The Turkish cemetery at Marsa on Malta Island : historical background, topography and tombstones features

Abstract

In January 2002 an article titled "Turkish delight" by Jennifer Baker, dealing with the decaying of the Turkish Cemetery at Marsa on Malta island, appeared on The Malta Independent The journalist quoted a Turkish newspaper, The Turkish Daily News, according to which this "Ottoman Taj Mahal" in Malta suffered from a complete lack of any attention, although the needed repair work would have not been very expensive and the families of stone-carvers, able to employ the Maltese original building techniques, were still operational on the island. At present the maintenance and upkeep of the cemetery falls under the competence of the Turkish Embassy in Rome. However, the Turkish Honorary Consul in Malta, Johanna Borg Manduca, stated that in the year 2000 the Garanti Bank undertook the restoration work with the help of local architect, but two years later the project was stopped. The history of the present cemetery dates back to the 19th century. At the beginning of this century the usage of cemeteries outside the settlements, far away from the areas of daily life, began to be spread throughout Europe.