Against proposed fuel station next to Turkish Muslim Cemetery at Marsa

Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna appeals to the Planning Authority and government to stop in its tracks the proposed conversion of a derelict factory abutting the Turkish Muslim cemetery at Marsa into a fuel station and a car-wash facility.

Such a development is not only incompatible with the historic and sacred nature of the complex but will seriously leave a negative visual impact on the otherwise grand orientalist building dating to 1874. Given its nature it will also contribute towards the progressive degradation of its stone fabric as a result of increased vehicular fumes.

The Turkish Muslim cemetery is a scheduled Grade I building. It was designed in the Indo-Persian style by the celebrated Maltese Victorian Chief Government Architect Emanuele Luigi Galizia  (1830 – 1906), and upon  the personal request by the Ottoman sultan Abdülaziz when he visited Malta in 1867. This architectural style is in itself very rare in Malta and is to be found in a few other instances of buildings also designed by Galizia such as his summer house “Alhambra” in Rudolph Street, Sliema.

FWA recommends that not only this proposed development is refuted but the area currently occupied by the derelict factory itself is cleared from the existing building and landscaped to further help accentuate better the grand architectural style of the Turkish Muslim Cemetery.

Mario Farrugia

Chairman,

Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna