November 16, 2008 Walk

Starting from our meeting place, we crossed Wied San Martin and through almost unknown pathways we crossed the roundabout near St.Dorothy’s School, passed by the chapel dedicated to St.James in the outskirts of Zebbug, till we reached Wied ta’ Bakkja or il-Wied tal-Baqqija. We succeeded to ramble along this valley upstream reaching Wied San Anton & continued towards the wayside chapel dedicated to San Blas, where we had a very short rest, just sufficient to be able to observe some interesting graffiti on its façade. Afterwards we headed uphill till we reached another wayside chapel dedicated to Santa Lucija & San Nikola. Finally we had a well-deserved rest on the promontory situated between il-Wied tal-Isqof on one side, & Wied il-Luq on the other side.

Passing by ir-Razzett tal-Isqof, we descended towards il-Wied tal-Isqof through a typical footpath ( in Maltese called minzel ), crossed the same valley & continued rambling towards the tal-Virtu promontory. Finally we descended through Wied il-Merhliet & using secondary roads, we crossed the Rabat-Zebbug main road and reached our starting point after some 4 ½ hours.

Walk leader : Simon

Distance : 17 km

Some info on Razzett ta' l-Isqof, provided by RAM President Lino Bugeja:

The Razzett ta' l-Isqof was built by Bishop Baldassare Cagliares (1615-1633). However, the coat of arms on the facade is that of Davide Cocco Palmieri (hence the Palm Tree). A stone slab on the left records a notarial deed dated 23 August 1792 probably relating to an extension of the razzett.

The large cave under the servants' quarters with a running stream and a large stone table is a very important feature. It's a romantic hide-away.

Photos courtesy of Marcel Pisani

Heading towards Wied San Antón

San Blas Chapel

A well-deserved rest

Tal-Virtu promontory & Mdina Cathedral

Ir-Razzett tal-Isqof

Coat-of-Arms at ir-Razzett tal-Isqof

Heading towards tal-Virtu promontory

Il-Wied ta’ Bakkja