Malta and Gozo

Brief Introduction

Bathed in the sun of the southern Mediterranean, between Sicily and Libya, the little archipelago of Malta has a history as significant as its location. Mystery, tragedy and heroism pepper its past; the fate of Malta, more than once, has changed the story of Europe. Conquerors and liberators have been passing through the islands since the Stone Age. There are more archaeological sites than beaches. By any standard, the Republic of Malta is a very small country. The main island is less than a hundredth the size of neighboring Sicily; the second principal ingredient of Malta's archipelago is Gozo, covering an area a bit bigger than Guernsey in the Channel Islands. Gozo, more fertile than Malta, is less populated and less frequented by tourists, with a character very much its own. The only other (barely) inhabited island, tiny Comino is mostly glimpsed from the deck of the ferry that links Malta and Gozo. The total area of the archipelago comes to 316 sq km (122 sq miles), smaller than the Isle of Wright.

The population is close to 375,000 people, most of whom can speak good English. In the overall scheme of things, Roman remnants are fairly modern relics on Malta. Thousands of years before the Roman Empire, the islands were inhabited by people who built grandiose temples. These feats of Stone Age engineering are even more impressive when you consider that they pre-date the pyramids of Egypt and the wondrous complex of Stonehenge. Nobody anywhere else in Europe devised such impressive monuments so early in prehistory. Than the frustrating that the people left us these old stones, finally disappeared. We don't really know who they were or where they went. Early in the 16th century the Sovereign Military and Hospitaller Order of St John was expelled from Rhodes by the Turkish forces of Suleiman the Magnificent. The knights, looking for any port in a storm, moved in to Malta. And here they stayed for two and a half centuries, paying an annual rent of one peregrine falcon to the representative of the King of Spain. In 1565, the Turks besieged Malta. For four months both sides, including innocent Maltese civilians, suffered grievous losses, but the island held out.

The triumphant knights, wary of a return engagement, built a fortified city on a promontory overlooking one of Europe's greatest natural harbors. They named it Valletta after their French Grand Master, Jean Parisot de la Valette. Other, even more historic Maltese cities have their own distinctions, and nearly every village is worth seeing. The land in between them all is fairly flat-there are no mountains or rivers-and cress-crossed with dry-stone walls to protect the soil from erosion. In springtime the countryside bursts into colour when the wild flowers bloom.

Destination Information

Valletta - This is the city that the Knights of St John of Jerusalem built after the great siege of 1565. It has something for every interest: The best time to see it is in the late afternoon, when it's at its liveliest and most beautiful, the setting sun turning the stones to gold. Nothing beats Upper Barrakka Gardens, a small 18th-century park perched on the edge, literally, of town. If you look straight down, you'll see Lascaris Wharf and the old Customs House. Among the attractions of the gardens is the greenery, statues and calm Archaeology Museum. The museum occupies the 16th-century Auberge de Provence, the most influential of the French inns of knightly Valletta. The 16th century St. John's Co-Cathedral is literally built on the bones of the Knights of Malta. Hundreds of them are buried in the floor under complex mosaics of coloured marble; the exterior of the Co-Cathedral may be drab, but the baroque interior is a revelation of dazzling art and decoration. Upstairs in the museum are tapestries of great value, and vestments donated to the church by wealthy knights.

Casa Rocca Piccola - Down Republic Street beyond Palace Square, a family of the Maltese nobility has opened its palazzo to public view. Built at the end of the 16th century, the house has its own chapel and a dining room seating 16 at table. You can visit the four-poster bedroom (with religious paintings and statues), the drawing room and the sitting room. As Valletta first took shape, the Knights Hospitallers of St John, who had begun tending the sick in the 11th century, built a vast hospital near the end of the peninsula. The main ward was 155 m (509 ft) long and, harmoniously, as wide as it was high-11 m (36 ft). At the time it was the longest hall in Europe. The knights took in anyone of any faith who was ill and treated the sick as seigneur's maladies (sick lords), with respect and humility. The standard of medical treatment was high, and the patients were given good food served on silver plates. Now the Holy Infirmary has been transformed into the Mediterranean Conference Centre-a lavish setting for conferences or concerts. The banquet hall, under a cross-vaulted ceiling, is most sumptuous.

The Suburbs of Sliema and St. Julian's - The suburb of Sliema has grown bigger and vastly more animated than the capital, Valletta. This is where Maltese and tourists alike go for shopping, eating and drinking, promenading and sunbathing. If the beaches, mostly rocky, do not count among the island's best, the location compensates. High-rise hotels and apartment blocks go on to infinity. From Sliema the view of Valletta-the bastions illuminated by night-is a winner. For a much closer look, take one of the harbor sightseeing tours that depart frequently from Sliema Creek. Beyond Sliema, the former fishing village of St Julian's is as animated at night as Valletta is moribund. The resort has restaurants of many nationalities, no end of pubs, bars and discos, not to mention the island's biggest casino at Dragonara Point. Big international hotels line the rocky shores of St George's Bay.

Inland

Mdina, Rabat, Buskett, Mosta After the vitality-and traffic jams-of the seaside resorts, another world is revealed when you turn inland. Historic towns and villages, well supplied with churches and legends, are scattered across the mostly harsh, rocky landscape. Dry stone walls, skillfully built, go on for miles, dividing parcels of parched earth. Most of the time, except for ploughing or harvesting seasons, the farms seem deserted and the country folk stay inside.

Mdina

Restrained, warm and beautifully balanced, the façade of St Paul's Cathedral introduces Malta's most majestic church. (Actually, it is a co-cathedral, sharing the honours with St John's in Valletta.) Wandering the streets of Mdina you'll pass patrician houses of the 16th and 17th centuries; what may be the oldest of all, the Santa Sophia Palace, claims to have a ground floor built in the 13th century. Wander at will-the narrow, twisting streets were designed to be shady and to confound invaders-and notice the architectural details representing centuries of style. But don't miss Bastion Square for the view from the city walls. From this vantage point you can see all the way to Valletta and St Paul's Bay; the unobstructed panorama of all the classic invasion routes must have been a sentry's best friend.

Rabat

Its Arabic name still stands, but Rabat was important long before Moorish days. It prospered under the ancient Romans and the early Christians. With no fortifications remaining to hem it in, the town is far bigger in area and population than Mdina, of which it is a suburb. Just outside the gardens abutting the Mdina moat, a Roman villa was unearthed towards the end of the 19th century. Built in the 2nd century bc, the house presumably belonged to a Roman official or merchant; In the atrium are some very interesting mosaics with well-achieved three-dimensional effects, in addition to delicate pictures in tile. In the museum connected to the house you can see Roman glassware and amphoras, an olive press, and Arabic funerary inscriptions-as well as an ancient Jewish tombstone..

St. Paul's Catacombs

Malta's early Christians buried their dead in catacombs they carved out of the bedrock. Reclining like Romans, they held funeral feasts around Agape tables (from the Greek word for "love"). The underground cemeteries are honeycombed beneath Rabat on many levels-as deep as 7 m (23 ft) below the ground. They are full of interesting details (although many have been plundered), but the long, twisting, low-ceilinged tunnels and all-but-total darkness are not for the claustrophobic. Bring a torch to light your way. St. Agatha's CatacombsThe bigger Catacombs of St Agatha are reached through an underground church. The Crypt of St Agatha started as a cave where the future saint-fleeing from her tormentors in Sicily-prayed and slept. It was later greatly expanded into an underground basilica decorated with frescoes of the 12th century. BuskettThe name sounds awfully English, but it's derived from the Italian boschetto, meaning "little woods". This is Malta's only forest, of pines and cedars, and the greenest part of the island, planted with citrus orchards.

Buskett

At the end of June an enormous festa takes place in Buskett Gardens for the feast of St Peter and St Paul. Folk music, dancing, abundant food and bonfires go on all night.MostaFrom miles away you can see the dome of the parish church of Mosta. Towering improbably over a town of less than 15,000 people, the stupendous Mosta Dome is supposed to be the fourth-largest unsupported dome in Europe - not far behind the likes of St Peter's in Rome. During World War II, with a congregation of several hundred in attendance, a 500-lb Dutch bomb plunged through the dome. It bounced on the floor but failed to explode, to general relief. A replica of the miraculous dud is now on display on the spot.

Mosta

From miles away you can see the dome of the parish church of Mosta. Towering improbably over a town of less than 15,000 people, the stupendous Mosta Dome is supposed to be the fourth-largest unsupported dome in Europe - not far behind the likes of St Peter's in Rome. During World War II, with a congregation of several hundred in attendance, a 500-lb Dutch bomb plunged through the dome. It bounced on the floor but failed to explode, to general relief. A replica of the miraculous dud is now on display on the spot.

Prehistoric Sites

Malta's prehistoric sites boggle the minds of archaeologists. The most detached layman must be awed at the sheer age of the neolithic temples, their advanced architecture, their mysteries. There are 33 Stone Age temples on 18 different sites.

Gozo

The island of Gozo is greener and more relaxed than her big sister Malta, and is altogether enchanting. Less than a third the size of Malta, and with a much lower population density, Gozo has a horizon of flat-topped hills punctuated by church bell towers and domes, a flowered landscape where stark, porous ravines widen into lush valleys that produce all the ingredients for an island salad-tomatoes, lettuce, olives, onions and capers.

Hundreds of dry-stone walls sternly separate the fields. Stones were used to build the battlements of the island's citadel (begun in Roman times), the forts, and the Gogantija temples, archaeological wonders of world renown. There are also some appealing beaches.The beautiful island of Gozo is accessible by sea, by helicopter or seaplane from Malta. Maybe one of the reason that no one is in a rush. Ideal requirements to discover the secret of the isle. Comino You'll see Comino from the ferry boat between Malta and Gozo. It may look like a harsh, deserted island-but there's more to it than meets the eye. Especially the well-protected waters, so crystalline that snorkellers and scuba divers are mesmerized. Ashore, in spring, there is the heady fragrance of wild flowers and herbs.The name "Comino" is derived from "cumin", the plant that has always flowered on the isle. There's also thyme, which keeps Comino's bees busy. Comino found its destiny in escapism. A discreet luxury hotel complex exploits the sporting possibilities and the little island's traffic-free charm. Day-trippers invade the snorkelling paradise of the Blue Lagoon, partly shielded by the minuscule uninhabited islet of Cominotto, and visiting yachtsmen can't resist the lesser-known beaches. But it all calms down towards dusk, when the all-embracing get-away atmosphere is restored.

Comino

You'll see Comino from the ferry boat between Malta and Gozo. It may look like a harsh, deserted island-but there's more to it than meets the eye. Especially the well-protected waters, so crystalline that snorkellers and scuba divers are mesmerized. Ashore, in spring, there is the heady fragrance of wild flowers and herbs.The name "Comino" is derived from "cumin", the plant that has always flowered on the isle. There's also thyme, which keeps Comino's bees busy. Comino found its destiny in escapism. A discreet luxury hotel complex exploits the sporting possibilities and the little island's traffic-free charm. Day-trippers invade the snorkelling paradise of the Blue Lagoon, partly shielded by the minuscule uninhabited islet of Cominotto, and visiting yachtsmen can't resist the lesser-known beaches. But it all calms down towards dusk, when the all-embracing get-away atmosphere is restored.

Practical Information

Clothing - Lightweight clothing in summer, particularly in the hotest season from Mid July to mid September. Warmer layers of clothes are necessary for the cooler evenings in the spring, autumn and winter. The Maltese take their Catholicism very seriously so be sure to cover your shoulders and legs when visiting a church.

Credit Cards - Well known international credit cards are widely accepted. There are plenty of cash distributors and traveller's cheques and eurocheques can be cashed at banks and exchange offices.

Health

No vaccinations are obligatory and no special health precautions are called for. One annoyance in summer is the insect populations. Pharmacies have repellent creams and after-the-fact remedies.

Tipping

Restaurants sometimes add a service charge to the bill, but a tip is still appropriate. Waiters appreciate 5 to 10 percent and taxi drivers 10 percent.

Water

It is theoretically safe to drink water from the tap, but not really recommended; bottled water tastes better and is readily available.

Currency

Malta are now using the EURO coins & notes

Passports & Visas

A full British/EC passport with at least six months validity from the date of departure is required for travel. A British Visitors Passport is not acceptable. A visa for entry is not required for British passport holders. Nationals of other countries should check with the appropriate authorities.

Climate

This close to North Africa it is usually warm and sunny. The hottest season is from mid July to mid September when the average maximum temperatures climb higher than 30ºC (well above 80ºF). Rain intervenes only briefly; statistically the rainiest months are October through to January.

BOOK NOW