for ‘Stuffed Boiled Artichokes’ or ‘Qaqocc mimli’ in Maltese. Among the ingredients I will need are Olives, Parsley, more Olives, Breadcrumbs, Anchovies and Chives. And of course globe Artichokes.

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT…… I have to ‘beat’ the artichokes it says!?! Beat them, but well that does not actually surprise me as Doris was telling me that in the ‘olden days’ they also used to ‘beat’ the calamari to tenderise them before cooking! What I am rather surprised of though is that at the end of the recipe it says to serve the artichokes when cool, with mayonnaise, and in those days that would have been home-made mayonnaise, the way we used to make it in Belgium last century. I guess that here it would be prepared using olive oil rather than corn oil like we did.
I cannot wait to try out this Artichoke recipe and, after making more marmalade from home grown bitter oranges today, I feel like a real Gozitan woman, getting into the spirit of this lovely island and enjoying it to the full.
Charlie, Doris and myself then got on to more about wild foods and how we can use the flowers of the artichoke to eat as well as the globe. The globe I presume is the flower bud. I glean so much local information from those two very pleasant people, I just love to shop there.

Other interesting recipes in the little book that I think might be worth trying out are:
• Chestnut soup (Imbuljuta)
• Ministra (a Maltese very delicious soup)
• Vegetable hot-pot (Kawiata)
• Timpana, a most popular dish on the Maltese menu it says.
• Rabbit stew and spaghetti (I have tried this out in a restaurant – very nice)
• Tunny fish stew
• Lampuki pie (a popular fish during August and September.
• Imqaret (date slices)
• Xkunvat – a special Maltese sweet.
• Marmurat, a sweet made with almonds
There are many more interesting looking recipes in the little book. At the end of it there is a menu for the week page, I had a look. Monday it says: Spaghetti, Meat Balls using the meat left over from Sunday dish, cheese and fruit. For Tuesday it says: Meat Soup. Meat from Soup (Buljut) with lemon juice and salad, Custard, Fruit. I won’t give the whole week but interestingly I read that on both Wednesday and Friday fish is recommended, I guess that in those days the church still had two fasting from meat days in the week. All the other days have meat on the menu.
Interesting too is that there are 24 different advertisements in the little booklet, the advertisements themselves are of interest if looking up dietary information of the time.
The little book was published by Empire Press in Malta. It sure is something to treasure. I’m going to have some culinary experiments with it in the next two weeks. I do look forward to learning and to tasty dishes.

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THE FERRY PORT OF MGARR

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Mgarr in Gozo has been a fishing harbour and a Ferry port since medeaval times, since the thirteenth century. In the olden days a small jetty was used for passengers to board a ship and for fishermen to unload their catch, it is still there just below the Gleneagles bar.  (which by the way was the name of a ship which operated between Malta and Gozo 1885 – 1914)

The little town was build around this harbour. Further away from the port the rocky shore rises high and steep and is now quite built up in parts. The oldest part of Mgarr still has this feel of days gone by about it, and is quite charming. There are little restaurants and chairs and tables outside where one can watch the goings on of boats and fishermen, but also sample nice fresh seafood of course.  There is a chapel high up on the cliffs, and a plantation of trees near Fort Chambray which also overlooks Mgarr from the West.  We often come here as there is a lovely walk along the shore.  There is a great buzz also of comings and goings.  I guess though that there is even more to Mgarr and that I will discover more in future, something that to look forward to.   I have enjoyed it very much so far.

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Overlooking Mgarr Ferry Port, taken from Ghajnsielem.

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This is the
Il-Kcina Tal-Barrakka Restaurant during winter, so no tables outside.

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A great vantage point where men sit, chat and watch the world go by.

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Down at the water and the colourful fishing boat brighten everything up, there are also many modern yachts, and a variety of ferries and pleasure cruise boats.

WISHPERING TREES

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“If you reveal your secrets to the wind, you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees.”  Kahlil Gilbran

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Trees have always been my among my best friends, I love the feel of being near to them, their scent, their whispering, rustling of leaves, the first buds opening in spring, their beautiful and delicately fresh young green filtering the first rays of the warming sunshine. So much about trees talks to me and inspires me. But I also like to know their botanical names, their medicinal uses, and their importance in the landscape and to the earth. I’ve been taking photos of trees here on Gozo, but obviously I am not familiar with most of them. Some of the trees that came to my attention a lot here are the Olive and the Carob tree, two most lovely trees that produce health giving and delicious fruits. The Eucalyptus grows here too, I’m quite familiar with this tree as it grow in Ireland too.  I know there is a lot more to learn and explore about trees on the Maltese islands, something to look forward to next winter.
I’m just going to add photos to my post as I am still working on identifying and looking up information on the tree in my pictures.

Foto above are a row of Aleppo Pine  Pinus Halepensis (Siġra taż-Żnuber/Siġra tal-Prinjol)

20170305_151310Bark of above Aleppo Pine

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More photos of the above Aleppo Pine.

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Young shoots.

Strongly scented sticky resin, and some of the open cones to the right.

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XLENDI WATCHTOWER ON GOZO

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Our walk yesterday took us to the oldest watchtower on Gozo, the Xlendi watchtower. It was a nice walk to get to there, to our left the ever higher reaching stone terraces, and to our right a deep gorge, the Il-Kantra valley, sweeping down to the sea and lifting our heads up again to the cliffs on the other side of Xlendi bay, apart from the magnificent views a lot of wild plants and flowers made the walk interesting. Eventually we reached a plateau seemingly made partly out of pure white chalkstone, and partly out of other limestone types. Out towards the sea we saw the tower, it is lying just at the edge, and before the cliff steeply descends to the salt pans.
I read up a little about the watchtower. There are a number of them all over Malta and Gozo (I guess Comino too), they were built as a defence against the Ottoman invaders who would come and take the Gozitans bringing them home to use as slaves. I read that in 1551 there was a siege on Gozo, and 6000 Gozitans were taken into slavery. This is close to my heart because a small village back in Ireland, Baltimore, was raided back in 1631 by pirates from the Algiers, and the Ottoman Turks, they took nearly the whole village into slavery, the remainder of the inhabitants of Baltimore moved more inland, up river and established the town of Skibbereen, which is where I made my home many years ago.
The Xlendi tower dates back to 1650, it has been in continuous use both during the British rule and during the second world war, but it had become in disrepair and today it is being restored.
The cliff behind the tower reveals the salt pans which are as far as I know not in use anymore, but I could be wrong. They do look quite interesting, what a clever invention by humans to reap salt from the Mediterranean in this way. I wondered at the people working there and reaping the salt which the seawater left behind after the sun had done its drying out, it must have been hard work.
Looking back at the scenery in land from the tower the view is breath-taking, the rock formations brilliantly white, the vegetation scares but beautiful.
This is a walk I will not forget easily, nature at its most powerful, the winds were strong that day too. A walk that highlights a piece of social history, in a most beautiful natural setting, perfect for anyone.

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Ras il-Bajda Tower, Xlendi, Gozo

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THE EYE IS DRAWN UPWARDS

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As we walked through the gates of Valetta city I was impressed with the modern design of the enormous and fabulous building that rose up in front of me, what an effect it has on one! We walked over the beautifully paved floor toward a couple of chairs and tables and drank our coffee while taking in the view, it was very pleasing to the eye, first of all the gate itself which you come to by crossing over a bridge, looking down into the ancient surrounds of the city, I felt dwarfed walking through the gates, and then this unusual building on stilts, façade covered in Limestone (sourced from the island of Gozo). I read that the architect of this building, which by the way is the new Parliament building, was Renzo Piano, an Italian architect and engineer, who has designed some other wonderful buildings and projects, among them the Paul Klee Centre in Bern, Switzerland. The building of the Parliament House was part of the City Gate Project, it also included the open air theatre. The stone which was cut in Italy was perfectly smooth and sharply angular. I just loved it, it enticed the eye upwards where the honey coloured construction made a perfect line against the blue sky. What an entrance to a city, I don’t think I have ever seen something like this before.

On the way out of the city, Ian drew my attention to the stone slabs on the floor of the square – I was still looking up – and what we saw there delighted us too, fossils on every single slab, beautifully smoothed to a perfectly shiny surface, but clearly visible.

I’ve added some photos but I don’t think they do justice to the experience one is treated to when actually there, still it is a try.

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I got to thinking about these huge structures, the massive high walls made of stone, the amazing way the stone is held together and the buildings are engineered, and I must admit that they give me a feeling of being protected, against what – I do not know, and why we build such huge structures I know even less, I only now realise that they can have a good effect on one, I noticed it at first while we were in Budapest recently and the solid buildings made me feel more grounded, maybe it is something personal, maybe I am in nature so much of the time that I literally disappear in the landscape, maybe a little bit of being among huge man made structure is good for one too. Who knows, all I realise is that it has a good effect on me and for that right now I am very grateful.

ZEJTUN AND THE SCENT OF ORANGE BLOSSOM

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Yes, while walking around in the old centre of this beautiful old town of Zejtun, I was treated to the most delicate orange blossom scent, it lightened my spirits, and my steps, as did all the lovely architecture that my eyes feasted upon. Zejtun which has a population of 12,000 is a town in the South-East of Malta. The town consists of the lower and older part, called Gwiedi, with its narrow winding streets and beautiful houses, this is the quarter that I visited, and then there is the upper part.  The church divides and unites these two quarters and was build where it stands so that the people of both sides of the town would be happy, and they are. But like I said I mainly walked the lower quarter, it was very interesting. I noticed that the houses, close together and mostly in narrow streets were often very beautiful with lots of ornamentation, and niches featuring mostly religious icons, very tastefully done I might say, and reminding me of my own Flanders where these niches can also seen a lot in town architecture. I found the ancient olive press, it says that the cultivation of olives, and pressing for oil was much undertaken during the Roman times around here. In fact the name Zejtun derives from ‘the fruit of the olive tree. The origin of the word is said to derive from Phoenician and Arabic language.

After an hour or so, I had already taken many photos of all my favourite sights, streets, and imposing facades , I wanted coffee, but I saw no coffee shops, in fact it is amazing and actually quite pleasant in these Maltese towns and villages not to be confronted with commercial properties all the time. So I started talking with some locals and asked them for a place where I could sit down and have coffee, and they sent me to the ‘Malta Labour Party Club’ near the church. I entered a large room with three men in it and a canary bird singing its heart out, there was also a TV running a sports program in French, the men were watching intently, they did not notice me much which was good. I was served coffee in a glass (like in S.India), and I wrote my few cards. It was a nice experience and nobody bothered me, everyone was decent and kind, I have found this to be the case in Malta, people are very friendly and approachable, they will readily talk with you. So it was that while walking further down the street I saw a woman coming out of a lottery shop, I myself was looking at the window of a little shop and somehow we got talking, about her life, about her pension and her need to work as well to make ends meet. So good to get to know the Maltese.  I did a lot more walking after that in the areas of Ta’Xejba and Il-Herba which gave me more views of the traditional urban construction, again its narrow streets are very characteristic and so pleasing to the eye, I imagine how it must have been here in the time of the pirate attacks, the fact that the houses are so close together must have been a way of defence.  Turkish pirates pillaged the town in 1614.

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I found quite an interesting website on Zejtun, here it is:
http://zejtunreligiousheritage.org/about/hamlets/
And I also found the little brochure available from the trourist office called ‘Zejtun Heritage Route’ very helpful wile visiting the town.

MALTA’S GLORIOUS BAROQUE ARCHITECTURE

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When we visited Valletta yesterday St. John’s Cathedral was among the first places that I wanted to see, mainly because of its baroque architecture. The outside of the church is nothing to go by but the inside does provoke strong emotions. I did not expect this as I do not normally go for such ornate style, but for some reason I felt totally overwhelmed, so beautiful, so powerful, such interesting paintings, amazing murals on the ceilings, Arabesque ornamentation on the walls, gilded vaults, and very rich decorations all over. These magnificent or ancient human works of art always fill me up, and I am not a person who cries with movies.
St. John’s Cathedral was built between 1573 and 1578. After the building was finished, the richness was mainly to thank to the Grand Masters and the knights of the order of St. John who donated the funds to employ great artists for this great creation, making it into a gem of high baroque.
During the building of the cathedral, the architect stipulated the use of very tick walls between the side chapels as he was not sure of the strength of the local limestone, this was meant to support the heavy buttresses above. Later on narrow doors were made into these walls connecting the various side altars.
One of the highlights of the visit to the church are the display of the two paintings by Caravaggio, one the beheading of St. John the Baptist, and the other, St. Jerome’s writing, both paintings show an amazing use of light and shade, red being almost the only colour Caravaggio used apart from brown and beige. He used a very realistic style of painting, new to the period and copied by many others after him. He was a most interesting artist and his paintings are special and well worth seeing.
Also one of the highlights of my visit were the Choral manuscripts and the Flemish tapestries, here I was not allowed to take photos but that did not matter, I think I’ve got the illuminations of those ancient score books imprinted on my mind and can see them before me now, very beautiful. The Flemish tapestries were made in Brussels after the great painter Rubens and Poussin. They are massive and it is unbelievable how this sort of art can be actually woven into cloth.
I’m sure much more is to be said about this cathedral, but it is not my intention to write like a guidebook, better to let people discover for themselves the beauties of a place, and to let each one use a proper guidebook for information.
I came out of the cathedral beaming and fulfilled, it is remarkable how much joy true art can bring to humankind.

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ROCKS AND FOSSILS

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Malta is entirely composed of sedimentary rocks. The specific area around Marsaxlokk consist of Globigerina Limestone. Globigerina Limestone is a soft stone that is easily eroded. It is full of planktonic fossils and according to what I read this indicates that its deposition was in deep waters below wave action. I have seen this soft Globigerina Limestone around here and have some samples, it is white and fine grained. My interest though, has mainly been in the upper Globigerina Limestone which is harder, coarser, and honey coloured, it is used as a building material, and has been since ancient times in the island, I love its colour and texture, it also makes the villages look bright and full of light. I have walked along the houses of this village and seen the fossils in the walls of the older buildings, fascinating and beautiful! We have also stayed in a Maltese house that is 200 years old, its stone walls bare and hand cut, I did get to thinking one night while I should have been sleeping, about the fact that all that surrounded me was fossilised beings, once alive, now there in another form, amazing to ponder on.  The walls throw out a warmth and a good feeling.

Anyway I am not a geologist, but I have a life-long interest in stones and minerals, and have a huge collection at home, I cannot resist picking up more stones, though these days it is to take photos of them, examine them with a magnifying glass, and ask myself what they could be (luckily for me I have a good Geologist friend). So I am going to post photos of some of the interesting stones I found along the beach at Marsaxlokk, but also some of the fossils I found along the walls of the village houses.

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What a fossil!

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 Tempestite is a storm deposit. Tempestites are rocks which show evidence of a strong storm, which have redeposited pre-existing sediments.  This happens in shallow waters, and it are the waves that redeposit the sediments.  I found this little gem of information on Wikipedia.org

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This is a conglomerate rock type.

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Here I am not sure, but found quite a few of these rocks that had what seemed a layer of fossils or some sort of deposit (the white stuff).

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This on the same rock, a beautifully intricate design (fossil) can be seen here.

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Me examining one of the rocks

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The coarser, honey coloured upper Globigerina Limestone

Two samples, one the chalk, the other I think is more of the upper Globigerina Limestone

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Somewhere I read that the holes could have been made by mollusc boring into the soft material back in time?

Some of the fossils I found in the walls of old houses, I obviously only took photos of them and let them be where they were.  So beautiful, but as far as I believe this house is marked for restoration, I hope they will preserve the fossils.

I have loads more photos of stones, rocks and fossils that I came across here, it has been one of the highlights of my stay in Malta, I hope that some of my dear blogger friends will have enjoyed these wonderful creations as much as I am.   And I would be very pleased and happy to listen to reactions and knowledge from other Rock enthusiasts.

Websites which I have found interesting are:  http://www.sandatlas.org/limestone/#comment-40236 and http://karsteneig.no/2013/11/malta-a-country-shaped-by-limestone-and-a-bit-of-very-old-shit/#comment-15952    and    http://www.maltainsideout.com/11993/living-stones-a-brief-guide-to-maltas-geology/

 

 

 

FISHERMEN AT WORK

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Still in Marsaxlokk village,  as I was looking out of the window late one evening, and minding my own thoughts, one of the fishing boats arrived, it was the first time I actually saw more than the boats, the men, and the nets, I was already wondering when I would see the fish being brought to shore, and I was a bit curious about that.

Locally I have seen no butcher shops in this village, and that suits me fine, moreover there are several very successful fish shops that sell a whole range of fish and shellfish. Anyway to go back to my story, the boat arrived, and already the little refrigerated van was standing ready on the pier, door open.
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Next was all hands on deck, even the driver of the little van is helping, the fish had been kept cool in the bottom of the boat, in a special compartment closed off from the rest of the boat, I see the men loading the fish and handing the plastic containers to be stacked into the little van.  It did not take them long, in fact there seemed very little fish to be brought ashore.

It’s incredible how hard these fishermen work and how much time they put into mending and untangling their nets, this alone is a time consuming job and you always see the men doing so.  In fact though I have also seen some women at this work here in the village.

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Finally they are unloading some of the nets and putting them on the pier, and they left again, not sure if it was to catch more fish or what.  The woman and the little van also drove off.  You see these little white refrigerated vans all over the place around here.

Fishing nets are here drying in the sun, and also being unravelled.  And the man is mending nets, I’ve seen more of them do this, they hold the net with their feet and using a large needle-like implement they sew and repair the nets.

Thanks to the fishermen for letting me photograph them, much appreciated.  It’s great to see something of the local activity, this is a fishing village after all.