St Thomas' Bay ( mt, Id-daħla ta' San Tumas), also known as the Bay of Żejtun ( mt, Ir-Ramla taż-Żejtun), is a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a nar ...

in southeastern

Malta 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 ...

, located in the limits of the seaside town of

Marsascala Marsaskala ( mt, Wied il-Għajn), also written as Marsascala and abbreviated as M'Skala, is a seaside town in the South Eastern Region of Malta which has grown around the small harbour at the head of Marsaskala Bay, a long, narrow inlet also k ...

, formerly in the limits of

Żejtun Żejtun ( mt, Iż-Żejtun ) is a city in the South Eastern Region of Malta, with a population of 11,218 at end 2016. Żejtun is traditionally known as Città Beland, a title conferred by the grandmaster of the Order of the Knights of Malta, ...

About

The bay takes its name from an ancient medieval chapel dedicated to

St Thomas the Apostle Saint Thomas the Apostle was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. It may also refer to: Places * St Thomas the Apostle, London, parish church in the City of London, destroyed in 1666 *St Thomas, Exeter, a large civil parish in Devon, England *St ...

. The exact location of the chapel cannot be ascertained, however, its location is linked to a shrine to St Thomas on the main road to Żejtun. Historically, the bay formed part of the nearby town of Żejtun, which lies immediately uphill of the inlet. The bay and Munxar point are popular with residents of Żejtun and other inland villages for swimming, hunting and bird-trapping. Some historians contend that St Thomas' Bay marks the true landfall of the Paul the Apostle following his shipwreck on Malta. This theory is based on both geography, as well as archaeological findings of ancient Roman anchors in the bay. St Thomas' Bay includes a number of fortifications, including the Grade 1 scheduled

Riħama Battery Riħama Battery ( mt, Batterija ta' Riħama) is an artillery battery in Marsaskala, Malta. It was built by the Knights Hospitaller, Order of Saint John in 1714–1716 as one of a series of coastal fortifications around the coasts of the Maltese Is ...

at its southern end. A large fortress,

St Thomas tower Saint Thomas Tower ( mt, Torri ta' San Tumas), also known as Fort Saint Thomas ( mt, Forti San Tumas), is a large bastioned watchtower in Marsaskala, Malta. It was built in 1614, the third of six Wignacourt towers. An artillery battery was added ...

was built at the tip of ''Il-Gżira ta' Wied il-Għajn'' in 1614 after an Ottoman fleet anchored in the bay and raided Żejtun. The town of Marsascala developed on the northern shores of the bay, while the headland of Il-Munxar forms the southern edge of the bay. The bay contains a number of smaller inlets, some with sand, while the bay also serves as a harbour for a number of small boats. In its inner creek, there are a number of boathouses.

''Munxar'' headland

Atlas Van der Hagen-KW1049B12 087-INSULARUM MELITAE Vulgo MALTAE et GOZAE detailzejtun

Munxar headland (

Maltese Maltese may refer to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta * Maltese alphabet * Maltese cuisine * Maltese culture * Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people * Maltese people, people from Malta or of Malte ...

: ''Ras il-Munxar'') is a rock-bound

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on al ...

on the southern edge of the bay. The headland takes its name from a number of stacks, long since eroded into submerged reefs, which used to extend into the

Mediterranean sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

from Munxar point. The old Italian placename for the stacks jutting out of the headland was ''La Serta'' (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

: The Wreath)''.'' In other maps, the group of stacks is called ''La Serra'', that is, 'the saw.' The Maltese word for saw is Munxar''.' The headland is an unspoiled part of the

Delimara peninsula The Delimara peninsula (''Maltese: Dellimara'') is a peninsula located on the southeastern tip of the island of Malta's South Eastern Region, forming half of Marsaxlokk's coast on Marsaxlokk Bay. The towns of Marsaxlokk and Birżebbuġa are ...

, facing St. Thomas' Bay. It has a number of terraced fields, and commands good views of the bay from its heights. The fields are typical Maltese agricultural land, consisting of small plots. The soil depth is less than two feet on average, containing mainly silty-sandy soil. The plots are terraced on levels with rubble walls. As Munxar lacks water supply, the site is only viable to be cultivated by winter crops like

fodder Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food given to the animals (including ...

. Part of the promontory forms part of a designated national park, and the headland is a scheduled Area of High Landscape Value. Munxar headland is close to the recorded megalithic remains at Xrobb l-Għaġin, and includes a number of fortifications, including St. Paul's tower and chapel. In 1995, the land was proposed for development into a tourist village, but the plans were successfully resisted by residents and activists of the surrounding villages, and were shelved in 1996. More recent applications were filed for an agri-tourism village and for solar farms. These were either deemed incompatible with the area or withdrawn.

Notes

: ''Munxar headland should not be confused with a village in Gozo with the same name.''

References

External links

{{Commons category, St. Thomas Bay
VisitMalta.com - Malta Beaches and Bays
Bays of Malta Beaches of Malta Marsaskala Żejtun