Another shot taken on my Valletta walls walk. This is the place where the Turkish prison scenes in the film Midnight Express were shot. It has been for many years used by builders of carnival floats for the Maltese Carnival but these have now been moved to another location and the place is abandoned. It is the lower part of Fort St Elmo which dominates the entry to Malta’s Grand Harbour.
About the film: Billy Hayes (Brad Davis) is the young American student imprisoned in the 1970s for smuggling dope in this Oliver Stone-scripted version of his ordeal in the Turkish prison system.
With the Turkish authorities less than thrilled by the (supposedly exaggerated) portrayal of their penal system, the real location of the story, ‘Sagmalcilar Prison’ in Istanbul, was obviously out of the question. The movie was shot on the island of Malta.
Thank you very much for your views, comments and fav's - always appreciated.
What a fascinating story Dione - and a fabulous looking place to explore. Your country is so marvellous! And this image does look so much like a prison!!
A super shot of this very impressive building. Such a shame the building is abandoned. I hope a new use can be found for it and that it can be restored. Fav!
That movie is a trip - when he's in the airport and he looks so nervous and you know what's coming...this building is huge - I love exploring abandoned places, so many stories once
August 27th, 2021
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Ian
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Great angle shot of the building.