My 30-day journey during April and May 2005.

This is the first segment of a series that I will post on my recent holiday to Malta, London, Amsterdam, Lippstadt and Berlin. I will add pictures along the way.
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My 30 day adventure to Malta and Beyond from April 15 to May 14, 2005

Malta was the first on my itinerary, because I had heard so many frequent travelers tell me it's a great destination for a visit, and they were right.

My journey began on April 15, 2005, with a flight from SFO to London's Heathrow, then from London to Malta, all told about 17 hours of travel time.

Malta is a country literally built on sand stone, and some of their structures/megaliths dates to over 7,000 years ago (or 5,200 BCE) - older than the pyramids of Egypt. Most of the earliest inhabitants of Malta came from Sicily and Southern Italy, but subsequent inhabitants includes the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Germanic, Spanish, and more recently, the British.

The Muslims raided the Maltese Islands in the ninth century, and their influence is still present today - especially in their language. Lucky for American tourists, most speak English in addition to the Maltese language.

But the history of Malta is not complete without including information on the Knights of Malta. In 1530, the Order of St John accepted Charles V's offer to create a base on Malta. The Order realized the great natural harbors of Malta, and after the Great Siege of 1565 built up the city and fortresses in the harbor of Valletta, and sighting towers all around the island to protect themselves from Muslim raids. The Order built the hospital of the Knights of Valletta, one of the best in Europe. The Knights governed Malta until 1798, when Napoleon Bonaparte took the island from Grand Master Ferdinand von Hompesch.

On March 8, 2003, Malta voted to join the European Union.

The biggest problem for Malta is their lack of fresh water for their agriculture, drinking, and tourism, which makes up 40 percent of today's economy.

Our tour group stayed at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Sliema with most rooms facing the Mediterranean Sea. The two other groups that overlapped at the Crowne Plaza had 42 and 47 in their group, while we had only 27; we were fortunate for having the smaller group.
Our hotel was centrally located, so we had access to many good restaurants and the bus system. A bus ride costs either .60c to Valletta and short rides or $1.50 to Mdina/Rabat or to the other side of the island.

The main attractions of Malta are Valletta, named after La Valette, and Grandmaster who masterminded Malta's successful stand against the Turkish Siege of 1565. Valletta, the fortress city that has several good museums, a palace, a nice park overlooking the bay, and the pedestrian mall with shops and restaurants is a walking monument. One of the first attractions we saw was "The Malta Experience" which presents in 45-minute audio-visual presentation the 7000 years of Malta's history on a large screen. Mdina is another fortress city built by the Muslims in the middle of the island on a hill where one can walk in the narrow streets and visit several museums, a cathedral, and several multi-media shows. I saw "The Knights of Malta" and "Medieval Times." It also has some coffee shops and restaurants. Rabat, located right next to Mdina, has a Roman House museum which I went on my own to see on free time, some catacombs, a couple of cathedrals, and underground shelters. I visited two of the catacombs, and one of the shelters dug into the sand stone rocks below ground level. Other attractions include Palazzo Parisio in Naxxar, the stately home of Marquis Giuseppe Scicluna, built at the turn of the 19th century. We also visited Casa Bernard in Rabat, a 16th century palace, now the private home of George and Josette Magri, where we saw important pieces of furniture, paintings and object d'art. Our group visited Hagar Qim Temple and the Tarxien megalithic temples dating from 3200 BC, followed by a visit to the fishing village of Marsaxlokk. One of my favorite experiences in Malta was a home-hosted lunch by a Maltese family, Paul and Josette Gambina, of Attard. They served us Maltese food that included Mqarrun fil-Forn (baked pasta), Bragoli (rolled beef slices), peppered or plain goat cheese lets and Maltese biscuits, Kannoli (pastry scones) and Trifle (with jelly cake), all served with wine, water and coffee or tea. The food was too plentiful, and the conversation interesting. Their sons are presently residing in Ireland to attend school.
On the day of the optional tour to Gozo for an overnight by our group, I recruited Don and Jean from San Luis Obispo to join me for a whole day tour scheduled through the concierge at our hotel. The option through the tour company to Gozo cost $189, and we paid $62 - although they stayed overnight. Gozo is a small island, and I couldn't see the necessity to spend an overnight at added cost when we already had hotel accommodations in Sliema, and I preferred some free time the following morning to do some independent sight-seeing and relaxation. I did the St Paul's Church of Rabat and the Roman House museum. Besides, when one sees one town in Gozo, you've seen all the towns in Gozo; they all look the same, except for the Citadel.

I was the only one in our group that went to the concert in Valletta on Tuesday night, and enjoyed some classical music. It turned out to be a real treat; the orchestra was excellent, and I later learned that the concert hall/theater is the second oldest in Europe. The theater was packed with locals and visitors, and it is beautiful - both the music and theater.

One of the last sights we visited was the sandstone quarry. They provided a 15-minute movie on the history of sandstone in Malta, and how they progressed in the method of harvesting the sandstone.
The machinery they use today cuts the sandstone into blocks that can be loaded onto trucks and delivered to the construction site.
School children were visiting the quarry and drawing pictures of what they saw.

* Added 20May: I walked to St Juliens Bay one day for a walk, and ended up getting a haircut and lunch. Sitting at an outside table at St Julien's Bay and having lunch with wine was a real treat.

The 13 nights in Malta passed quickly, and on April 29, I was on my flight back to London for a four-night stay.