Malta, Red Tower, Red Fort
Malta, Gozo, Comino. |
This imposing Red Tower is more correctly known as St Agatha's Tower and dominates the skyline of Malta's Marfa Ridge. It was built in 1647 to act as a signalling post for communication with the island of Gozo and is the furthest outpost from Malta's capital - Valletta. It guards the bays of Mellieha and Ghajn Tuffieha. It originally housed cannon, 30 men and enough food to withstand a siege of 40 days. There are 4 towers rising from each corner of this square shaped tower, which has walls of about 4 metres thick. It was used for defence in both World Wars by the British and more recently as a radar station by the Armed Forces of Malta. It opens from 10:00 to 12:00 Tue, Wed and Fri all year round and is manned by extremely friendly and informative staff.
Marfa Ridge is at the Northern tip of the island of Malta and looks like a fish tail on the map. It is a quiet, undeveloped part of Malta- no big hotels or All Day English Breakfasts here. The countryside is wild and unspoiled, the road system makes travelling difficult, even by Malta's standards, as most only connect by re-tracing your steps back to the one main road.
There are many tiny, quiet, sandy bays, with only one or two small snack bars and no other facilities. It is used by the Maltese islanders as a summer resort, many of whom have small boats anchored in the bays. The sea seems to be less sheltered and deeper here than on many of the other, more touristy beaches and diving is popular. From here, there are great views of the islands of Gozo and Comino.
Photography, Text and Graphics © Red Door VR Limited All rights reserved.
Photography completed: 31/10/05 17:11:52
Looking for digital images and photographs of Malta for your own use? Why not view our image library: Images of Malta
|
|