Malta is a place that has a long history, maybe not as long as Egypt, but it still dates back 7000 years. The more recent history being the most interesting when the knights of St John took up residence here in the 15th centuary. The fortications that were developed over the years since then are simply amazing.
To get here we flew into Istanbul. If you want to see an amazing airport you must fly into here. No wonder Australia has opted to allow Turkish Air to fly into Australia now. Their airport makes Australian Airports look insignificant. However, bring plenty of money with you as everything is very expensive but the array of shops and eating places are amazing. We flew Turkish Air and were impressed.
Once we arrived in Malta we found the people friendly and helpful and we had no transfer to our accommodation so got a taxi with no issue, except we were staying in an appartment in Valleta in the middle of the old part of town. The only issue there was a celebration on and many of the roads in the area were blocked off so we had to drag our 4 bags a fairly long distance along old cobble laid streets and with only Google to direct us. This came at a cost as Malta is not an eliigible destination with Telstra. But the appartment was very nice, two levels but in a very small lane which was a bit hard to find. Anna did a great job with the booking.
The little lane in which our appartment was located.
The view from our appartment balcony overlooking a very busy square.
Now if our Adelaide, is called the city of churches, then this place must be called the city of restaurants. They are everywhere and there are many narrow little streets with no cars permitted and the restaurants have tables out on the roads. Every type of restaurant you can think of and most of a very high standard. Mostly they are a litlle more expensive than Australia but have a great atmosphere.
The population of Malta is said to be just over 500,000, but there are so many tourists here, mainly from Italy, Germany and England I believe. We were lucky to find some live music in some restaurants but could not find any dancing, most people are intent on the food. But what I liked most, was the cleanliness of the place. After Cairo, this was fantastic, the old streets with slated surfaces were swept and clean and the inhabitants take pride in the place.
There is so much to see with the old churches and the fortications around the harbour. They have been taken over by many countries during their time, such as the English, the French and the Muslims. All have had an influence on the country but the English had the strongest impact until they went for independence in 1964 from the UK.
Here are some shots of the churches.
Sorry Anna, you must have moved. Not a good photograher!
The fortications were something else and the views and the stories told of the battles were amazing.
The interesting thing about these fortifications is that they have been through so many battles from the 15th Century to the 2nd World War and yet they are still standing, damaged and then repaired. In the fort there is some art reflecting the times.
One thing that is important when doing all this searching, is to have a relaxing coffee to start the morning. We found some Elly coffee shops that were excellent. I believe it is an italian franchise, and we use to have one in West End.
There are so many old beautiful buildings around the harbour that need repair but it would take an enormous cost to bring many back into use. We took a small boat ride around the harbour to be able to see so much from the water.
In our search of this city, we found a hotel we should have stayed at, but maybe next time.
Must be Spanish and pronounced Osborno. I had so many people on this trip speaking to me in Spanish believing that was where I came from.
Other interesting findings.
Found this in one old church, I did not know that England conscripted us poor old pensioners during the last war.
Active Ageing (yes I know) has even hit Malta and has it own department. Countries are seeing that the statistics show the above 65 group is sitting at around 25% of the population but in the next 10 years or so will be 37%, which is of great concern.
Well, all good things must come to an end and so we had to say goodbye to Malta but we were so happy that this country was on our itinerary. If you get a chance make certain you visit Malta. I am sure you will enjoy. The day before we left there was great celebrations with streets locked off again, for marching bands and arrival of Malta's important celebrities to swear in their new Lady President, the 3rd lady president. The streets were all decked out for the occasion. What a way to end our visit.
Farewell, Malta we are off to Scilly.
T