Qawra Tower is a fortification

Fortification

Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...

 on the island of Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

 built by the Knights of Malta

Knights Hospitaller

The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...

 in 1637. It is a small fortification, primarily a watchtower. It is also known locally as Fra Ben Tower. To the west it commands the entrance to St. Paul's Bay

St. Paul's Bay

Saint Paul's Bay is a town in Malta, situated in the north east of the island of Malta, sixteen kilometres from the capital city Valletta.Its name refers to the shipwreck of Saint Paul, as documented in the Acts of the Apostles, due to the tradition that Saint Paul was shipwrecked on the isles,...

, to the east Salina Bay along with Għallis Tower. It was built during the reign of Grand Master

Grand Master (order)

Grand Master is the typical title of the supreme head of various orders of knighthood, including various military orders, religious orders and civil orders such as the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Orange Order...

 Juan de Lascaris-Castellar and stands near the tip of Ras il-Qawra (Qawra Point). It is one of five Lascaris towers

Lascaris towers

Grand Master Juan de Lascaris-Castellar of the Knights of Malta commissioned five towers during the period 1637 - 1640. The locals refer to both the five Lascaris towers and the thirteen later de Redin towers as "de Redin towers"...

 that he ordered be built. In 1715 the Knights further strengthened the point by adding a gun battery seaward of the tower.

The battery is now a restaurant and swimming pool, however it is slightly dilapidated, having been plastered with cement at some time, which is now flaking away, and with water tanks and rough additional brickwork added to its roof.

In 1659, the construction of Ghallis Tower

Ghallis Tower

Għallis Tower is a small coastal fortification that the Knights of Malta built on the island of Malta. It was originally primarily a watchtower with a garrison consisting of a bombardier and three gunners, who manned a three-pounder iron cannon....

 linked Qawra Tower into the chain of de Redin towers

De Redin towers

The De Redin Towers are a series of thirteen small fortified watch towers that Grand Master Martin de Redin of the Knights of Malta built on the island of Malta between the year 1658 and 1659...

 that allowed communication from Gozo

Gozo

Gozo is a small island of the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Southern European country of Malta; after the island of Malta itself, it is the second-largest island in the archipelago...

 to Valletta

Valletta

Valletta is the capital of Malta, colloquially known as Il-Belt in Maltese. It is located in the central-eastern portion of the island of Malta, and the historical city has a population of 6,098. The name "Valletta" is traditionally reserved for the historic walled citadel that serves as Malta's...

.

External links

• http://www.educ.um.edu.mt/militarymalta/html/qawra_tower.html