If you’re headed to Malta, don’t expect to capture the Azure Window in shiny filters for Instagram. The popular limestone arch collapsed into the Mediterranean Sea on Wednesday.
Located on Gozo island and formally known as Tieqa tad-Dwejra, the arch served as a backdrop in the first episode of the HBO series “Game of Thrones,” the movie “Clash of The Titans” and in the Instagram posts of many a traveler.
Malta, in the central Mediterranean, has a population of roughly 400,000 and counts tourism as a main economic driver. In recent years, rising interest in the arch and nearby sites has been driven in part by their appearance in the series “Game of Thrones,” which will air its seventh season on HBO this year. The Azure Window was a backdrop for the wedding of Daenerys Targaryen, a recurring character played by Emilia Clarke, to Khal Drogo, portrayed by Jason Momoa, in the first episode in mid-2011.
In 2013 a geological study of the site found that erosion was inevitable. Last year in response to that and to concerns for public safety, the authorities banned walking across the site, with a fine of just over $1,500 for lawbreakers.
In the end, nature — in the form of a heavy storm — not humans doomed the arch.
My opinion about this new
This news is sad because, although it was nature that caused this point that no longer has a solution, it's a shame because it was one of the most beautiful places to visit.
This can also cause tourism to go down in Malta because in that landscape scenes of important series and movies were recorded, so much so that people just go there to see it.
Nature will not give us back that piece of stone, but we will have the photos of the memory. And they are sure to do other things so that people have a reason to go to Malta.
