Of all the destinations I visited on this trip, none was more intriguing than Malta. For years, whenever I thought of Malta, the image that came to mind was knights clunking around in armor and flags with the Maltese cross flying above medieval towers. However, before the start of this trip, I did some reading about Malta and discovered that its history is not so simple.
Malta is actually an archipelago of five islands in the center of the Mediterranean Sea, not far from Sicily and Tunisia. Its strategic geographic location accounts for much of its complex history. In fact, Malta is often referred to as the “Crossroads of the Mediterranean.” Here are some of the key facts that helped me appreciate how Malta became a cultural melting pot over the centuries.
· Around 7000 years ago, during Neolithic times, pagan farmers from Sicily settled on Malta and built stone temples. Eventually, this population left the islands.
· In the 9th century BCE, Phoenicians from Lebanon settled on Malta and brought with them their Semitic language.
· Around 600 BCE, Carthage (originally a Phoenician city-state located in today’s Tunisia) took over control of Malta and used the archipelago as a trading post linking Africa to Sicily.
· In 255 BCE, the Romans ousted the Phoenicians.
· In the 9th century CE, Malta was invaded and conquered by Arabs from North Africa who killed all the inhabitants, built fortifications, and established the city of Mdina as their capital.
· In 1127 CE, Malta came under the control of the Normans, who ruled the Kingdom of Sicily. The Normans replaced Islam with Christianity.
· In 1530 CE, the Knights of the Order of St. John Hospitaller relocated to Malta.
· In 1565, 40,000 Ottoman Turkish troops besieged Malta but were routed by the Knights, with help from Spain.
· In 1798, the French, under Napoleon Bonaparte, briefly took over the islands.
· In 1800, Malta appealed to the British for help against the French. Lord Nelson defeated the French and Malta became a British protectorate. (Thanks to the Brits, the Maltese still drive on the left.)
· In 1942, during the Blitz, Malta was bombed by the Germans.
· In 1964, Malta achieved independence.
· In 1974, Malta became a republic.
After another rough night at sea, the Athena docked in Valletta, Malta’s capital, at 7 in the morning. Valletta’s Grand Harbor is the largest (in terms of area) in the entire Mediterranean, and not surprisingly, it’s very busy.
The quickest way to reach the city center from the waterfront where the Athena was docked is the Barrakka Lift. The lift carries 21 passengers at a time up 190 feet in about 25 seconds. That’s definitely preferable to walking!
When you exit the lift, you’re in the Upper Barrakka Gardens, a beautiful public park located on top of the medieval bastions. From the terrace of the gardens, you have a spectacular panoramic view of the Grand Harbor.
A few minutes later, our local guide was leading us through the steep streets of Valletta, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
I learned that the knights I had always associated with Malta were members of the Order of St. John Hospitaller. She explained that the Roman Catholic order was started by a group of friars in the early 12thcentury, during the period of the Crusades, to provide medical services to Christian pilgrims in the Holy Land. When the Christians were forced from the Holy Land by the Muslims in the early 14th century, the Knights went first to Cyprus and then to Rhodes. In the early 16th century, they were expelled from Rhodes by the Ottoman Turks. In 1530, Holy Roman Emperor gave them the Maltese islands in return for the annual gift of one live falcon. The Knights established the city of Valletta as their capital and, out of necessity, they became a military order. They also embarked on an ambitious building program to beautify their new home. Many of the historic buildings and public spaces in Valletta date back to this period.
In order to join the order, a man (sorry, men only) had to show 200 years of noble ancestry in addition to having wealth to bring to the order. Although the knights were not allowed to marry, they often fathered children and many of today’s 560,000 Maltese citizens are descended from them.
The leader of the order, called the Grand Master, was elected by a committee of knights. He held his position to life. Jean de Valette, a nobleman from the Provence region of today’s France, was Grand Master during the Great Siege, and the city of Valletta is named for him.
Knights came from eight different langues, or “countries,” as they existed at the time. This is the significance of the 8-pointed cross of the order, which you see everywhere in Malta, including on the Maltese flag. Each country had its own headquarters, a building known as an “auberge.”
One of the first historic buildings our guide pointed out was the Auberge de Castille, a 16th century Baroque style building for Knights from parts of today’s Spain. It was rebuilt in the mid-1700s and today serves as the office of Malta’s Prime Minister.
The main commercial street was flag-lined Republic Street, and it was bustling throughout the day with tourists and local residents.
We noticed several churches as we explored the historic center of Valletta, including the 16th century St. Catherine’s of Italy, the parish church of Italian knights.
Our guide noted that in Valletta alone, there are 28 churches (and even more chapels) and that there are 365 churches throughout the islands.
The Great Siege Monument was installed at Republic Square in the 1920s. The bronze monument of three figures commemorates the victims of the Great Siege of 1565. In front of the monument is memorial to Daphne Caruana Galizia, a Maltese journalist assassinated in 2017 for exposing corruption in government and investigating organized crime.
The National Library of Malta faces Republic Square.
I was dazzled by the magnificence of St. John’s Co-Cathedral, located on Republic Street. Dedicated to St. John the Baptist, it was commissioned shortly after the Great Siege. Although the façade is quite plain, the interior, which was redone in High Baroque style in the 17th century, is very ornate. Imported 22 carat gold covers much of the carved limestone surfaces. The altar is made of Carrara marble imported from Italy. The remains of many knights, including Grand Master Jean de Valette, are buried here. Marble mosaic “tombstones” in the floor of the cathedral mark the locations. The most famous of several paintings in the church is The Beheading of St. John the Baptist by Caravaggio (1608).
By the time we finished our visit to the Cathedral, which includes eight chapels, everyone was quite hungry. I was eager to try some local food – not, however, the Maltese specialty of rabbit, which was a featured dish in nearly every restaurant. Our guide told us that when the knights came to Malta, they didn’t find any deer to hunt so they imported rabbits. Ever since that time, rabbit has been a popular food in Malta.
Instead, I opted to try pastizzi and qassata, two hearty snack foods. Pastizzi is a traditional round or diamond-shaped savory pastry made of puff pastry dough and filled with either ricotta cheese or mushy peas. Qassata is similar although it’s shaped like a basket and it’s made from shortcrust pastry dough. The fillings are often the same. However, I actually found a qassata filled with spinach and anchovies. Both pastizzi and qassata are quite heavy and a bit dry, but I’m glad I tried them.
I spent the rest of the day walking up and down Republic and neighboring streets gazing at shops, restaurants and cafés, historic buildings, and cultural sites. Since language is one of my main interests, I paid close attention to the signs in Maltese and English. Although Maltese was written in the Latin alphabet, many of the words seemed very unfamiliar and there were letters that I’d never encountered before. For example, there was an “H” with a horizontal line through it, written “Ħ.” And some of the Cs, Gs, and Zs had dots over them. I did some research and learned that the Maltese language is of Semitic origin. It developed from a now extinct dialect of Arabic that was spoken by Muslims in Sicily. Much of the vocabulary of modern Maltese comes from this Sicilian Arabic, and from Italian and Sicilian. There’s also a smattering of English and French words. However, I really didn’t have to worry about language when I was in Malta since almost everyone speaks English. Even schools are conducted in both languages. In fact, along with Maltese, English is one of the country’s official languages and most people speak Italian as well.
There was plenty to see in Valletta, but by mid-afternoon, I’d had enough for one day. I took the Barrakka Lift back down to the harbor level and found my way back to the Athena where I faced the unpleasant task of packing. Tonight would be my last night on the Athena. Tomorrow, right after an early breakfast, we’d be leaving the ship and spending the next one and a half nights in a hotel.
Somehow, I managed to fit the extra items I’d acquired during six weeks of travel into my luggage. At 47 pounds, my fully packed suitcase was too heavy for me to lift, but at least it was under the weight limit.
Next was our multi-course Farewell Dinner. Although the mood was festive as our waiters carried the flaming Baked Alaska through the dining room to end the meal (a cruise ship tradition), I felt a bit sorrowful. After 11 nights, the Athena felt like home. It was hard to imagine that, after tonight, someone else would be sleeping in “my” cabin.
The one consolation was that I still had two more full days to explore Malta.
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