Ħalfa Rock (
Maltese: ''Il-Ġebla tal-Ħalfa'' ''or Il-Blata tal-Ħalfa''
) is a deserted small islet and limestone rock on the south-east coast of the island of
Gozo in the
Maltese archipelago
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
. The small islet is typified by a small maritime
labiate garrigue
Garrigue or garigue ( ), also known as phrygana ( el, φρύγανα , n. pl.), is a type of low scrubland ecoregion and plant community in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome.
It is found on limestone soils in southern ...
environment, with
germander and
prasium shrubs, with the occurrence of the
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
Maltese Pyramidal Orchid as well as endemic coastal communities based on the
Maltese Sea-Lavender and the sub-endemic
Maltese Crosswort.
The rock has an area of approximately . The maximum length of the islet is , and the average width is about . The island is protected by law. Ħalfa Rock is located approximately from the south coast of the
Qala municipality. It is part of a
geological formation
A geological formation, or simply formation, is a body of rock having a consistent set of physical characteristics ( lithology) that distinguishes it from adjacent bodies of rock, and which occupies a particular position in the layers of rock exp ...
making up
the island of Comino, and the upper areas of Qala. The rock is administratively a part of the Qala local council area.
The islet appears devoid of human heritage, with no record of habitation. However, a circular
fougasse exists on the islet - forming part of the ''Tal-Qassis'' ridge defensive system overlooking the channel between Qala and Comino.
Ħalfa Rock sits in a secluded shingle beach, with large pebbles and golden sand. A chain of submerged rocks, collectively known as Ġebel tal-Ħalfa lie within of this islet. The rock has acted as a marker in the annual Malta-Gozo-Malta Open Water Swimming Competition.
Origin of name
The origin of the name ''Tal-Ħalfa'' is a matter of conjecture. The word '
''ħalfa'
'' means '
''oath'
'' or '
''vow in
Maltese. A local legend links with the name of the islet with
Dragut, a famous pirate warrior and Ottoman admiral, who swore to seek revenge for his brother’s death on the island of Gozo. According to this legend, Dragut’s brother was killed in Gozo while raiding the island in 1544. The famous pirate asked for his brother’s corpse for burial. The Gozitans refused to turn the body over, and burned it in front of Dragut’s eyes in a place now occupied by
St. John’s demi-bastion.
It is said that when the Turks boarded their
galleys to leave Gozo, Dragut went up on a large rock nearby, now known as il-Ġebla tal-Ħalfa (the ''Vow Rock''), where he vowed to come back and wreak his vengeance on the people of Gozo.
In 1551, Dragut laid siege to
Mdina, but upon remembering his vow,
he brought the Mdina siege to an end and sailed off to attack Gozo, taking almost the whole population into slavery.
Another legend relates how following a raid on the Maltese islands, Dragut was sailing past the coast of Gozo when he saw a
vineyard
A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineya ...
on this part of the coast. Yearning for some grapes, he asked if any of his sailors would volunteer and swim to the shore for grapes.
One of his sons obliged. On his return to the vessel he presented his father with a bunch of grapes, complete with leaves and the roots plucked out of the fertile soil. Dragut had no choice but to sentence his son to death, for it was forbidden for a Muslim to take the roots of a vine. Saddened, Dragut swore he would never eat a grape in his lifetime again, giving the nearby rocky islet its name.
Wildlife
The islet supports two distinct vegetation communities. The lower region is dominated by the
Shrubby Glasswort (''Arthrocnemum macrostachyum''), with the
Olive-leaved Bindweed (''Convolvulus oleifolius'') being more dominating the central part of the islet.
Other important species present in the area include the
Maltese Sea-Lavender (''Limonium melitensis'') and the
Sea Carrot (''Daucus rupestris''), which is sub-endemic to the Maltese Islands, as well as
Lampedusa
Lampedusa ( , , ; scn, Lampidusa ; grc, Λοπαδοῦσσα and Λοπαδοῦσα and Λοπαδυῦσσα, Lopadoûssa; mt, Lampeduża) is the largest island of the Italian Pelagie Islands in the Mediterranean Sea.
The ''comune'' of L ...
,
Lampione
Lampione (; scn, Lampiuni; ar, جزيرة الكتاب, ''Jazīrat al-Kitāb'') is a small rocky island located in the Mediterranean Sea, which belongs geographically to the Pelagie Islands and administratively to the ''comune'' of Lampedusa e ...
and
Panarea
Panarea (; scn, Panarìa) is the smallest of the seven inhabited Aeolian Islands, a volcanic island chain in north of Sicily, southern Italy. It is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Lipari. There are currently about 280 residents living on t ...
.
The upper region of the islet is colonised extensively by
Esparto grass
Esparto, halfah grass, or esparto grass is a fiber produced from two species of perennial grasses of north Africa, Spain and Portugal. It is used for crafts, such as cords, basketry, and espadrilles. '' Stipa tenacissima'' and '' Lygeum spart ...
(''Lygeum spartum''), the Olive-leaved Bindweed, the
Pyramidal Orchid
''Anacamptis pyramidalis'', the pyramidal orchid, is a perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the genus ''Anacamptis'' of the family Orchidaceae. The scientific name ''Anacamptis'' derives from Greek ανακάμτειν 'anakamptein' meaning 'b ...
(''Anacamptis urvilleana''), the Maltese
Leek (''Allium melitense''), the
Carline Thistle (''Carlina involucrata'') and two stunted
Lentisks (''Pistacia lentiscus'').
The fauna on this islet includes an isolated population of the endemic
Wall Lizard (''Podarcis filfolensis'') and a morph of the endemic
Door Snail
Clausiliidae, also known by their common name the door snails, are a taxonomic family of small, very elongate, mostly left-handed, air-breathing land snails, sinistral terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks.MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaB ...
(''Muticaria macrostoma forma oscitans''). The faunal species are isolated from the mainland populations and thus have the potential of developing specific traits.
Studies of the seabed around Ħalfa Rock indicated the existence of a thick layer of submerged
clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4).
Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
on the bedrock, which supports a facies with burrows of the
thalassinid shrimp (''Upogebia mediterranea'').
In many places, the
biocoenosis
A biocenosis (UK English, ''biocoenosis'', also biocenose, biocoenose, biotic community, biological community, ecological community, life assemblage), coined by Karl Möbius in 1877, describes the interacting organisms living together in a hab ...
of infralittoral
algae is intermixed with the
Posidonia oceanica meadows, and well sorted fine sands.
Nature conservation
Ħalfa Rock is on the Maltese Islands Natural Heritage List,
and retains the status of an area of ecological importance and is also a special area of conservation. The Planning Authority scheduled Ħalfa Rock as a Level 1 Site of Scientific Importance (
ecology
Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overl ...
), Level 2 Site of Scientific Importance (
geomorphology), and a Level 2 Area of Ecological Importance as per Government Notice No. 827/02 in the Government Gazette dated 20 September 2002.
Media and the arts
The islet appears in a children's adventure book titled ''Il-Ġebla tal-Halfa'' by Pawlu Mizzi.
Notes
External links
A FLORISTIC SURVEY ON THE GOZITAN ISLETS OF TAC-CAWL AND TAL-HALFA IN THE MALTESE ISLANDSĠebel tal-Ħalfa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ħalfa Rock
Rock formations of Malta
Islands of Malta
Uninhabited islands of Malta
Qala, Malta