Marsascala

Marsaskala
(Marsascala, Wied il-Ghajn)

coat of arms	map
Basic data
State :	Malta
Gzejjer :	Malta Xlokk (Southeast Malta)
Distretti :	South Eastern
Area :	5,376,186 km²
Residents :	14,592 (December 31, 2018)
Population density :	2714 inhabitants / km²
ISO 3166-2 :	MT-27
Postal code :	MSK
Website :	www.marsaskala-malta.com
politics
Mayor :	Mario Calleja ( MLP )

Coordinates: 35 ° 52 '  N , 14 ° 34'  E

Marsaskala (also called Marsascala or Wied il-Għajn ) is a village in Malta at the inner end of Marsaskala Bay (also called Marsaskala Creek due to its narrow, fjord-like formation ). In the north the bay is bounded by Żonqor Point , the easternmost point of Malta, and in the south by Cape Il-Ħamrija .

description

The village stretches over both sides of the bay and over most of Cape Il-Ħamrija, which Malta has nicknamed Siberia because it is exposed to the icy north winds in winter and the buildings there are very remote from the rest of the village are. Marsaskala has a fairly modern church and a nice shopping area with shops, restaurants and cafes along the long pier.

The coast north of Żonqor Point has low cliffs; south of it is rocky beach. There are mostly promenades with a rocky beach along Marsaskala Bay. At Il-Ħamrija there are salt pans that extend around its easternmost point into St. Thomas Bay.

Although there are no sandy beaches, the area is good for diving and snorkeling and there are at least two diving schools in the village .

The parish church is St. Anna, whose festival is celebrated in Marsaskala at the end of July.

St. Anna Church in Marsaskala

The community has 14,592 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2018).

View of the port of Marsaskala

Local politics

Marsaskala has its own local council, and the 2006 elections brought an interesting result, as well as problems with the ruling National Party ( Partit Nazzjonalista ) in Malta : Josie Muscat, a former MP of the PN, who now represents the GIM (Grupp Indipendenti Marsaskala), became elected alongside a representative of the AD (Alternativa Demokratika) as the only member of a smaller party in a city or municipal council in Malta. Otherwise the PN and the MLP (Malta Labor Party) share the seats.

origin of the name

There are different opinions about the origin of the name. Everyone agrees on the first part of the name, Marsa : The Arabic word means bay. The second part, Skala, could have come from the Sicilian Sqalli , as due to the short distance of 60 nautical miles (approx. 108 km) many Sicilian fishermen came to Marsaskala. Perhaps it was derived from the Sicilian Piccola Cala (Eng. Small bay), or it refers to some festival steps ( Scala , Eng .: stairs) on the coast.

Marsaskala is also called Wied il-Għajn (English: spring valley) by the locals , as the place and bay are bordered by two valleys through which fresh spring water ran into the bay.

history

Humans settled this area thousands of years ago, as evidenced by some archaeological finds in many parts of Marsaskala. Early history is usually divided into the Neolithic and the Bronze Age . Some of the ancient tracks in Marsaskala are undoubtedly cart tracks, parallel cavities in the rock. Many Maltese cart tracks surprisingly lead directly into the sea. Today it is no longer known what these tracks were used for, but there is some evidence that they were created to transport heavy loads.

Early Christian catacombs and Roman villas were also discovered in Marsaskala, so Marsaskala is believed to be a Roman port as well. Roman baths were found in a field at il-Gżira , a rocky peninsula behind the Jerma Palace Hotel.

The well-preserved St Thomas Tower was built by the Knights of the Order of St. John soon after the attack by 60 Turkish ships with 6000 soldiers, which landed at Marsaskala in 1614. They were reminded of the Great Siege of Malta in 1565. With this fortress tower , the Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt took account of Marsascala's vulnerability to attacks from the sea. There are other fortress towers like the De Redin Watch Tower . The Torri Mamo was built as a private fortified residential tower.

Twin cities

Marsaskala has been a member of the European city alliance Douzelage since 2009 .

Web links

Commons : Marsaskala  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Wikivoyage: Marsaskala  - travel guide

• Maltese government website on Marsaskala

Individual evidence

1. ↑ StatDB of the National Statistics Office Malta , accessed on August 1, 2020