When Zach and Shannon were here in December, they offered to use some of their Hilton reward points (with their jobs, they earn them by the bucketful) to take us somewhere. We looked at several places, but we unanimously chose Malta. I am sure that there are some of you who know more about this small island republic than I do, but for the rest a little history is always a good thing.
With its strategic location in the middle of the Mediterranean between Sicily and North Africa, it has been the constant target of conquest and control for at least the last several thousand years. To name only a few of the civilizations that have ruled this tiny place: the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Moors, Normans and the Knights of St. John (given to them in 1530 by the Holy Roman Emperor much to the chagrin of some the locals,). The Knight’s domination was ended by Napoleon on his way to Egypt nearly 270 years later (the Knights are now headquartered in Rome and are still very active part of the Catholic Church). The French only lasted a couple of years and it then went to the British. Malta was granted independence in the 60s, became a republic in the 70s and is still a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is also one of the smallest members of the EU.
The national language is Maltese (a derivation of Arabic from the time of Moorish domination) but English is also an official language. Makes it easy for Americans to get around. It famously withstood an Ottoman siege in the 16th century and the horrific bombing campaign of the Germans during WW II. It is home to a banking system that rivals any of the tax shelters around the world and houses some of the largest yachts I have ever seen.
There are multiple small harbors filled with every type of vessel from tiny, brightly colored fishing boats to very nice power and sailboats to the mega yachts I mentioned earlier. Although we were only 6 km or so from the capital city of Valletta, it took almost a half an hour by bus because of all of the weaving around the small inlets between where we were staying and the city. By the way, the bus system was great, easy to buy passes and they went everywhere. They even had an online mobile app that tracked timing of the buses that was correct most of the time.
Staying in a Hilton hotel with executive lounge privileges is a rather new experience for Holly and me, but we adapted and made major use of the food and drink offered there.
For the first few days we had great weather for exploring not only the largest island in the group, Malta, but also Gozo, the second largest. Then a storm moved in and we got treated to wind, rain, thunder and lightning with waves large enough that it seemed at times that they would swallow everything close to the coast.
With its varied background and its place in the middle of the Mediterranean, it has become one of the most international places we have visited. People from all over the world seem to collect here and their varied influence make for a real diversity of ethnic restaurants and businesses.
Malta is also known for housing some of the oldest freestanding stone structures in the world, boasting several UNESCO World Heritage sites.
There was only one regret we had after our visit. The island of Gozo had a natural arch on the sea called the Azure Window. It was featured in several movies and other productions. We intended to go see it, but just ran out of time. Unfortunately, the whole structure collapsed on March 8th and we will never have the opportunity again. I wonder when I will ever learn that lesson. The arch pictured below was on the island of Malta and although beautiful, just not the same.
Although I know it is a bit late, I do want to share some of our holiday experiences with you and that will be my next post.
In the next couple of months we have trips planned to Torino (Turin), Barcelona, Budapest, Albania and Venice. Should be some fun posts.
