Malta

January 09, 2016

M stands for Malta, which was on the top line of my bucket list and now has a tick mark beside it.   With inexpensive flights from Amsterdam, it has now become readily available.

With Valletta its capital, the Republic of Malta lies tucked away, in the Mediterranean,  between Sicily and North Africa.

It has long intrigued me for its history and historic sites. Related to a succession of rulers including the Romans, Moors, Knights of St. John, French and British. 

 It has numerous fortresses, megalithic temples and the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum, a subterranean complex of halls and burial chambers dating to 3600 B.C.E.  This complex was the first on my list to explore, and easily accessible by bus. 

I made my way down the chambers, halls, niches and small doorways. To my delight the corpses left the premises a long time ago, as I found myself, to be the only live person down there.  I completed my photos and returned to the surface, only to be swept away with more of its history.

                                  

According to Maltese tradition, they had followed Christianity the longest, as it started in A.D. 60 when St. Paul was shipwrecked there.  As a political rebel, St. Paul was a captive en route to Rome when the boat sank in a fierce storm and brought the Christian faith to the island. The Apostle's journey has become immortal in the numerous shrines, grottos and the catacombs of Rabat. 

With the wealth of the Catholic Church, there were more than 360 churches and chapels build and scattered throughout the islands. A treasure house of art and architecture ranging from Baroque, with red or silver painted domes, to small and plainly decorated structures. 

 No shortage of Saints, Angel sculptures and of sacred symbols.

 

There are sheltered harbours, walled cities with quaint streets. 

Cheerful fishing villages with character and charm and it is if time stood still.