Traditions of Malta: sea salt production on the island of Gozo

When I found out today´s theme for the #smartphonephotography contest organized by @juliank and @photocontests is “squares“, I thought I was out of the game as I couldn’t recall any photo that would qualify for this category.

Then, however, I opened the file with my Malta photos and to my surprise, I found these (almost forgotten) shots taken on the beautiful Maltese island of Gozo a few years ago.

These bizarre checkerboards are actually up to 350-year-old salt pans stretching for several miles on the northern coast of Gozo. The tradition of sea salt production has been passed down from generation to generation for centuries here, making it one of the most important traditions of this little island.

^{Click on the image for full view}

The process starts with the salt pans being filled with sea water. After several days, small salt crystal start to form on the bottom of the pans and it takes a few more days of drying up before the salt can be scraped up and collected.

I was lucky to see the locals scraping up the salt with rakes and putting in bags but unfortunately, I don’t have any photos of it. In this shot, however, you can at least see a huge pile of salt covered with pieces of cloth, left to dry up.

^{Click on the image for full view}

I took these images (with my then crappy smart phone) just outside the town of Marsalforn in summer 2014.

---

Czech: Téma dnešního #smartphonephotography contestu je „čtverce“ a já pro tento účel vybral dvě fotky solných pánví z Malty. Jsou to tedy většinou spíše obdélníky, ale já myslím, že hlavní organizátor soutěže @juliank se s tím nějak popasuje :) Výroba soli patří na Maltě mezi tradiční řemesla. Některé solné pánve dávají sůl (a obživu místním lidem) už více než 350 let. Tyto pánve jsem nafotil za městečkem Marsalforn na ostrově Gozo, kde jsme tehdy žili. Samotný proces výroby trvá několik dní. Po odpaření většiny mořské vody se krystalky soli usazené na dně shrabou do hromádek, které se pak nechají dále schnout. Pár pytlíků jsme si samozřejmě přivezli a můžu vám říct, že maltská sůl solí opravdu parádně. Inu, jak praví jedna známá pohádková replika – sůl nad zlato :) Hezký víkend všem českým a slovenským Steemařům!

---

Thank you for visiting my blog. If you like posts about #nature, #animals, #traveling and discovering secrets and beauties of the #world, make sure to follow me as these are the topics I mostly write about.
If you enjoy my content, feel free to upvote and resteem :) I don’t always follow back but I upvote original and interesting comments on my posts. Have a wonderful day and Steem on!

Disclosure: Posts on TravelFeed may contain affiliate links. See affiliate disclosure.