Tag: Malta

On the second day of the new year (Sunday), I decided to go visit Valletta.  It is now the capital of the island, but it is a relatively recent city.  Indeed it was founded after the great siege of 1565 when Malta protected the rest of Europe from the invading Turks. REALLY!   The siege lasted close to five months during which 700 knights and 8,000 ‘irregulars and mercenaries’ held of an invading force of more than 80,000 men.  Relief finally came on 7 September and by 8 September, the Turks left defeated – 8 September is now the “National Day” of Malta.  It took years after that before the Turks attempted another attack in Europe.

The Grand Master of the Knights of Malta at the time was called Jean Parisot de la Vallette.  The new city of La Vallette was founded in 1568 at the time of his death, but in honor of his life.

I was welcomed into Valletta (as it is known in English) by an musical and flag waving escort.  I wonder how they knew I was coming?

I had read in the plane flying to Malta that there was an exhibit ‘Creches’ (Nativity Scenes) at the Auberge d’Italie.  I need to provide a little more history here …

The Knights of Malta were divided into eight ‘Langues’, for the eight nationalities that it included: Italy, France, Provence, Auvergne, Castile, Aragon, Germany and England.  Each lived in its own ‘Auberge’; and these have been preserved in Valletta.

I have also discovered that Nativity Scenes are very elaborate in Malta and a very old tradition.  The oldest Creche is in Mdina – unfortunately, I realised this AFTER I had visited the city, so no pictures.

However, I saw very nice modern creches at the Auberge d’Italie – this one is relatively small – in total less than 1 m tall

Whereas others were much larger and complex

I had already seen a beautiful Creche in the main church in Paola – the one with the silver domes – I skipped that photo until I could talk more on the subject.

The best Creche, for me, was at the Auberge de Castille – a life-size display that occupied the second floor and the grand staircase to reach it.  Josef, Mary and Baby Jesus …

The sheep  and real bales of hay…

and, of course, the three wise men…

I drifted towards the harbor and decided to go take a look at it from above at the St’s Peter and Paul Bastion and the Upper Barrakka Gardens.  This is also the place for the ‘Saluting Battery’, a set of cannons used to salute visiting ships, but also used for the ‘Noon Day Gun’, a tradition in the British Navy used mainly to make sure that chronometers on board ships (used for navigation) were accurate before they set off to sea.

Continue reading “Malta – Part 2” →

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I left Belgium on 29 December for a few days in Malta – I had never been there, and I figured the weather would be better than what I could expect home.  I arrived late as the flight schedule is not very good and so did not start exploring until 30 December.

I wanted to go first to Gozo, a smaller island North of Malta, as I knew that most museums and churches would be closed for the next few days – however, when I arrived at the ferry terminal, the line was very very long and therefore I decided that I would go on another day.

I went instead to Mdina, the Jewel in Malta’s crown as indicated in my guide.  The medieval center of the city, inside the fortified walls, has been preserved as it was many years ago.  The outer gates are impressive enough and you get the immediate reminder that Church and Army were often one and the same thing here.

I did not expect to see flowers ta this time of year.  There were clouds in the sky and therefore I had to try to time my pictures when the light was best – I was not always able to do it, but here my timing was OK…

Mdina is built on top of a hill – there is a great view from one of the squares on the North of the city – however, not as great as could be because of the poor light.  On a clear day, which this was not, you can see Sicily and Mount Etna about 100 km away.  I was more interested in the square and the architecture.

St. Paul’s Cathedral at Mdina is the original seat of the CatholicChurch on the island.  When Valletta was founded and became the capital, a new church was built there and is called the Co-Cathedral – there are still two “Cathedrals” in Malta even though there is only one bishop.  A strange quirk of history…  The exterior is not very impressive – the interior is much more decorated.  This is also one of the very few cathedrals I have ever seen with two cannons on the front (one is visible under the tree between the left and center doors, the other is to the right of the car between the center and the right door) – another indication of the struggles that Malta had to go through during its history.

Another of the gates in the old city.  While in Mdina, I started to learn more, a lot more, about the history of Malta and especially the history of the Knights of Malta, who ruled the island from the Crusades until late in the 19th Century.

However, human occupation of this island goes back long before the Crusades and Malta is actually the home of several sets of ruins that date back 4000-5000 years ago.  The megalithic temples of Hagar Qim and Mnajdra are close to Mdina, not far from the sea and open to the public so I decided to go take a look.  In the museum, I saw a picture that looked very familiar.  It is a picture of Bru Na Boinne, the megalithic temple I had visited only 9 months earlier during my trip i Ireland.  These were built around the same time, but there are no indications that the peoplewho built these were in contact with each other.

Continue reading “New Year in Malta – 1” →

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