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History
Legend has it that thousands
of years ago very tall lovers of the Goddess
SPECIAL HIGHLIGHTS!
PRIVATE ENTRANCE for our group at the Hypogeum,
one of the greatest remaining structures from prehistory on our planet today! Explore the mysterious ancient cart ruts that have been the subject of debate for hundreds of years as to their origin, form and function - one of the most perplexing mysteries of ancient megalithic building technologies of all time! TOUR PERSONNEL Mark Amaru Pinkham Author, Shamanic Practitioner, Researcher/Teacher of the Goddess Tradition & Ancient Megalithic History and Director of The Order & Mystery School of the Seven Rays . Mark Amaru was the Featured Speaker on our first Sacred Sites Journey to MALTA in 2013. With Andrea, he has been leading spiritual pilgrimages around the world since 1994. He is the author of the classic The Return of the Serpents of Wisdom, and six other books about the ancient history of our planet, attesting to his passion and unending research about this subject. During this spiritual journey he will share his research with the group in a formal presentation " The Ancient History of Malta", as well as informally as we visit the sacred sites and temples. Mark is a longtime avid researcher, supporter and practitioner of the Goddess Path. He is also a trained Shamanic Practitioner and Founder/Director of The Order and Mystery School of the Seven Rays. From Mark Amaru: My life has been devoted to traveling to those places around the globe whose past history and purpose have become ongoing enigmas. Malta is one of those places. Phoenician sailors arrived there around 800 BCE and found the island covered with abandoned rock temples in the shape of the universal Goddess. Within these megalithic enclosures they discovered elongated skulls and astronomical alignments that perfectly predicted the annual positions of the Sun, Moon, and the Pleiades. But that was all. The mystery of who built these enigmatic structures was never solved by the Phoenicians, nor has it been since. Join us in October 2019 as we attempt to finally unlock the secret mysteries of Malta through scientific examination and intuitive revelation. I believe that the time of KNOWING is upon us! For more information about Mark Amaru, Click here Andrea Mikana-Pinkham Shamanic Practitioner and Researcher/Teacher of the Goddess Tradition and Ancient Megalithic History & Director of Sacred Sites Journeys Andrea is a trained Shamanic Practitioner, Reiki Master Teacher, and Co-Director of The Order and Mystery School of the Seven Rays.
An Invitation from Andrea:
I invite you to join our diverse group of
spiritual seekers on this awesome spiritual pilgrimage in Malta. I've designed our
exceptional itinerary in order to give you the optimum experience at the ancient sites of
the Mother Goddess that well explore and experience. I
will support you to connect with Her timeless Wisdom, as well as Her energies of love,
compassion and nurturing. As we explore the historical aspects of these sites you'll gain
an insight into how Her influence has continued to flow in these important areas
throughout time, influencing "Her-story" and thus our culture and civilization
of today. You will experience that the Goddess is still Alive, without and within! I'll be
honored to be with you to help facilitate your sacred travel experience and to support you
to have the transformation you seek. Blessings to you!
For more information about Andrea, Click here
TOUR ITINERARY Arrive in Malta today on your own. Please book your air to Malta - Airport Code MLA. We encourage you to arrive early enough in the day so that you’ll have a chance to rest before our afternoon and evening activities. - After clearing Immigration and Customs look for SSJ’s local tour representative in the Arrivals Hall with a sign with your name on it. He will assist you to transfer to the hotel. NOTE: For those of you in the group who are arriving early, this information is for you too! Check in and rest a bit before our evening meeting and dinner. 5:30PM – Group Introductory Meeting in the hotel breakfast room facilitated by Andrea Mikana-Pinkham; Presentation by Mark Amaru Pinkham - Malta and the Worldwide Megalithic Culture 6:45PM – Depart walking to the La Giarra Restaurant, 5 minutes away from the hotel for our Welcome Dinner. Return walking to the hotel aftewards. Overnight Valetta. The Barrister Hotel. The Barrister is a new boutique hotel located in Valletta; it opened in January 2019, and is receiving rave reviews! It's only a few minutes walk from the city center. Among the facilities are a restaurant, a 24-hour front desk and a concierge service, along with free WiFi. The property also has a currency exchange for guests. All rooms at The Barrister Hotel have a flat-screen TV, air conditioning, a desk and an electric tea pot. In addition rooms come with a closet, and are complete with a private bathroom equipped with a shower and a hairdryer. Daily breakfast is included. Day 2. Sunday, October 13. Cart Ruts, National Museum of Archaeology, Free Time; Optional Full Moon Meditation (B) Breakfast (continental buffet, i.e not cooked) at your leisure. Begins at 6:00AM 9:00AM – Be in the lobby ready to depart 9:15AM – We're off to explore the mysterious ancient “cart ruts” that have been the subject of debate for hundreds of years as to their origin, form and function - a most perplexing mystery! Here on the islands of Malta and Gozo they are the most famous and numerous. Deep ruts, tracks and grooves left in the limestone in such numbers, variety and confusion leave more questions than answers. On Malta there are cart ruts going off high cliff tops, while some are located on the sea floor. At both Clapham Junction and San Gwann Junction. there are many that intersect each other in total chaos. The Clapham Junction site was nicknamed that after the complex railway tracks of a London station. How were they formed? If they're made by humans, who were they and why did they make them? We'll explore this longtime mystery and see what conclusions we can come to for ourselves. Lunch on your own. Each day our guide will take the group to a grocery store or cafeteria, delicatessen, food wagon or some other fast-food establishment where you'll be able to buy your lunch. Then we’re off to the National Museum of Archaeology, a Maltese museum of prehistoric artifacts that is managed by Heritage Malta. The ground floor of the museum exhibits prehistoric artifacts from the Maltese islands, from the Għar Dalam phase (5200 BCE), the earliest appearance of settlement on the island, up to the Tarxien phase (2500 BCE). Early Neolithic Period Room (5200–3800 BCE) This room exhibits artifacts from the early Neolithic Period, including decorated pottery from the Għar Dalam, Grey Skorba, Red Skorba and Żebbuġ phases. Of particular importance are the Red Skorba figurines, the earliest local representations of the human figure and the predecessors of the statues of later temple periods. The exhibition features a reconstruction of the rock-cut tombs that were a characteristic of the early Neolithic period in Malta. Temple Period Rooms (3800–2500 BCE) These rooms show examples of architecture, human representation and other items that date from the Mġarr, Ġgantija, Saflieni and Tarxien phases of Maltese prehistory. The temples that were built at this time are considered to be the world’s first free standing monuments and are listed in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The museum exhibits numerous corpulent statues representing human bodies unearthed from temple excavations, along with phallic representations. Are these statues of the Mother Goddess, Fat Ladies, Deities or Priests? The discovery of temple altars and corpulent human representations suggests that some type of cult existed on the islands of Malta and Gozo in prehistory. Given the corpulence of the statues it may be that the cult was tied to a fertility rite. Fertility at this time must have been very important since, apart from family growth, it also meant the reproduction of crops and animals. We’ll explore the theories during our time here in this sacred land. We return to hotel later afternoon. You have free time. Time To Be Announced - Optional Full Moon meditation with Andrea and Mark. The moon is full tonight at 11:07PM. Dinner is on your own this evening. You can either eat at the hotel, or stroll along the nearby streets where there are many restaurants. Overnight Valetta. The Barrister Hotel.
Breakfast at your leisure 8:30AM – Be in the hotel lobby ready to depart 8:45AM – Depart the hotel. Today we begin our exploration and experiences of the sacred Goddess temples of Malta! After breakfast we depart by coach to the Village of Mgarr (im-jarr), a small town in the southeast part of Gozo, a typical rural village situated in an isolated region, to visit the temples of Ta Hagrat and Skorba. Our first stop is at the Skorba temples, megalithic remains on the northern edge of Zebbieg which have provided detailed and informative insight into the earliest periods of Malta's Neolithic culture. The site was only excavated in the early 1960s, rather late in comparison to other megalithic sites, some of which had been studied since the early 19th century. The site's importance has led to its listing as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a listing it shares with six other megalithic temples in Malta. The remains on the site are a series of megalithic uprights (one of them 3.4m high), the lowest course of the temples' foundations, paving slabs with libation holes in the entrance passage, and the torba or cement-like floor of a three-apse temple, a shape that is typical of the Ġgantija phase. Unfortunately, the greater part of the first two apses and the whole of the façade have been razed to ground level. But the north wall is in a better state of preservation. Originally, the entrance of the temple opened on a court, but in later additions during the Tarxien phase, the temple's doorway was closed off, with altars set in the corners formed by the closure. East of this temple, a second monument was added in the Tarxien phase, with four apses and a central niche. For a period of roughly twelve centuries before the temples were built, a village already stood on the site. Its oldest extant structure is the long straight wall to the west of the temples’ first entrance. Deposits at its base contained material from the first known human occupation of the island, the Għar Dalam phase, including charcoal, which carbon analysis dated to 4850 BCE. Andrea will facilitate a meditation to assist us to use our “psychic archaeology” to tune into the lives of the Mother Goddess people who lived here in ancient times. Next we visit the Ta Hagrat temples, of which the larger temple dates from the Ġgantija phase (3600–3200 BCE); the smaller is dated to the Saflieni phase (3300–3000 BCE). Major Temple: The Ġgantija phase temple is typically trefoil, with a concave façade opening onto a spacious semicircular forecourt. The façade contains a monumental doorway in the center and a bench at its base. Two steps lead up to the main entrance and a corridor flanked by upright megaliths of coralline limestone. Three are placed on each side and support large hard-stone slabs. The corridor beyond the entrance is paved with large stone blocks placed with great accuracy. The corridor leads into a central torba court, radiating three semi-circular chambers. These were partially walled off at some time in the Saflieni phase; pottery shards were recovered from the internal packing of this wall. The apses are constructed with roughly-hewn stone walls and have a rock floor. Corbelling visible on the walls of the apses suggest that the temple was roofed. Minor Temple: The Saflieni phase temple rests to the north and is 21 ft. long, and is entered through the eastern apse of the larger temple. Smaller stones have been used in its construction and it exhibits irregularities in design considered archaic or provincial. We’ll take time for meditation to connect with these ancient energies. Optional Box Lunch. We’ll take time to share with each other about our experiences at the Goddess temples this morning. After lunch we’re off to visit the village of Mdina, the old capital of Malta. Mdina is a medieval walled town situated on a hill in the center of the island. Punic remains uncovered beyond the city’s walls suggest the importance of the general region to Malta’s Phoenician settlers. Mdina is commonly called the "Silent City" by natives and visitors. The town is still confined within its walls, and has a population of just over three hundred, but it is contiguous with the village of Rabat, which takes its name from the Arabic word for suburb, and has a population of over 11,000. Mdina is fascinating to visit for its timeless atmosphere as well as its cultural and religious treasures. The history here goes back more than 4000 years. According to tradition it was here that in 60 CE that the Apostle St. Paul is said to have lived after being shipwrecked on the Islands. He supposedly resided inside the grotto known as Fuori le Mura (outside the city walls) now known as St. Paul’s Grotto in Rabat. The late 17th-century St. Paul's Cathedral in Mdina stands on the traditional site of the house of the governor Publius, who received St. Paul when he was shipwrecked on Malta. Mdina has had different names and titles depending on its rulers and its role but its medieval name describes it best – ‘Citta’ Notabile’: the noble city. It was home then, as now, to Malta’s noble families; some are descendants of the Norman, Sicilian and Spanish overlords who made Mdina their home from the 12th century onwards. Impressive palaces line its narrow, shady streets. Mdina is one of Europe’s finest examples of an ancient walled city and extraordinary in its mix of medieval and Baroque architecture. During our tour we will stop at the bastions of Mdina to admire the extensive views of Malta from one of the highest points on the island. We return to the hotel later afternoon. You have free time tonight and dinner is on your own. Overnight Valetta. The Barrister Hotel.
Day 4. Tuesday, October 15. Private Entrance at the
Hypogeum; Tarxien Temples; Group Meeting (B)
The purpose of the Hypogeum
is one of the most highly
debated in circles of megalithic architecture. This amazing and very
unique underground space offers us a rare glimpse at the prehistoric synthesis of
funerary, solar-worship and shamanic traditions. Perhaps the central chamber's several
small rounded cubicles carved into the walls were originally intended for 'living' people
as part of a ritual, in which they would have had to lie inside in a fetal position.
Traces of ergot have been found in the chamber called the 'cistern'; one of the physical
effects of ergot is to constrict bodily muscles, resulting in a forced fetal position. In
these small cubicles, echoes from the 'speaking' chamber reverberate into a rhythm that is
similar to the human heartbeat.
In the Bronze Age (2400-1500 BCE), Tarxien was reused as a cremation cemetery. The site lay hidden for centuries until its discovery in 1914, when farmers struck large stone blocks while ploughing a field. Sir Temistocles Zammit, Maltas first director of museums, excavated the site in 1915-17.
The Tarxien temple complex consists of four temples connected by a square court. The temples each have separate entrances. Uniquely, the central temple consists of six apses. This is the only known example of such a layout and it represents a final phase in the long evolution of Maltese temple architecture. A narrow staircase connects the central temple to the east temple. Fertility goddess figures (now in the national museum in Valetta) discovered in the ruins indicate that the temples were dedicated to the Earth Mother/the Mother Goddess, as were many Maltese temples. The most famous of these figures is a sculpture of large hips with feet, dubbed the "Fat Lady.
Spherical stones found at the site have provided a valuable clue as to how
the great stones of Malta's megalithic temples may have been moved into
place; some researchers believe they were rolled on the stones while being
towed with ropes. We’ll discuss this and other theories about the ancient
megalithic building techniques.
You have free time. Dinner is on your own this evening. Overnight Valetta. The Barrister Hotel. Day 5. Wednesday, October 16. Hagar Qim / Mnajdra Temples and Blue Grotto; Dinner at Ta' Marija Maltese Restaurant (B/D) Breakfast at your leisure 9:00AM – Be in the hotel lobby ready to depart 9:15AM – Depart the hotel to the temple of Hagar Qim After breakfast we head to Hagar Qim (ha-jah-een), located on a hilltop overlooking the sea and the islet of Filfla. Its the best-preserved of several ancient limestone temples in Malta. It dates from the Ggantija phase - which is about 3600 to 3200 BCE. Unlike most other Maltese temples, it is a single temple rather than a complex of two or three. Other temple ruins stand a few feet away from the main temple and the forecourt and facade follow the pattern typical of temples across the Islands. Particularly noteworthy are the larger standing stones at the corners, which are notched to take the second of the horizontal courses above, which are traditional megalithic building techniques. A stone decorated with spiral designs and a free-standing altar decorated on all sides were found here. The right apse has an interesting inner enclosure made of low stone slabs. The left apse has three high table altars and a low-standing pillar at the end. Three steps up from the left apse lead to an additional chamber. In the outer enclosing wall, the first upright stone behind the right-hand corner of the façade is one of the largest of any temple, at about 21 ft. long and close to 20 tons in weight.
Other related ruins have been uncovered near the main temple, and two Mother Goddess statues
discovered here are now in display in the national museum in Valetta.
The first and oldest temple (northern/eastern) is a simple three-apsed structure dating from c.3600-3200 BCE, not long after Ggantija was built. The small walls have been reconstructed but the small uprights, with their pitted decoration, are original.
The middle temple is the largest and was the last to be built, closer to 2000 BCE.
It was inserted between the other two and set at a higher level, and is unusual in having a great 9 ft. high porthole slab
(now broken) as its main entrance, with a second doorway beside it.
To the left of the passage leading to the inner apses is an engraving of a temple facade.
We'll have time for meditation to assist moving us into higher states of awareness.
8:00AM – Be in the hotel lobby ready to depart. 8:15AM – Depart the hotel for the ferry terminal. We take the ferry for a full day on Gozo to visit more Goddess temples! Our first stop is at the Ggantija (gii-gan-tii-ya) Prehistoric Temples in Xaghra (sha-ra). These are the earliest of a series of megalithic temples here. The ancient builders erected the two Ggantija temples during the Neolithic Age (c. 3600-2500 BCE, which makes these temples more than 5500 years old and some of the world's oldest humanmade religious structures. Together with other similar structures, these have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to local Gozitan folklore, giants built these temples and used them as places of worship. Evidence indicates there was an oracle here, as at the much-later Temple of Apollo at Delphi. A priestess prophesied while in a trance, possessed by the spirit of the goddess. Ggantija also seems to have been a place to pray for healing. In ancient times, the temples dedicated to the Mother Goddess at Ggantija drew pilgrims from across the island and even from North Africa and Sicily.
During our visit take time for meditation
to connect to the ancient Mother Goddess energies.
Breakfast at your leisure. Tour ends after breakfast. Check out of the hotel and depart to the airport to check in for your international flight. This itinerary is subject to change due to conditions beyond our control. TOUR INCLUSIONS MAIN TOUR INCLUDES:
- Daily Breakfast, 3 Dinners - Air-conditioned motor coach - All entrance fees to sites listed in itinerary - All fees related to visiting special sites which are open only by appointment - Round-trip ferry tickets to Gozo - 24 hour emergency assistance by ground operator support staff - Pre-Paid Gratuities SPECIAL HIGHLIGHTS: - Travel in a smaller group with other like-minded spiritual seekers - Escorted by SSJs Director and Meditation Facilitator Andrea Mikana-Pinkham - Featured Speaker Author Mark Amaru Pinkham - Excellent English-speaking Tour Guide - Private entrance for our group at the Hypogeum - Explore the mysterious "cart ruts" NOT INCLUDED: - Round-trip International Air to Malta (MLA) - Lunches - Cost to obtain valid passport - Meals not included in the itinerary; drinks at meals - Any items of a personal nature such as laundry, drinks, internet service, telephone calls. Any item that is not specifically detailed in the itinerary TOUR PRICING This Sacred Sites Journey to MALTA is LAND ONLY. You are responsible to book your round-trip flights as per instructions in Day 1 of the tour itinerary posted above.
Spiritual Pilgrimage to Sacred Temples of the Mother Goddess, October 12 -
19, 2019 $2,399.00 - via check, money order or bank wire $2,525.00 - via credit card payment at PayPal.com Single Room Supplement: $719.00 - via check, money order or bank wire $757.00 - via credit card payment at PayPal.com ROOMMATES: Would you like to meet and make a new friend on your journey? If you're not traveling on the journey with anyone you know, and would like for SSJ to try to match you up with a suitable roommate, we'll be happy to try to do so. Per our Terms and Conditions, we will hold the registration for the trip open until 30 days before the departure date (or later if possible) in order to try to match you with someone. If by that date we have not been able to do so, and there is no one to share your room, you will be responsible to pay for the single supplement. If you would like to be matched with a roommate, please register early. NOTE: As of June 1, 2016 a fee of €0.50 per person per night is now collected from all hotels in Malta as an Environmental Contribution, as per the Laws of Malta. €0.50 per person per night x 7 nights = €3.50 - This amount will be added to your room bill and will be paid by each client upon check out on the day you leave. Thank you! TOUR REGISTRATION
Questions? Email Andrea Mikana-Pinkham
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