G'day from Malta

Well I have been here for about five days and am absolutely loving Malta – thoroughly recommend this place as a holiday destination. As the Desert Rat is away in the US, I am here by myself and I must say have found it to be a really comfortable place to travel as a solo gal – it is really safe, there is loads to see, I don’t get stared at eating alone. Fantastic!! The food is fabulous (I might as well start writing about the important stuff first!) – the Italian influence is definitely here with lots of great pasta and pizza. I had THE BEST spaghetti marinara one night and a rib eye steak cooked to absolute perfection. And of course, in case I get thirsty, there are some really nice Maltese wines to try (and try again, if necessary!!!).

I have been doing some sight seeing around the island – there is so much to see! Luckily the Desert Rat wants to come for a look-see at some stage. Here are some highlights:

A view of the capital Valetta from taken on the ferry from Sliema

A funky yellow bus – these antiques take you all the way around the island!!

Balluta Bay at St Julian’s - I am staying up the coast not far from here.

A couple of days ago I went inland to The Silent City of Mdina - not sure why it is 'silent' - there were loads of other tourists like me! Anyway, it is a walled city, really beautiful and fun to explore.

A Friendly Knight in Mdina

St Paul’s Cathedral, Mdina

One of the many little streets in Mdina

Yesterday I went to the Hagar Qim and Mnaiara Temples which are situated on the northern coast of Malta and have been there since Neolithic times. There is some amazing history here, and as most of you would know, I am quite partial to wandering around ancient stones and temples. I was absolutely in my element here!! I hope to visit some other sites while I am in Malta, otherwise I will drag the Desert Rat around when we come back together.

Hagar Qim Temple:

Mnajara Temple:

The Rats of Janzoor

Now that it is a little cooler, I have recently begun running twice a week with a couple of friends. We run on the roads just near by my house and do a 3.5km loop - a similar distance to my old running track around Lake Monger in Perth. The route is not quite as scenic, but does have some highlights that I would like to share with you!!

Here is where we meet and start:

Rumour has it that this path is one day going to be a railway track. At the moment it just joins up a couple of roads, which we also run along. There is no universal garbage collection system, and it is quite common for there to be piles of rubbish on the side of the road. Sometimes, it is burnt and the smouldering remains left to slowly die out.

But the real joy of running is dodging the road kill:

By far, the most common of the dead animals is our old friend the rat. Golden running rule No 1 is always to watch your feet! But this one is quite gory, you will be pleased to know that after a few days/weeks/months, the carcasses dehydrate and squash down so that they don't really look real anymore and the only identifying feature is a tail or foot poking out:

What concerns me that these are just a few of the sqashed ones on the road (I have more in my photo gallery!!!) What about all the ones that are still alive!!

This posting has been inspired by a book I saw in Australia once which showed you how to identify animals on the side of the road (or under your tyre) and squashed insects on your windscreen. Do you think that there is a market for a book on the Dead Rats of Janzoor?

I hope that this hasn't been too repulsive - I think the point that I am trying to make here is that after a while you get used to all this, that it begins to feel normal. When we first got here, I was shocked by much of what I was seeing but now things often doesn't even register. Humour can get a bit dark as you try to make sense of what you are seeing.

Anyway, I am off to Malta at the end of the week and the Desert Rat to Miami and the Dominican Republic - watch this space for some postings from our travels abroad!

Sahara Girl

A Tale of a Tortoise

The other day, we we were driving along our sandy road near our house and had to stop as a tortoise was crossing the road. We were a bit worried that it might get run over so picked it up and brought it back to our place. Timothy, as we called him, had a drink of water and camped on our lawn over night. We spoke with some other expats who told us that tortoises do live in the area, and although not not common, can be seen around. Some people keep them as pets. They love to eat fresh fruit and veg. The next morning, we gave him a big feed of tomato and watched as he walked off into our orchard. We are keeping an eye out for him but he hasn't been seen since - hopefully he is a bit safer in the orchard rather than out and about where dogs and cars could get him.

Celebration, Regeneration and Ramadan

One of the first things that you realize on arriving in the Tripoli is the complete absence of advertising. However, Libya does have advertising boards. These are used to celebrate the number of the years since the revolution which occurred on September 1st 1969. These advertising boards are everywhere and in the last week of August a flurry of activity took place as the posters celebrating 37 years of the revolution gave way to those celebrating 38 years.

The streets around the city centre and all the main buildings are all decorated with lights, flags and bunting and all companies hang flags and banners celebrating the revolution. The celebrations reach a climax on September 1st with a parade in Green Square in the centre of Tripoli.

Regeneration
Whilst at work several weeks ago we heard a loud explosion and looked the window of the office to see a block of flats across from the office collapsing in a cloud of smoke. These flats had been demolished to make way for a series of new skyscrapers that are to be built along the waterfront.

Tripoli is undergoing a period of regeneration. The area west of the Corinthia Hotel complex is being gradually cleared to make way for a series of new skyscrapers that are to be built along the Tripoli waterfront and will become the business hub for Tripoli. The main market area – Souk Talat has been relocated and the old site flattened will become a green belt and eventually an international train station we are told. The international airport is to be rebuilt. Every wall along the airport road has been demolished. All the buildings on the waterfront at the Matega fish markets have been demolished and the fish market is to be relocated in the near future too. The one thing that amazes me is how quickly the old buildings are demolished and the site is cleared. Tripoli is going to be a very different place in a few years. The photo below is the current view of what will become the new business district.

And one of the boards showing the new skyscrapers to be built in the area.

Ramadan
This month is Ramadan – the Muslim month of fasting and prayer. In Ramadan Muslims do not eat or drink during daylight hours. The fast is broken at sunset with a large meal taken with your family called itfah. Consequently the hour before sunset the roads are absolutely packed with people speeding home for this meal and then stopping at bakeries for fresh bread. Try to avoid the roads with the bakeries! The Libyan’s call this drive home as the ‘soup race’ because everyone is racing home for the meal which normally starts with a traditional Libyan soup and bread. The photo below is taken at 7.30pm just near our house. Normally at this time the road would be heaving with traffic.

Ramadan ends late next week with the festival of Eid which is three days of public holiday. We will both be out of the country but have been told there will be many celebrations - lots of late nights and fireworks.

The Desert Rat