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This blog is dedicated to Malta - my island home. My aim is not to bore you with history but to share my thoughts and a few facts together with a photo or two. For a more in -depth background of the island please go here. The purpose of this blog is not to point out the short-comings of the island. There are plenty that do that already. My wish is to show you the beauty of an island at the cross roads of the Mediterranean, a melting pot of history; a place where fact and fiction are sometimes fused to create unique myths and legends; a country that has been conquered so many times that our culture is a mish mesh of the lands that surround us and of lands far away. I confess that my greatest desire is to make you fall in love with this tiny enchanting island.

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Friday 4 November 2011

The Lighthouse At Delimara

Delimara (1)

This lighthouse, which is situated in the southernmost tip of Malta, was built by the British in 1854. Its light served as a beacon for all maritime traffic approaching Malta. Until 1896, the lighthouse had a static red lantern but this was replaced by a more powerful gasoline lamp which was operated by a hand-wound mechanism. This lamp gave off alternating beams of red and white light every 30 seconds.

Delimara (2)

In 2006 the Malta Maritime Authority entrusted the restoration and upkeep of the lighthouse to Din l-Art Helwa, an NGO founded in 1965 to safeguard the historic, artistic and natural heritage of Malta. Restoration on the lighthouse should be complete by the summer of 2012 when Din l-Art Helwa hope to offer the lighthouse as holiday accommodation to those visitors wishing to experience something different from an impersonal hotel room. I would not mind renting the place out for a weekend myself when it becomes available. It would surely be a unique experience and, given the isolated location of the lighthouse at Delimara Point, possibly a romantic one too. I would certainly love to stay there on a stormy winter night with lightning flashing all around me, rain lashing the wide windows and a gale-force wind rattling the weather-vane and spinning it around and around.

Delimara (20)

It’s a scene which is causing shivers to run down my spine but definitely something I would love to do at least once in my  life. And the view from the top will, naturally, be nothing less than magnificent. I can feel myself getting excited about this. Din l-Art Helwa can rest assured that they will have at least one visitor as soon as the restoration is complete and bookings are accepted.

Delimara (13)

Delimara Lighthouse

Delimara Point

Marsaxlokk

Photographed June 2011

8 comments:

  1. It does sound like an exciting getaway, indeed! I would love to see the view from the observation deck.

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  2. I once spent a week in a lighthouse on the rugged Atlantic coast of Scotland. It was in the winter and I can definitely recommend the experience! It was glorious though we weren't too lucky in that there were no storms or even merely bad weather...
    This is a gem of a lighthouse, I'm so happy it's going to get a second life.

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  3. Lovely 'spotlight' of this site :) We'd love to visit Malta one day. I'm new to your wonderful blog

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  4. i love the first photo. it's like something that i normally see in travel magazines. you have a good eye, loree.

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  5. Wow...beautiful..and i LOVE the third picture..stunning and gorgeous!
    beautiful post!
    Kiki

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  6. I'm glad the lighthouse is being restored. It sure would be fun to spend a weekend there!

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  7. Hi Loree
    I love lighthouses and think staying in one would be fantastic.. especially in a storm!!! I do hope you get to stay there and take some more fabulous shots for us.. Maybe one day I'll get there also.. Have a great week.. ciao xxx Julie

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  8. Wow! I would LOVE to stay in that lighthouse! If you do, you'll have to document it with photos here on your blog, so we can visit it vicariously ;)

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