Malta’s mysterious ‘fat ladies’ lure a new generation of pilgrims

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Malta’s mysterious ‘fat ladies’ lure a new generation of pilgrims

A steady stream of spiritual pilgrims—mostly women—are drawn to the island’s ancient temples and its museums, home to the curvaceous prehistoric figurines seen as symbols of creation and renewal

My gaze follows the spirals carved into the rock, and I feel an inexplicable pull. Within Malta’s Ħal-Tarxien temple complex , the honey-hued stones curve and breathe like living forms, each line hinting at an ancient purpose. Only gradually do I sense the depth of what this place represents—and the controversies that swirl around it.

Some believe Malta’s early Mediterranean culture honored the life-giving forces of womanhood and Earth, its rituals shaped by reverence for fertility and creation. The evidence feels compel