Marsaxlokk

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.

 

MARSAXLOKK IN BLACK AND WHITE

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During last night and today there was a strong wind blowing here, I believe it is called the ‘Sirocco’ a Mediterranean wind that brings fine brown dust from the Sahara sands, everything was covered this morning in this brown stuff and I felt it during the night, could smell it actually and my eyes were stinging a little. The wind blew strongly but was warm, it was pleasant to walk out in it. This afternoon when more storm clouds gathered I got to sort my recent photos of this village and came across some that looked better in black and white, so here goes I am posting some of them.
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DELICATE FLOWERS OF MALTA

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Today I will just post some of the flowers that I have come across so far, and I’m in a village, I have not been out in the country yet, so I know there is much more to explore when it comes to Malta’s flora yet. I have taken these photo mainly while walking around the village, some in the wild, some in the front gardens of the people, all are equally beautiful and interesting. I hope you enjoy as much as I do.  Names I do not know but some of the flowers I recognise from India, Greece, or Mauritius.  Thanks to my friend, Mary, she identified the delicate blue flower as Plumbago – a native of South Africa.
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Sicilian Marigold – Calendula Sicula

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Blossom of the lemon tree
Blossom of the lemon tree

FISHERMEN SORTING THEIR NETS

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When sitting around in the sun here at the seashore of Marsaxlokk there is nothing more pleasant than watching the fishermen, and women, at their work of disentangling and organising their fishing nets, it is time consuming work, taking hours. The nets in this case are called trammel nets, local name is Parit, these nets are used during the winter months to catch several different types of fish. Ian struck up a conversation with some local fishermen the other day and we heard interesting stories about their lives, their hardships (fishing restrictions stipulated by the E.U.), and they answered the question of why the Luzzu (the beautiful, colourful, and traditional small fishing boats) have got two motors on board, the latter is supposed to be in case one of the motors falls out, so as not to have to miss out on their fishing for the day, and so their income. I love these little Luzzu boats, their colours are vibrant, making the whole harbour look very picturesque. The eyes (eye of Osiris) on both sides of the bow is supposed to be dating back to ancient Phoenician times and the custom of calling for protection from evil. It sure looks that way and it looks interesting.
Fishing is not a very large industry in Malta it seems, and this village, being Marsaxlokk is one of the largest fishing villages in the country.  As you can see, every bit of space is used to sort these trammel nets.
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MARSAXLOKK CELEBRATES ST.JOSEPH

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The other day while talking with a friendly local shopkeeper, I was told that there would be a procession in honour of St.Joseph taking place tonight. I thought this would be interesting, and a chance to get a real feel of the Maltese people and their beliefs or traditions. Before I came here I did not know anything about Malta or its people, so time for me to do some observation and learn.

In the evening I set off to the church to see what was happening, there were a few locals already seated, and more people started to arrive. Bit by bit the church filled up and prayers started. I found it interesting to hear Malti (Maltese) being spoken, which is an Arabic language, spoken well it has a nice sound to it. A group of local young girls gathered around the altar and started to sing. It was soon after that I went home for a while to put some warmer clothes on as I was freezing, but having returned the church service was still going on and I decided to wait outside rather than make a disturbance of doors opening and shutting. Anyway there were things to see on the square, I saw more and more people gathering. I decided to sit at one of the tables and order a coffee while waiting.  A little later there was a commotion, someone had parked a van where it should not be as it would be interfering with the procession, two police were making sure the van was gone, but the driver was not happy and gave voice to that. Mothers with children, some quite small, were waiting too, all of us now eager to see the procession coming down the steps of the tastefully lit church, it had become quite dark by now. Finally the massive doors were swung open and some of the priests appeared carrying flags, candles and a cross, followed by a dozen or so men dressed in white robes, and wearing white gloves, carrying the very heavy statue of Jesus being taken down from the cross, I thought that it would have been a statue of St.Joseph.

The crowds filled the whole large square by now, they were quiet, the sound of the church bells loud and beautiful filled the air.  A feeling of devotion hung over the crowd as they walked behind the priests and statues praying as they went, I retreated into the background so as not to be disrespectful, and quietly went on my way home to the apartment.

Processions do not take place much anymore anywhere and it is to see tradition living on, and people living with this sense of timing of the season’s passing. I am glad to have witnessed this evening’s happening. I would say that half of the population of Marsaxlokk, which is said to be 4000, was in that procession tonight.
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