Ta' Qali

Ta' Qali is a village in Malta, a wide open space in the middle of Malta containing the national stadium, Ta' Qali National Park and a national vegetable market which is locally known as the Pitkalija.

Shortly before World War II, the area was used to build a military aerodrome and a station for the Royal Air Force (RAF), called RAF "Ta Kali". RAF Ta Kali was operational throughout the war and continued to be used as an RAF airfield until the mid-1950s. Latterly, U.K.-based squadrons visited Ta Kali as part of their annual proficiency training.

Since the departure of the RAF, the location has been transformed into a recreational area. The area is small in scale but considered by some in Malta as an ideal place to go for a picnic and spend weekend afternoons. The National Park also includes an amphitheatre. A number of international concerts were staged at the park, including artists as diverse as Status Quo, Deep Purple, Fish, Iron Maiden, Demis Roussos, Alannah Myles, Bonnie Tyler and many others. International artists such as Riccardo Fogli have also planted their own trees in the Park.

The newly built U.S. Embassy stands across from the Ta'Qali National Park. In July, 2011 the embassy relocated to Ta'Qali from Floriana where it stood for nearly fifty years.

Ta' Qali still fulfils part of its former role as an airfield but the only aircraft that take off from the greatly diminished landing strip are scale models, whose owners make part of a club located in Ta' Qali. Today, many of the military huts and buildings have been converted into workshops where Maltese craftsmen produce their handiwork, and the Ta' Qali Crafts Village has become an important tourist attraction. There is also the Malta Aviation Museum where one can find different types of aircraft related to Maltese aviation history. Before being converted to a recreational park the airstrip was used in the first car races ever held by the Maltese; nowadays the Sport Muturi has its off-road tracks where the annual motorsport championship is held.

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Wikipedia