Plans to turn Fort St Elmo into a major tourist venue 

M.Cachia

Feb 9th 2011, 18:11

Why in good God's name would we want to set up a monument to Dragut?? It's like asking the Spanish to put up a monument to Napoleon in Madrid or the Texans a monument to General Sant' Anna in front of the Alamo....

Raymond Sammut

Feb 9th 2011, 21:48

@ M.Cachia

Unlike the two you have mentioned, Dragut was one of the best commanders of his time both at sea and on land (an immensely rare trait in military history), and in addition he also had a great capacity for administration. More importantly, neither Bonaparte died in Madrid nor de Santa Anna died in Texas. Dragut knew Malta (and Gozo) more than Bonaparte ever knew Madrid or de Santa Anna Texas.

Everyone should recall that the unthinkable cruelty that occurred later in the siege on both sides (cruelty which, by today's standards, would be considered as the most heinous war crimes) may not have occurred had Dragut (at age 80) survived the siege and remained in command. Of course, it will always remain a contentious issue as to what would have happened (especially to Maltese families) had Dragut went on to lay siege on and rout the remaining two forts, and take charge of Malta's administration by decree from the Magnificent Sultan. Nevertheless, I remain of the view that due homage should be paid, in conjunction with the Turkish government, to this great commander and administrator as part of the restoration effort of this fort.

tT Mercieca

Feb 10th 2011, 09:46

Then you could demolish all the fortications on the Island! The Brist modified all forts according to the defences of the era. They also built lower St. Elmo, thus ensuring that no landing could be done on that side of the Fort.

And since you mentioned it, why not ask the Turkish Goverment or any other Arab country to build a monument to the Kights of St. John, or Grand Master La Valett (for the defeat of their superior army in 1565).

Raymond Sammut

Feb 10th 2011, 11:39

@ T Mercieca

The British built fortifications of their own, such as, for example the Victoria Lines. These too, hopefully, can be restored. The idea is to restore historical buildings to their original design wherever the integrity of this design had been markedly violated.

The British mutilated St Elmo, and left a pretty mess behind. It is also known that inside St Angelo they left a wrecked empty swimming pool, among other things.

I cannot see the relevance in your second paragraph. What the Turkish government does in Turkey is a matter for Turkish people. de Valette never set foot on Turkey. On the other hand, to Dragut, Malta was just about his second home, had thorough knowledge of the island, and it's where he died. Thus he remained profoundly connected with fort St Elmo. There is nothing in Turkey that has anything to do with the Order of St John. Clearly, your logic is out of kilter.

What we need is a balanced version of history. This can be achieved only by including input and corroboration from Turkish historians. We would like history to teach rather than creating misconceptions and or unnecessary glorifications.

I.Cocker

Feb 10th 2011, 15:41

Rais Dragut was not truly a Turk but a subject from the vast Ottoman Empire. During the siege he was commissioned as an advisor as his knowledge of the islands and experience in siege, land and naval exploits was much more superior then the other two commanders and probably the Sultan gave him the mission to balance the ego struggle between Piali and Mustapha.

On the other hand the Fort is in Malta, it has been raped by everyone who conquered our island and the Republican Maltese that followed, so I wonder is it not US that have to safe her, not the Knights, not the Turks, nor the Allies or the Axis ... just US!

Raymond Sammut

Feb 10th 2011, 22:37

@ I.Cocker

The Wiki page currently states that he was actually of Greek descent. Under his administration, Tripoli was one of the most impressive cities.

St Elmo is the total responsibility (and presently the most colossal shame, barbarism and disgrace) of the Maltese government, and the restoration of this fort to its pristine condition is long overdue. Original designs are extant. The Maltese government has absolutely no excuses, and should be inviting and encouraging public input.

I would also like to urge the Maltese government to invite the Turkish government to provide input on how to pay homage to Dragut within the walls of St Elmo. It's an extremely import historical fact that Dragut was still alive when the besiegers took St Elmo under his command. It would be a disservice to history, and to lovers of history in general, if this important point were not highlighted prominently as part of the restoration.

T Mercieca

Feb 11th 2011, 09:26

@R Sammut

If you're refering to the concrete structures, mostly is WWII. Those built possibly later could be removed. However, most of the structures are made of stone, and were built up during the early British rule.

As regards St. Angelo, since you mentioned it, the pool was built when the Fort was a hotel!

Turkey was part of the Ottoman Empire as well as most of the Arab countries in touch with the Mediterrian. La Valette, was like Dragut , an excellent raider. The Order's fleet was very active under his command. And mainly, due to his raids, the Ottamans opted to invade Malta. As for Dragut, he had a lot of second homes, Sicily, for one. If you go to Tunisia, just visit a few of the old costal towns, which have interesting historical boards, about the raids which were done by the Order.

History is history, you cannot balance it.

Since you want the monument for Dragut, what about the Maltese who lived in that period. Why not erect a monument to them, or their off springs who later rose against the Order, then the French and also the British?

Raymond Sammut

Feb 11th 2011, 10:52

@ T Mercieca

I have no knowledge of St Angelo ever being a hotel, nor it's so mentioned online that I can find. What hotel was this? Who owned this hotel?

I visited St Angelo twice (2003). Although views of the harbour from this fort are breathtaking, the fort itself is a total abomination of neglect. And every structure that had been built and left behind by the British Military makes the place look like a frightening chimera.

I never got to locate the swimming-pool. I'm only aware of its existence thanks to an interview I was watching on a Maltese TV programme (broadcast in Melbourne) with a rep from Heritage Malta. The pool could be seen right behind him (empty and neglected) as he was answering questions. I'm saying things, here, from memory.

The reason why I say that everything that the British erected --inside both St-Angelo and St-Elmo-- must be demolished and carted off is because I would like to see the British saved from the continuing shame they suffer for their humongous litter left behind. The least they could do was to clear up their sticky mess before they sailed-off in 1978.

Raymond Sammut

Feb 11th 2011, 11:45

@ T Mercieca

I wouldn't call la Valette "an excellent raider". La Valette had been Grand Admiral of the Order before he was made GM. The position of Grand Admiral hardly qualified him as "raider".

Turkey wasn't part of the Ottoman Empire. This should be clear since Turkey wasn't established until 1922. You probably meant Anatolia.

"The Arab countries in touch with the Mediterrian..."(Mercieca) is inaccurate. These are historically referred to as, for example, Barbary, Tunis, Tripoli, and so on. Arab countries with their present borders were established long after the Ottoman Empire.

"History is history, you cannot balance it."(Mercieca) I cannot see what you mean here. History is told in a balanced way if it were told by all the sides involved --in this case, by Maltese and Turkish historians.

"Since you want the monument for Dragut..."(Mercieca) By monument I didn't mean some dreary bronze statue like we see in every corner of Malta. I meant a suitable structure. The Maltese of 1565 have that monument --St-Elmo. As for Dragut, that's for the Turkish and Maltese governments of the day to determine --a cultural opportunity for both to tell history as it really happened.

victor pulis

Feb 9th 2011, 16:39

At the risk of sounding a traitor to my country I wish that these forts were in some other country where they would be appreciated. Better to lose them to someone who cares than to let them rot or turned into prostitutes to fatten the pockets of some entrepreneur who thinks he owns our heritage. Why can't we think outside the box for once and forget about hotels, yacht marinas and shopping complexes? Don't we have more than enough of these? it's time to think about neglected areas like culture, history, art. To our shame we still don't have a modern art museum but we'll soon have one between the stilts of the new parliament featuring our political history! As if politics are not already oozing out of our...noses.