Corona stories: Number 76, Malta 2004

Christmas 2004 (Collapse, Jared Diamond)

While the Dutch government keeps pretending that their percentage of vaccinated is at a for Europe uniquely high level of 88.5% (statement at the last press conference) the number of infections keeps rising despite measures, which are at the same time desperate and inefficient. The reason might be that the real degree of vaccination it only about 73.7%. In neighbouring Germany it is even lower at 68.5%. The same day the rather remote, historic but now mainly touristic island of Malta has reached a level of 83.7% of vaccinated.

With a population of 515.000 in the world’s tenth smallest country in area, Malta is the world's fourth most densely populated sovereign country. With the impact of tourism it is even more surprising that the number of new daily infections of 80 is rather low. Compared with the Dutch population that would come down to a daily increase of about 3000. At the same time the Netherlands contend to have 25.000 daily infections. The real number is much higher since the official institutions carrying out tests are disorganised and understaffed to such a degree that getting an appointment is a tedious procedure and will take days of waiting. Malta therefore together with most of Italy and some isolated regions of France, Spain and Sweden belongs to the few remaining areas not coloured red on the European Corona map.

The temple of Ggantija

The state of Malta encompasses the three inhabited islands of Malta, Gozo, and Comino. The islands have a long and fascinating history. Probably around 5900 BC the first settlers arrived from Sicily. Around 800 BC the great seafaring nation of the Phoenicians arrived. They were replaced by the Carthaginians, who in 216 BC lost the islands to the Romans. After being sacked by the Vandals the islands came under the rule of the Byzantines between the 4th and the 9th century. In 870 the Arabs invaded and stayed until 1091, when the Normans conquered the islands. Until 1530 they were part of the Kingdom of Sicily and the House of Anjou. In 1530 Charles V of Spain gave the Maltese islands to the Order of Knights of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem. Because of its strategic position in the passage between Sicily and Africa the islands and in particular the capital, the excellent port of La Valletta, were heavily fortified. In 1798 the French under Napoleon came for a brief period. They were ousted by the British, who stayed until the Maltese independence in 1964. Despite its small size, Malta has three UNESCO World Heritage Sites; the Prehistoric Temples, the Hal Saflieni hypogeum, and the capital city of Valletta - legacies left by the various peoples who occupied Malta for nearly 8000 years.

Model of the temple of Ggantija

Around the turn of the year 2004-2005 we had the idea to spent 2 weeks in a vacation apartment in the town of Xaghra in the centre of the island of Gozo. The place still exists and can be found as “bellavista farmhouses” in Google maps. Every unit has a terrace with its private pool and a brilliant view across the patchwork countryside towards the fortress of Victoria. With its location at 36.01 N Gozo is one of the southernmost points in the EU. So we expected a sunny and warm winter break. However, we were wrong. No way to use the pool. Although it was sunny most of the time it was still chilly and at night it became outright cold. There was only a little electrical heater in the apartment which by no way was able to heat even the smallest room. After some insisting we finally received a second unit and spent the evenings huddled together between the two. The warmest spot was the bathtub, but only when you went to bed right afterwards.

Xaghra is the location of one of Malta’s UNESCO world heritage sites, the temple of Ggantija. Stone age settlers left some temples which are considered among the oldest remaining standing structures preserved in the world. A recent exhibition in the Museum van Oudheden in Leiden told of what is known of the story of these megalithic temples (mega = big, lithos = stone) and showed some of the artefacts found during the excavations.

The giant stone blocks of Ggantija

A thousand years before the pyramids of Egypt, around 3600 BC, the inhabitants of Malta started to built structures of gigantic stones. The answers to questions how they were built and for what are still in the dark. The quarrying and transportation of the huge building blocks and the construction must have required extensive planning, coordination and communal effort. The largest stone measures 6.4 m x 3 m and weighs over 20 tonnes. How those people arrived at their design appears is also a mystery since no parallels have so far been identified elsewhere. Although there are different consecutive phases of construction there is a general principle of a courtyard and up to 6 apses. Probably at least part of the buildings had a roof. The layout suggests that the courtyard was designed to accommodate a large number of people while the inner area probably was restricted to the selective few. Maybe ceremonies for better harvests and safe sea crossings took place. These temples can be found both on the islands of Malta and Gozo. The six main ones, Ggantija, Tarxien malta , Hagar Qim malta, Mnajdra malta , Ta' Hagrat malta and Skorba malta are recognized by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites.

Inside the structures statues archaeologists found what belong to the oldest examples of art produced by humans. There are human sculptures, but also images of bulls or sows. The largest is a statue of nearly 2 m high, the smallest a 4 mm bone figurine. One artefact clearly shows two people hugging with their faces very close to each other, possibly kissing. Most of the statues are corpulent and resemble the statues of the colombian artist Fernando Botero. Corpulence can be perceived as a sign of abundance or fertility.

The island of Gozo has some brilliant coastal hiking. There are few beaches and few coastal resorts. A big part of the coast consists of high limestone cliffs which offer spectacular views. On the south coast a hike leads to the Ta' Ċenċ cliffs. This not only is a sight of natural beauty but the hike there also displays a number of archaeological remains. There are a couple of dolmen and the rudimentary remains of another megalithic temple.

Hiking out of Xlendi bay

But most striking are ancient cart ruts which seem to lead right to the edge of the cliffs. What were people doing here, up high on top of a cliff with their carts? To leave ruts like those we see they must have visited frequently. Was this an antique garbage disposal site? Or a kind of sacred place where sacrifices were made by throwing something or somebody down into the abyss? Now we have to take care that our curious little kids don’t come too close. The lack of any kind of security measure would drive every german bureaucrat crazy.

The Ta' Ċenċ cliffs

In the base of the cliffs numerous caves have formed. One offers a tunnel passage for boats into a protected inland sea. Today it not only offers protection for little fishing boats but also for safe swimming. However, in winter, the big waves even break through the tunnel and it would be suicidal to attempt a passage in a boat, which would be smashed against the walls of the tunnel for sure.

The azure window which collapsed in 2017

Not far from the tunnel passage into Dwejra Bay we discover the Azure Window (Maltese: it-Tieqa Żerqa), also known as the Dwejra Window (Maltese: it-Tieqa tad-Dwejra). The 28-metre-tall natural limestone arch was one of the island's major tourist attractions. Big waves break at the cliffs at its base. On March 8th 2017 it collapsed in a storm.

Dweira tower and view on the azure window

But in 2004 it was still visible from the Dwejra tower, a solid stone watch tower constructed in 1652 together with others all along the coastline of Gozo to detect approaching enemy ships. This was the time when the knights of the Hospital of St John ruled Malta as the outpost of Christianity against the onslaught of the Ottoman empire.

The fortress of Victoria

The ramparts of Victoria

When we look across the countryside from our terrace with the useless pool we see a patchwork of small fields and numerous little settlements. There are big churches everywhere, all built from the same siena coloured blocks of stone found on the island. Above all tower the ramparts of the fortress of Victoria, which again is crowned by an ochre coloured church.

View from the terrace of our appartment

Churches, christianity and ramparts are the heritage of the knights, a belligerent religious order who had the mission to defend the holy sites against the infidels. After they were driven from the Holy Land by Islamic forces in 1291, the knights ruled and operated from Rhodes until 1522, and later administered Malta as a vassal state under the Spanish viceroy of Sicily.

The Christmas crib in Xaghra

Preparations for the procession

It is particularly around christmas when the christian traditions resurface as a disguise and excuse for excessive consumption. There are few shops and no shopping mall in our little town of Xaghra, but like in the other little towns the streets are adorned with seasonal decorations. In the ocher church at the central market square they have built a crib and some of the locals have dressed up as the holy family. Our little children are readily integrated, given matching capes and golden crowns and the little one is put on a donkey and carried around in the procession. It is a nice and lovely rural tradition which seems to be far away from the madness of central european pedestrian zones and shopping areas.

Around 2500 BC, the megalithic temples were abandoned. Some statues seem to have been broken on purpose. As with the their origin and construction there is no information why they were abandoned. Later generations attributed their construction to the work of giants. Who else could have moved rocks of such dimensions? The name Ġgantija for the site on Gozo remains.

The inland sea

A wave rushes through the tunnel

In his book “collapse, how societies chose to fail or succeed” Jared Diamond demonstrates with the example of easter island how a society has exhausted their resources to such an extent that they are driven to the verge of extinction by famine and resorted to cannibalism as final food source. None of the Easter islands’ giant statues were still standing when the first Europeans arrived and some were toppled over in a way that their necks were broken on purpose.

It is very difficult to find a tree on Malta or Gozo. Biggest prospect of success of a search for trees is in one of the squares in a town centre. Wood is very scarce and therefore all the houses are built from neatly carved stone quarried on the islands. That gives the towns a very pleasant, uniform appearance. Wood for a stove does not exist. No wonder that our cold house does not have an open fire place.

In Xaghra

On a small island it is difficult to produce enough food for a big population. Diamond cites estimations that between 6000 and 30.000 people lived on Easter island in the most prosperous time. That is between 37 and 184 and per square kilometer. The population density on the islands of Malta now is about 1600 per square kilometer. Almost everything has to be imported. Proteins can readily be caught by fishers, but only if you have boats. After the people of Easter Island had cut their last tree they had lost their ability to built seagoing boats since there was no suitable wood left.

Two of the many churches in Gozo

At the time when the big megalithic structures on the islands were abandoned, sea trade was not very developed. Maybe the islanders in Malta had cut their last tree as well. When I read the story of Easter island, I find it a plausible hypothesis that a lack of resources led to a decline in population and the abandon of the big temples.

The main port of Gozo, Mgarr

Malta is, in contrast to Easter island, in an excellent strategic position at one of the intersections of main trade routes in the Mediterranean. In antiquity it was able to establish a prominent hub position in the sea trade. That probably saved the islanders from sharing the fate of the people of Easter island, who were starving since they did not even have wood left to built sufficiently seagoing boats to go fishing or leave their exhausted home.

Fishing boats in the port of Mgarr

Today, in winter, the colourful fishing boats gather in Gozo’s only big harbour, Mgarr, which also serves the ferry to the main island of Malta. At the jetty wait the famous and well maintained old Leyland and Bedford buses which take care of the public transport on the islands. They are as colourful as the fishing boats.

Old buses at the ferry terminal in Mgarr

Bedford and Leyland

One of the few sources of income for an island in times when tourists came with a sword in the hand and no intention to leave was the trade in salt. A big part of the coast of Gozo is formed by low, flat rock faces. Big parts are hollowed out to create round or rectangular pools used to evaporate sea water in summer and produce salt. It could then be used to trade with the passing ships for the many things not available on the islands.

The salt pans

The lack of food and resources might have led to another very strange habit on the islands. Everywhere between the little fields in the countryside are elaborate structures with shelters (built from stone) and nets to catch little migratory birds. At one we even discover a number of cages still filled with those unlucky creatures. There is nothing sadder than seeing the symbol of freedom, a bird, being locked away in a little cage. I was very tempted to set then free.

Shelter for catching birds

Nets for catching birds

Hunter's seat

The arrival of the first explorers might have looked like the salvation for the haunted inhabitants of depleted Easter Island. But with these visitors came another invisible haunt, the smallpox virus. Several waves of smallpox epidemics raged across the island in the first 150 years after they were discovered on Easter day April 5th 1722 by the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen. In addition, slave traders kidnapped parts of the population. In the years 1862-1863 alone, Peruvian ships took away 1500 islanders to be force to work in Peruvian mines. Only 2000 people were left on Easter island in 1864.

Birds caught in cages

In the new world the small pox virus came back in waves for centuries and killed millions of people until a vaccine was available or immunity is reached. Today the ignorant think that the problem will disappear. When? Maybe after the next wave or after the next mutation? The age of globalization has turned the earth into an overpopulated island. Help from outside will not arrive. It is time to turn the tide.

Quarries to produce bricks for buildings

When we arrive at the airport just after new year and look at the newspapers we realise that we have missed one of the biggest natural disasters which has hit the world in modern history. While we were hiking on a peaceful island in the Mediterranean, the coasts around the Indian ocean had been hit by the Tsunami of December 26th 2004. One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded had created a Tsunami of up to 51 m high which killed more than 200.000 people.