Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra sit under two large white canopies. People arrive expecting bare stone on a clifftop and find a tent instead.
There is a reason for it.
The stone was wearing away
Both temples are built from globigerina limestone, which is soft enough to scratch with a coin.
Five thousand years of rain, salt air, sun and cold nights had begun to take the surface off the stones. Some faces were visibly flaking.
The site sits on an exposed clifftop on the south coast, with nothing between it and the sea.
What went up, and when
Steel arches carrying a textile membrane, put up in 2008 and completed in 2009 with European Union funding.
They keep direct rain and sun off the stones. They also slow the swing between hot days and cold nights, which does most of the damage.
The canopies were never presented as permanent. They were a way of stopping the damage while better options were worked out. They are still there.
Getting a decent photograph
The light under the canopy is flat and even, which is easier to work with than harsh sun.
For the view people picture, walk down the path towards Mnajdra. From there you get the temples in their setting, with the sea and the islet of Filfla behind them.
The walk between the two temples takes about 10 minutes and is downhill on the way out.
Visiting the two temples
- One ticket covers both, plus the visitor centre between them.
- Allow 1 to 2 hours for the pair at a normal pace.
- There is a café and shade at the visitor centre, and none on the path.
Both are older than the pyramids. Mnajdra is aligned so the sun at the equinoxes and solstices falls through the main doorway. Heritage Malta runs ticketed sunrise viewings on those mornings.
Those sell out well in advance. See our page on temples and prehistory for the other sites.
Why other temples have no canopy
Ġgantija in Gozo and Tarxien are built partly from harder coralline limestone, and Tarxien is more sheltered by the town around it.
Tarxien has a lighter walkway and roof over parts of it rather than a full canopy.
