Hagar Qim and Mnajdra Temples

The temples of Hagar Qim and Mnajdra on the south coast of the island of Malta were built between 3600 and 3000 BC. Unfortunately, a few years back when Malta tried to ban bird hunting around the temples (constant gunshots were scaring the tourists), the Mnajdra temple was defaced by the hunters. No one was ever charged, but as the nation of Malta only has 500,000 inhabitants, everyone knows who did it. Needless to say, hunting is still allowed in and around the temples. Every few yards along the rocky bluffs there’s another blind setup and waiting for the yearly migration of songbirds from Europe.

The temples themselves have some very interesting alignments with different solar events and different land formations. It appears that the builders of these stone megaliths knew what they were doing.

img_5062

img_5063

img_5064

img_5065

img_5067

img_5068

img_5069

img_5071

img_5072

img_5073

img_5076

img_5077

img_5078

img_5079

img_5080

img_5081

img_5087

img_5089

img_5091
That little rock is part of the islands of Malta. It contains a species of lizard found nowhere else on earth. Up until the 1980’s, the British Royal Navy used it for target practice. Now it’s a protected lizard sanctuary and no one is allowed on the island.

img_5092

img_5093
The temple of Mnajdra.

img_5100

img_5103

img_5104

img_5106

img_5107

img_5109

img_5110

img_5111

img_5114

img_5119

img_5120

img_5121

img_5123

img_5126

img_5128

img_5132

img_5134

img_5138