Summer Solstice at the Temples (21st - 22nd June 2014)

If you can face getting up at 04.30 in the morning, we highly recommend the Summer Solstice experience offered by Heritage Malta at the World Heritage Sites of either Mnajdra or Ħagar Qim Temples.

A solstice marks the northernmost or southernmost position of the Sun as viewed from Earth. The Summer solstice occurs once every year. Sunrise on the first day of each season underlines the relationship between the temples and celestial bodies. Although it is not known for certain whether these orientations were intentional, they are so systematic that this is very probable. In prehistoric agricultural societies, observation of the motion of the stars, the moon and sun could have been related to the changing seasons and times of planting and harvesting crops. On June 21, the first rays of the sun light up the edge of a megalith found to the left of the central doorway connecting the first pair of chambers to the inner chamber of the lower Mnajdra temple. At the same time, at Ħaġar Qim, sunlight passes through a hole known as the oracle hole which opens onto a chamber on the northeast side of the structure. Here the sun's rays project a disk of light onto a stone slab at the entrance to the apse. As the minutes pass, the disc becomes a crescent, then elongates into an ellipse, elongates still further and finally sinks out of sight as if into the ground.

After the Solstice there will be a tour of the Visitor Centre and refreshments.

Tickets can be purchased from all Heritage Malta sites & museums for the price of €15 per person.

Early booking recommended - Limited places available.

For further information please contact 21424231.