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Wandering troubadors
Check out the bagpipes!We really didn't know what to expect in Malta, but after almost a week here we are really enjoying ourselves.
After a direct flight from Sydney we were expecting an easy afternoon and early night when we flew in last Sunday. Our hotel was situated on a square opposite the gate to M'dina, a perfectly preserved medieval walled town described in Lonely Planet as "one of the jewels of Malta". We couldn't have picked a better time to be there as the town was celebrating the annual medieval festival weekend. We were straight into it.
There were plenty of tourists joining in with the locals who were dressed authentically - knights in full suits of armour, beautiful maidens, courtiers, jesters, troupes of instrumentalists and dancers. It was a real treat to wander through the squares and narrow winding alleyways with beautifully maintained buildings, some dating back to the twelfth century. There were large brightly coloured heraldic banners on parade as well as those decorating buildings. As the afternoon proceeded there were various re-enactments in different places highlighting different aspects of the town's history. A great start to our holiday!
Because of its strategic location in the Mediterranean Malta
Men of steel
Soon to battle it out in the square. has a long history of invasion and occupation - Carthaginians, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Knights of St John and, for the 150 years until independence in 1964, the British. The Brits left a strong legacy. The locals speak good English, drive on the lefthand side of the road, have high English tea and full English breakfast in the hotels, and have the bright red British phone and letter boxes. Vintage postwar British Leyland and Bedford buses provide the main means of local transport.
The architecture is quite distinctive and impressive. All buildings are built from local limestone which is a warm honey colour, not unlike Sydney sandstone. Religion is very strong in Malta and even the smallest village has a large church at its centre. Bigger towns have huge cathedral size churches each with impressive design. They love their cupolas and domes. The biggest one we visited was at a town called Mosta. The church dome there is only slightly smaller than St Peters in Rome. During a bombing raid in 1942 three German bombs hit the dome - two bounced off and didn't explode but the third came straight through the dome and...hit the aisle but, also, didn't explode,
Main square M'dina
Focus of much of the action. much to the relief of the 300 locals in the middle of their mass!
Malta is three islands, one of which is uninhabited. We spent two nights on Gozo (not kidding) which is about 10 km north of the main island. It is home to 30 000 Gozitans, about 10% of the country's population. Our hotel was on a hill overlooking a small fishing harbour where the three car ferries operate nonstop between both islands. It is more fertile and greener than the main island and has a big central citadel and a history as long and as interesting.
Gozo is much smaller and easier to get around. We walked along some spectacular scenery on the rugged western side.
We have found the food to be quite different and distinctive. There are plenty of quality restaurants all over. We enjoyed the national dish - rabbit in red wine sauce. Being an island seafood is always on the menu. The local food and wine are good quality and well priced.
We have found the locals to be really friendly. Almost everyone we have spoken to have either lived in, visited or have someone in Australia. Houses here
A herald
Heraldic banner are very neat and tidy and all seem to have a name plaque over the front door, many have the name of saints but we have seen a few with "Australia", "Aussie", "Sydney" and even "God Bless Australia"!
The weather has been much the same as at home with mild days and cool nights. It's spring here with plenty of colour in the gardens and wildflowers in the countryside.
An early morning flight tomorrow to Catania in eastern Sicily where we will be touring for just over two weeks.
Hope you are well and as always we enjoy an email from home.
Jan and Rick
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Bruce
non-member comment
All OK here. Lucky people arriving right on festival time.
What a time to be thgere in Malta. Sounds like a great festival.