The Maltese dgħajsa (pron. Die-sa) in Spinola Bay. You will note that the ‘h’ has a slash at the top – that is because the Maltese alphabet has an ‘ħ’ which is the same as h in English and an ’h’ which is silent unless it comes next to certain other letters.
The design of the Dghajsa, like that of, the luzzu, is believed to date back at least to the Phoenician times. I think it is unique to the Maltese Islands. It used to be the water taxi which carried people around creeks and harbours. I remember when I was a child, seeing these boats very busy carrying sailors to and from their warships in Marsamxett harbour to the Ferries on the Sliema side. In those days whole squadrons of destroyers used to berth on large buoys in single file ready to sail at the first notice.
This is a very elegant boat of which few are left, mostly for taking tourists on a romantic trip around creeks. I also remember an uncle of my mother’s, both long gone, who after giving up his work on merchant navy ships (his ships were torpedoed on two occasions in WWII and he was saved from drowning by a hair’s breath) he bought one of these boats. Sometimes he used to take us for a ride on it and it was such an amazing experience not to be forgotten. Nowadays these boats are no longer man-powered but have a small outboard motor which is attached to one of the sides.
World Cup: What a stunner of a game we saw yesterday! Both teams played some fantastic football, even though few scoring chances were created – both teams neautralised each other with their skilful play. In the end one of them had to pass and it was Argentina for the coolness of their penalty takers.
Tour de France: At least the Dutch had some satisfaction to see one of their riders, Lars Boom, win a spectacular and very tough stage.
Thank you so very much for looking and for your lovely comments and the fav’s on yesterday’s picture
This is wonderful to look at and try to see everything! How did you get the font to do that 'H"? Glad you put in the pronunciation as one tends to speak even silently, what one reads! I love this scene but did you blur the background? I think its worthy of being part of this scene!
Beautiful shot Dione.....love the color of the water, and that of the boats....it has such a bright, sunny summer feel to it! I like the blur in the background.....I think it really helps the foreground stand out.....did you do that in post processing, or are you using an LB? And, yes, it was an interesting World Cup game, even if a little boring for its mostly defensive play.
Love the colors - the dof makes this a super shot. I really enjoy the history you add to your commentary about your shot. Excellent education for all of us.
A great capture of this lovely very nice looking historical boat. boat .Thanks for the interesting info.
Only Brasil and than life in Holland can get back to normal
There are so many inviting details in this picture - one could study it for a long while. All the colors in the boats, the buildings, the plants and water — it's beautiful. The information shared on this special boat is so interesting, as were the stories of your great uncle. Beautiful image you've created here.
I can see that boat being related to the Phoenicians. I like the way you've processed this shot- it's very bright and attractive. The World Cup game was INTENSE! Sad to see it come down to a shoot-out but the Argentinian goalie was amazing with those two saves.
Only Brasil and than life in Holland can get back to normal
Cool boats.
Fav
This is lovely, I like the tilt-shift effect, composition and cheery colours.