Hagar Qim Temple

Hagar Qim

On Saturday, Dan and I made our way to the southwest part of the island to a town called Qrendi to see the Hagar Qim Temple and the Mnajdra Temple. The Temples are now tented to preserve the site for the future from the sun, wind and elements on the coast of the island. There are also some structural supports throughout the Temples to help keep the site in tact.

A little history before I go on...these temples are among the most ancient religious sites on Earth and are now World Heritage Sites. They date back to the Neolithic age, around 5000 years ago. These two temples are about 500m apart and two of the closest found together. 

Altars built of limestone

So...after we saw the Armory in Valletta, we hopped on a bus to head to Qrendi. We knew the bus we needed to take, but had no idea where the Temple was in relation to the bus stop. Let's just say after about 30 minutes of wandering through a small town and questioning 3 different cars we flagged down, we found the temple. 

Columbus looking for land...

The Temples were so incredible to see...as silly as that sounds. We were amazed at what prehistoric people were able to build without the knowledge, technology or anything we have today. They made roofs out of layered limestone slabs, carried huge slabs uphill to build the Hagar Qim from the location of the stones, and formed calendars with the stars and position of the sunrise. 

Ancient calendar, perhaps?

I am still shocked at the theory of the star and sun calendars they used. In the picture above, there are 6 lines with drilled holes. It is believed that each line corresponds with 6 of the brightest stars that were able to be seen in those days. (There is clearly a much more scientific explanation than what I am giving). They drilled a hole for each day that passed without seeing the star. Also, the layout of the temple rooms corresponded to the seasons. For example, on June 21st, or the beginning of summer, the sun would shine directly through the center of the doorway facing east and illuminate the main altar. When the winter solstice happened a sliver of sun would shine on the edge of one wall. On and on. Each season had a different marker, or so historians theorize.

Lookout Tower for the Knights

Near the Temple was also a lookout tower that the Knights built in an effort to protect the island from the Turks. There are only 13 of these towers around the island. 

I'd venture to say this is our favorite sight we have seen out of everything in Malta. Maybe it was that it was a super nice day outside, or that we were out of the house for some much needed down time. Or it could be that the information was really great, but I was definitely blown away by the sites. It was crazy to think there were people here who built these temples over 5,000 years ago. Mind-blowing!

So that is the end of our Saturday excursion. Pretty jam packed day of all things Maltese....and totally worth seeing!

Hope everyone had a great Fat Tuesday! We are having terrible rain and wind storms here so we are inside working and planning some fun things to do in Rome. 

Until tomorrow...xo