Ghajn Tuffieha Bay – Il-Bajja tat-tarag.
This panoramic shot of Ghajn Tuffieha Bay and the derelict Riviera Martinique Hotel during a wintry afternoon gives a very different perspective of the beautiful golden and sandy bay which we enjoy during Summer time.
Ghajn Tuffieha is generally translated to “The Apple’s Eye“, however (and I stand to go against general perception here) as a small kid I remember getting my hands on a very old book of fables which contained a short story of fairies living on the small island of Malta in a place where a magical apple tree grew right in the middle of a spring of water. In Maltese the “The Apple’s Spring” is also translated to “Ghajn Tuffieha” which, to me makes much more sense than the Apple’s Eye.
(Sadly, bookworms took a fancy to my book and we had to dispose of it.)
The bay is also called ‘Il-Bajja tat-tarag’, (the bay with the stairs) due to the long flight of stairs one needs to walk to arrive to the sandy beach, or ‘Riviera Beach’ – referring to the Hotel ruins.
Location Map for Ghajn Tuffieha in Mellieha:
View Ghajn Tuffieha BayUntitled in a larger map