Imagine a Sunday morning hearing Mass not in a chapel or church but from across the water!

Strange, but this was the situation in yesteryear whenever the sea was rough in Comino and the priest was unable to cross over from Gozo.

The Comino community would go to the place known as Tal-Hmara and stay perched on the rocks following the Mass being celebrated on the sister island at the Madonna tal-Blat Chapel on Hondoq ir-Rummien.

The Comino community followed what was going on by a flag code which enabled them to follow how the Mass was progressing.

This anecdote of life on Comino is only a tiny bit of the information being made available to the public on the internet following months of research by Steve Borg and Steve Farrugia.

Born in 1964, Steve Borg has actively lobbied and campaigned for the scheduling and protection of heritage sites and urban village cores in the Maltese islands.

In 2000, he cofounded the musical ensemble Etnika, that has managed to resuscitate traditional Maltese instruments.

Steve Farrugia, 42, set up www.my-malta.com in January 2001. It was originally intended to provide those people of Maltese origin residing abroad with a vital link to their homeland.

The evolution of my-malta.com into one looking into every aspect of the Maltese islands, created in him a much greater awareness of the nation's culture, history and lifestyle.

The non-commercial website, being officially launched on Saturday, is aimed at promoting better understanding, appreciation and protection of the virgin habitat on Comino, as well as the island's traditions and historical heritage.

The site would encourage foreigners to visit and the Maltese to promote Comino as an eco-friendly island.

The authors have been to Comino several times, talking to the four residents there and taking photos. A considerable amount of fieldwork was also done from Malta.

Besides the information, the site is also enriched with old photographs of people who used to live on Comino.

The site opens with Frank O'Neill's 1975 song Mhabba f'Kemmuna, sung by Tony Camilleri.

Besides general information and an overview, it contains information about specific places in Comino including the famous Blue Lagoon, or as it known officially in Maltese Bejn il-Kmiemen.

A special area in fact includes a list of original Maltese names of the places in Comino, which are unfortunately being lost due to using the given English names instead.

There is also the legend of the two hermits Kerrew and Abulafia. Kerrew crossed the sea between Malta and Comino on his cloak to meet Abulafia, a mystic who lived in solitude there.

Another interesting feature is an interview with Marija Said, one of the four remaining residents of the island giving readers the chance to get to know Marija through the website.

A section is dedicated to eco-conservation. In it the government is quoted announcing the introduction of bring-in sites on Comino where day-trippers could discard their waste in a responsible and ecologically friendly manner.

The authors urged the government to keep its promise and introduce these sites as soon as possible.

There is a whole section reserved to old Comino maps, some dating back to the 1500s. Some show Comino abounding with il-fenek tal-grixti (wild rabbits), still running rampant in the 1920s.

The authors want to keep adding information to the site and are calling on people who have personal experiences they could share, such as people who could have had relatives or who convalesced at Comino as soldiers during the first world war to write to them with their experiences.

Information can be e-mailed to info@my-malta.com or webmaster@my-malta.com.

The two Steves are dedicating their work to the inhabitants of Comino, "whose memory should live on as a part of our rich Maltese culture".

www.my-malta.com/Kemmuna/main.html

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