Essay Task 3

I choose to talk about two popular things that we see in Malta, the Maltese stone hut (Il- Girna) and the Windmill (Il- Mithna). These are both Traditional Maltese Culture.

The “Girna” is a small dome-shaped stone hut found in the Maltese countryside built by its user, they used it as a shelter of to store tools. The Girna is first documented in the Sixteenth Century but the strangest thing is that no one can say when they were first built on the islands, but similar huts in Sardinia are thought to have their origins in pre-historic times. The wall of the “Girna” is double, and the space between the walls is filled with rubble and gravel and sometimes they do pieces of limestone. 

The stone huts are made like the Terrance wall is made with double walls and small pieces in the middle. In the design generally there are no windows in the stone huts but they have a door, some of these Maltese giren have a small window for the air to circulate but the others have a door only. Some of the roofs are flattish. The form on the Exterior varies such as circular, oval, square and others rectangular.

The stones of the stone huts are laid using a system of corbelling, which gives stability to the roof. Most of the stone huts are surrounded by fields. The material of the stone huts is rubble walls, the rubble walls are visible work of the human hands.The huts in foreign countries have the floor with flat stone slabs, unlike the girna that it’s usually in soil. These stone huts are still a beautiful piece of the Maltese vernacular architecture and heritage.

 Giren are not only found in the Maltese countries but they are found across the Mediterranean in foreign countries such as Italy, France and Spain as well as Ireland, each huts serves the same as the stone huts in Malta. They only have a little variation in shape and structure, either rounded, cone shaped or cube shaped. These huts are similar because they were inspired by the huts found in Africa. Trullo the famous stone hut in Italy follow the same roofing technique.  

Girna- Nadur, Gozo.

(Schembri, 2008)

Girna- Mellieha, Malta.

(mizzi, 2011)

Girna- Dingli, Malta.

(Schembri, 2010)

Girna- Mellieha, Malta.

(Schembri, 2010)

Windmills are also part of the Maltese culture nowadays. The first windmill in Malta was built in 1530. Nearly all the windmills in Malta have been built by the knight of St. John, and they also introduced the technology of the windmills. An interesting fact was that the miller could see if the others were working or not. Before it was restricted to build a windmill but after 1838 everybody was allowed to build a windmill and it developed progressively round the grand harbour. All the windmills have the same building plan. The tower is surrounded by a stone quadrangular building, and there were two other rooms on both sides of the main entrance. One for the grain and the other for the storage of flour.

 During the last century, the aermotor windmill allowed farmers to pump water. They are common all around the world, some are different from those of Malta. Windmills are designed by skilled craftsmen. They developed steadily over the centuries. It gives flexibility because it can be turned to catch the wind depending on the direction it is blowing. 

There are two classes of windmills, horizontal axis and vertical axis. The Vertical axis design was popular during the early development. The post mill was the earliest design and it had four blades mounted on a central post. The earliest post mills have been built in the 12^th Century in England and we find post mills in Malta as well. The most foreign country known for its windmills is the Netherlands. 

Windmill- Zurrieq, Malta.

Windmill- Xaghra, Gozo.

(Ta' Kola Windmill, n.d.)

Pictures Reference:

Schembri, T. (2008). Girna. [image] Available at: http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Europe/Malta/North/Gozo/nadur/photo1094171.htm [Accessed 17 Jan. 2016].

mizzi, m. (2011). Massive Girna at Mellieha Malta. [image] Available at: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/48064513 [Accessed 17 Jan. 2016].

Schembri, P. (2010). Malta's Dry Stone Huts - Il-Girna. [image] Available at: http://filforn.blogspot.com.mt/2010/06/girna-of-malta.html?google_comment_id=z12agdlwalzcsdvxz04cipajopuxwt3qru00k [Accessed 17 Jan. 2016].

Schembri, P. (2010). Malta's Dry Stone Huts - Il-Girna. [image] Available at: http://filforn.blogspot.com.mt/2010/06/girna-of-malta.html?google_comment_id=z12agdlwalzcsdvxz04cipajopuxwt3qru00k [Accessed 17 Jan. 2016].

Ta' Kola Windmill. (n.d.). [image] Available at: http://www.mydestination.com/malta/sights/11424/ta-kola-windmill [Accessed 17 Jan. 2016].

References:

Schoolnet.gov.mt, (2016). The Girna. [online] Available at: http://www.schoolnet.gov.mt/history/F5/Kampanja/Karat/girna.htm [Accessed 17 Jan. 2016].

Stoneshelter.org, (2016). The Stone. [online] Available at: http://www.stoneshelter.org/stone/girna.htm [Accessed 17 Jan. 2016].

Aboutmalta.com, (2016). FOLKLORE [aboutmalta.com]. [online] Available at: http://www.aboutmalta.com/FOLKLORE/ [Accessed 17 Jan. 2016].

Sorensen, B. (1995). History of, and Recent Progress in, Wind-Energy Utilization. Annual Review of Energy and the Environment, [online] 20(1), pp.387-424. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windmill [Accessed 17 Jan. 2016].

Encyclopedia.com, (2016). windmill Facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about windmill. [online] Available at: http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/windmill.aspx [Accessed 17 Jan. 2016].

Holland.com, (2016). Windmills - Holland.com. [online] Available at: http://www.holland.com/global/tourism/interests/traditional/windmills.htm [Accessed 17 Jan. 2016].