Blue's Secret Legends of the Sea

Book 3: Travelling across oceans and Seas:

Blue’s Secret Legends across the seas

Who is Blue?

Dear Readers,

This time Blue is exploring legends. Everywhere he goes, he’s mesmerised by the stories the locals have to tell. Blue has
recorded them in this ebook. Read and enjoy. This is part of our cultural heritage. Make sure you recount these stories to
your family and friends, passing them on to our future generations.

Happy reading & story telling.

Yours truly,
The SEA of Wonders eTwinning Team xxx

Malta: Għar Ħasan

Għar Ħasan is a magical cave in the south of Malta. The hassle to get to the
cave and the eerie sound of the waves crashing against the rock formation
below you is enough to make you feel uneasy wandering around this enormous
cave. Named after Saracen Ħasan, the cave tells the story of how he lusted after
a girl from a nearby village and practically kidnapped her. Ħasan kept the girl
hidden away in this cave, presumably hoping she would get a severe case of
Stockholm Syndrome.
A group of local farmers found Ħasan’s hiding place and ambushed him to
rescue the girl. Ħasan panicked when he saw the raging farmers and threw the
poor girl off the cliff (true love) and jumped right after. Another version says
that the girl could simply not get herself to develop the much hoped-for
Stockholm Syndrome, jumped off the cliff in despair, and Ħasan soon followed.

Taken from: www.lovinmalta.com

Malta: The Siren’s Cave

Once upon a time, horrible storm washed up a mermaid up the shore of the city
of Senglea. She would sing so sweetly, people were intrigued, but she did not
want anyone to see her. The siren was always so lonely as she would hide away
when anyone came to approach her.
Once day however a sailor managed to see her. He fell in love with her
immediately and wanted to marry her, the siren said this could never happen.
The sailor was persistent, so he finally managed to sneek up on her and kissed
her. At his touch the siren immediately turned to stone.

(Picture created by Therese Bonnici, St Thomas More College, Middle School,
Tarxien)

jAPAN (told by a japanese student living in malta): URASHIMA TARO

Long ago in a far away village by the sea a young fisherman named Urashima Taro
lived a modest life with his mother. One Fall the sea was rough day after day Urashima
Taro was unable to fish. Early one morning he went down to the shore and watched
the choppy sea. He suddenly noticed three boys close to him teasing and hurting the
turtle with heavy sticks. ‘How dare you hurt a creature like that?’ said Urashima Taro,
chasing the boys away. The next day he met the turtle again. The turtle said, ‘I owe you
my life as a token I will show you a kingdom underneath the sea.’ The turtle let
Urashima ride on his back. Urashima had a lot of fun when he decided it was time to
go back a sea princess gave him a box for saving the turtle and told him to never open
it. When he arrived, there was no one in his village. He was curious and decided to
open the box. Some smoke enveloped him and turned him into an old man.

Photo taken from https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51kbI1H48QL.jpg

Ireland - Port na bPucaí - The story of a magical
being off the West Coast of Ireland

Port na bPucai (The Fairy Lament - available on Youtube) is
a famous piece of irish music about the death of a fairy
around the sea near the Blasket Island off the west coast of
Ireland.The air “Port na bPucai” has been credited to Kerry
musician Muiris O Dalaigh (1910-1990).A Pouca or in Irish
puca,usually refers to a magical being-a “water sprite”or
“mischievous fairy”.Sometimes the tune is described as the
sound of the wind blowing across the islands.

Ireland continued

There were people from the great blasket island, looking
after animals.one winter nht they were in bed asleep and the
old woman was first to hear the sound, she thought it was
the sound of birds. The sound was coming nearer all the time
until at last she realised that it as music and she woke the
old man beside her and both of them listened to the sound
for a long time until they were able to remember it. It has
been music on the blasket ever since.

Devil's fishing near from the port of Ars-en-Ré

A legend says that an old sea-lion, "who had dragged his hump in the five parts of the world", made one day, not far from the port of
Ars en Ré, a frightening meeting: a strange fisherman, in the eyes of fascinating embers, grinning grinning, which represented the end
of its existence in number of fish just caught

The Blasket Island

From Google imagggggges

FRANCE: the beast of querqueville

A strange animal of unknown origin, went aground in 1934

on Querqueville beach, a few kilometers from Cherbourg

The beast of Querqueville was eight meters long, a face
like a giraffe, a head like that with torment; strong fins,
including a dorsal fin, all covered with hair ...

"It's a cetacean," said one. "Not at all," said the other, "it's a
fish. An old sailor, said "It's the real sea serpent, We have
already seen on an adventure. But this one is a small one,
he added, there are four times that size ... "

France: the kraken

Probably no legendary sea monster was as horrifying as the
Kraken. According to stories this huge, many armed, creature
could reach as high as the top of a sailing ship's main
mast. A kraken would attack a ship by wrapping their arms
around the hull and capsizing it. The crew would drown or be
eaten by the monster. What's amazing about the kraken
stories is that, of all the sea monster tales we have, we
have the best evidence that this creature was based on
something real.

GREECE: Gorgona, Alexander the great ‘s sister

The most popular myth about the Mermaid is connected with Alexander the Great. According to the
Alexander romance, a collection of legends concerning his exploits, composed in the 3rd century but very
popular throughout the Middle Ages, one of Alexander’s soldiers managed to find the Water of Life or
Immortal Water during the expedition but did not reveal the secret to Alexander, so that he could become
immortal.
Later on the people’s imagination changed the story a little. In the popular myth Alexander collects the
water in a cup but his sister drinks it or uses it to bathe her hair. This sister is often identified with a real
person, his sister Thessaloniki, who gave her name to the second biggest city of Greece. In a rage
Alexander curses her to become half woman and half fish. But she bears him no grudge. She travels the
sea and asks the sailors if king Alexander is still alive. The wise sailors should answer "He is alive and
reigns and conquers the world", so that she lets them continue their voyage. But if they make the mistake
and answer that he is dead, she flies into a fury and sinks the ship.
The moral of the story is that people should respect the sea and submit to its whims, otherwise their
arrogance, their hybris will lead them to their doom.

(our puzzle :Alexander the Great's sister )

2nd
Primary
School of
Giannitsa,
Greece

Greece ASOPE “SHIPRECKED AND SEA”,1RST junior HIGH SCHOOL OF mARKOPOULO

A man was sleeping by the sea. When he wake up he accused
sea of beauty and calm and then she can be wild. As a woman
sea said you should accuse wind not me.Because I am as you
see calm and wind come over me and make me wild. So when
something bad happen we should accuse the one who came over
me who is responsible.

GREECE Niriides-1rst junior high school of maRkopoulo

Niriides were women god, daughter of Nirea and Oceanida.
They were about fifty. They were dancing and swimming with
dolphine. Other time they were singing by the sea. They were
like mermed.It means that they live by water. They were
dancing in cyrcle. They were pretty, with blond hai, green
eyes and white dress.

SICILY: COLA PESCE

This is the story of a Sicilian boy named Cola but everyone
called him “Colapesce (pesce=fish)” because he loved the sea
and he spent his days swimming and diving. He lived in
Messina, a beautiful city in the east coast of Sicily, with
his mother. She didn’t like Cola’ strange habits and she was
used to tell him: “You will change into a fish sooner or
later”! Colapesce was used to go out and tell to everyone
about the wonderful treasures he was seeing while diving.
One day Federico II king of Sicily, heard about Colapesce
and about his strange adventures.



The king was curious and asked him to have a look in the deepest
sea to find out what can hold the Sicilian island up. Colapesce
went down the sea and when he was back he said “Sicily is hold
up by three columns but one of them has been damaged by a magic
big fire. I suppose that our Sicily will be soon submerged by
the sea”. Both the inhabitants and the king were scared. They
begged him to help them. Colapesce, even though he knew that
diving that deep was extremely dangerous, decided to go. Since
that time the king and the inhabitants never saw him again.
Everybody said that Colapesce had became half man and half fish
and had remained under the sea helping the third column to
remain stable. Up to now he holds up Sicily and prevents it to
be submerged by the sea. (I.I.S. ‘A. Volta - Italy)

SPAIN: The year of the drowning

In Vilanova there was a storm which was one of the most horrible happened on
November 9, 1886, the day of St. Theodore. The storm was catastrophic,only
twelve fishermen were saved, losing their lives among the waves twenty-two
men between adults and young people, who left fourteen widows and thirty two
orphans.
From the top of the roof, people tried to see themselves moving sheets and
other clothes, warning the boats to not go to the beach, to go to any safer
ports. A number of them, fortunately, managed to dock in the port of
Barcelona by storming the storm. The rest were unforeseeable in the midst of
an indescribable turbulence: the waves jumped on the deck like dirty horses,
the water entered everywhere, and the terrifying reefs between St.
Christopher in Vilanova i la Geltrú and the point of the caves were more and
more near.

SPAIN: The year of the drowning

Five of the ten boats lost all the crew; the crew of the other two could be
saved not without suffering major wounds and an everlasting fear at the heart
of life.
The suffering and pain was so huge and so that people from Baix a Mar of
Vilanova ( this is the neighbourhood by the sea) who always said that the
beach has never recovered, has never been as it was before the year. of the
drowning

Portugal: THE LEGEND OF CACILHAS

During the reign of King José I, a catastrophic earthquake struck Lisbon, bringing death and
destruction to the capital early on 1st of November 1755, the Catholic All Saints' Day holiday.
The Great Lisbon Earthquake caused the loss of many thousands of lives, the shock being so
powerful that it was felt as far away as North Africa.
Its victims died not only as a result of the earthquake, but also due to the tsunami that
would eventually drag Lisbon’s petrified residents into the river from the open docklands,
where they had sought refuge.

Portugal: THE LEGEND OF CACILHAS

In Cacilhas, a fishermen’s village opposite Lisbon on the south bank of the Tagus River, the
earth trembled and the tiny community was flooded.
According to the legend, a fisherman named Pedro da Silva ran in despair to the nearest
chapel. From the rubble he grabbed an image of Our Lady of Good Success and fled
towards Cacilhas beach. When he arrived, he held the image over the roiling waters and
prayed for her divine protection, so the sea would calm down. To everyone’s great surprise,
the tsunami and earthquake stopped immediately. Cacilhas was saved.
Ever since, the local population celebrates this miracle
with the Cacilhas procession on the first day of
November, in order to thank the patron saint
for coming to their aid on that difficult day.

Portugal: THE LEGEND OF ADAMASTOR

Adamastor was a Greek-Roman mythological character depicted in the epic poem The
Lusiads, in which author Luís de Camões describes the Portuguese voyage to find the sea
route to India. The verse describes the dangers and hardships the navigators had to
overcome while crossing the Atlantic Ocean, bravely facing the storms that tossed their
ship like a cork.

The biggest nightmare was their tricky passage through the Cape of Torments that links the
Atlantic with the Indian Ocean. They were sailing along the coastline when suddenly a giant
creature barred their way: Adamastor. Resembling a mountain like the, Adamastor had
terrifying eyes and a beard that writhed like wild waves, threatening to sink any ship that
attempted to pass the Cape. When Vasco da Gama, the famous Portuguese explorer and
fleet captain, fearlessly confronted the intimidating sea monster, the latter told him his
story.

Portugal: THE LEGEND OF ADAMASTOR

Years before, Adamastor had fallen in love with the beautiful nymph Thetis. However, the
creature’s love was unrequited. So when Adamastor asked to meet her, she appealed for
help from Zeus, the supreme god. Together, Zeus and Thetis set a trap for her passionate
suitor. The day he and Thetis were supposed to meet, Adamastor mistook a shadow for his
beloved. When he hugged and kissed this likeness of Thetis, he was stuck to the spot
forever, leaving him damned to eternal agony.

Humiliated by his fate, the weeping giant vanished, opening the watery passage to India in
the process. Da Gama thanked God for their survival, and the Portuguese sailors were able
to pass the Cape of Torments and enter the Indian Ocean.

Adamastor symbolises all the dangers, forces of nature and fears the Portuguese sailors
faced in their journey, especially while trying to round the Cape of Torments, later known
as the Cape of Good Hope.

Portugal: THE LEGEND OF ADAMASTOR

Even as I spoke, an immense shape
Materialised in the night air,
Grotesque and enormous stature
With heavy jowls, and an unkempt beard
Scowling from shrunken, hollow eyes
Its complexion earthy and pale,
Its hair grizzled and matted with clay,
Its mouth coal black, teeth yellow with decay.

— Camões, The Lusiads Canto V

Blue’s Museum collection

Cultural heritage in visited countries.

Malta - Maritime Museum in Birgu

The Malta Maritime Museum's
collection includes over 20,000
artifacts illustrating Malta's maritime
history. The collection includes
boats, models of various ships and
boats, anchors, amphorae, cannons,
weapons, documents, paintings,
uniforms, and a 1950s steam
engine.

Sicily - Museum Of the sea

Located in the heart of the charming island of Ortigia, the Sea Museum of Syracuse
holds a vast repertoire of equipment, models and documents that reconstruct the
rich memory and vast maritime tradition of the city.

It is the first and only museum in Sicily and throughout the southern Mediterranean
where it was rebuilt the entire chain of naval carpentry, from the design and initial
project to final implementation of the boats.

It houses a priceless tangible and intangible heritage, preserves and displays objects,
works, artifacts, written testimonies, images and documents that describe the
relationship between the city and the sea and it provides insight into the maritime
culture and history of the area.







Sightseeing in portugal

Photos of museums and landmarks by the sea & descriptions

Abbaye de mouyenmoutier

en 983, durant la trouble minorité de l’empereur Othon III, le bruit se répandit dans les
Vosges que l’armée du roi de France Lothaire, en marche vers la Germanie, allait
trouver devant elle les troupes du duc de Souabe, Cuonon, l’émoi fut grand au couvent
deMoyenmoutier

La douloureuse Lorraine, tour à tour ravagée par ses voisins de l’est et de l’ouest, récemment dévastée
par les incursions successives des bandes hongroises, allait-elle offrir un nouveau champ de bataille au
heurt des convoitises guerrières et conquérantes ?

Let’s explore

Villages by the sea

With Blue.

Marsascala - Malta Żonqor
Point
The area between Żonqor Point
and the Tower overlooking St St Thomas
Thomas bay offers several good Bay
rocky beaches for bathing and
sunbathing. This coastal stretch
particularly good for snorkelling and
has rich marine life. St. Thomas Bay
is quiet, peaceful and has a large
variety of small and shallow sandy
beaches, flat rocks and concrete
platforms all next to each other,
perfect for bathing.

Taken from: www.malta.com

It one of the most beautiful villages The Pearl of sicily: Cefalù
in Italy, is one of the top
destinations of the island. It is
located on the northern coast of
Sicily, about 70 km from Palermo. It
is a UNESCO city heritage since
2015 and it is full of art and
beautiful sceneries. The sea has
always been a huge resource for
Cefalù: during the past it was the
main resource for fishermen and
nowadays it is one of the reasons
why tourists visit this wonderful
city. Fishing is still in use among
Cefalù population.