"Traditional Malta?" a Marsaxlokk Travel Page by leics

Marsa = bay

Xlokk = the southerly wind (the Sirocco).

Marsaxlokk: small village by the sea, on the south coast of Malta. Well away from the tourist-centric northern coastline.

Around 4000 people, fishermen (and women), some ex-pats, honey-coloured limestone houses, a few restaurants/cafes/bars along the harbour front. Good for eating fish........as one would expect from a fishing village.

A harbour full of brightly-coloured fishing boats, and lots of other boats too.

Calm waters glistening in the August sun.

Slipping into the sea from a tiny bit of sand at the far extreme of the harbour, grannies and grandchildren splashing and floating nearby, was like slithering into warm silk. A million tiny shells lie waiting to be gathered.

A market for tourists (tablecloths, lace, Maltese things etc) every day in August (maybe July too) but (I think) only on Sundays the rest of the year. On the tourist day-tour trail, both organised group visits and the hop-on, hop-off bus from Sliema. But none of them seem to stay very long. A quick zip round the market, a quiet sit in the shade if they can manage it, and then they're off to the next site/sight.

There are the shops you need if you live somewhere: for food, for newspapers, for everyday things. The vegetable and fruit van turns up at the harbour daily.

An entirely brilliant guest house on the harbour, excellent accommodation, friendly owners: maybe the best deal I've ever had.

Nothing too English, thank goodness: no 'pubs' (English or Irish). No nightclubs (not that I saw anyway).

A walk up one side of the bay leads past rampant bougainvillea, new 'mansions', a religious retreat....in August, you can pick ripe figs from roadside trees (best not to eat too many of those).

There's a temple site too, Tas-Silq , though I did not see it. It's hidden away from public view. A megalithic temple of the Tarxien phase (around 3000 BC) , overlain by much later temple to Astarte/Hera (6th century BC to 1st century AD)., and eventually by a Christian religious site (4th century AD).

It's a good place to be if you don't want crowds and hordes and noise and bustle. Just a pleasant place to stay, a place to people-watch, to idle away the day, to read, perhaps to paint or draw.....

Nowhere in Malta is far from anywhere else, so if you've got a car you could do worse then base yourself here.