Stop 05 of 12
The Path Between the Temples
Two stones, one ridge
Free to hear. You have 3 of three free stops left, on any tours.
Guide to The Path Between the Temples
Halfway between the temples the walk pauses on the ridge itself: thin soil in dry-stone terraces, carob trees, the sea. Under the path the soft golden globigerina limestone of the upper ridge gives way to the harder, older lower coralline limestone. Ħaġar Qim was built of the first, Mnajdra of the second, which is why Mnajdra is the better preserved.
The ground
The upper ridge is globigerina limestone, soft and golden; lower down it gives way to an older, harder, greyer rock, lower coralline limestone. The temple above was built of the soft stone and needed a shelter. The one below was built of the hard stone, and its carvings are still sharp after five thousand years.
About the tents
The shelters were argued over: costly, prominent, and a modern shape on a prehistoric skyline. The alternative was to watch the stone flake away. They were designed to be reversible, and may one day come down if the stone can be stabilised. In the meantime they are what honest conservation looks like.
The season
In spring the terraces are thick with wild flowers and in early summer loud with cicadas. In August the ground is bare and there is no shade on the path at all.
What to look at
- The change in colour of the bare rock, golden above, grey below
- Dry-stone terrace walls, the descendants of walls that stood here in the temple period
- Carob trees, the one tree that thrives on this ridge
Practical
- Terrain
- Surfaced path, downhill; the same path is the climb back for the shorter routes.
- Shade
- None. Carry water.
Walk to stop 06 · Mnajdra: the South Temple
Carry on down the path into the Mnajdra shelter and stop at the entrance of the lowest temple, nearest the sea.
About 4 min · 254 m
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