Antique Maltese Carpet Tiles

I'm having a bit of an harummph sort of day so far today. Everything that could go wrong is going wrong.

At such times I find myslef thinking - "I need a holiday" - and if you could wave a magic wand and take me anywhere I'd return to Gozo with John and the kids.

Remember the villa we stayed in in Kercem, Gozo? There wasn't too much to take pictures of inside, except the floors which were well worth a photo or two.

Much of the floor was still covered by the original traditional tiles which are laid in such a way as to mimic a carpet.

Here is a selection of them for your enjoyment. It was difficult to get decent shots as the interior of the villa was pretty dark, as is the custom.

Consequently you will need to expand the photographs to get the full effect. 😊

This was my favourite pattern

The tiles are usually made from a mixture of powdered marble (the original ones used beach sand), white cement and colour pigment. A mould is used for each specific design and pattern into which the colours are poured one by one and left to set.

Each tile is individually made, rather than in batches, so it is a very labour intensive process.

And finally, these are the only modern tiles in the villa. They were no where near as pretty in my opinion.

Ho hum. Beam me up Scotty!

P.S. Looks like the sun's coming out so maybe I'll go to the beach later . . .

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