Malta

We stayed in Sliema. It is quite far from Valletta and Old Town but we were in a great hotel, the Plaza Regency, along the waterfront and promenade.

We spent the first morning back in Valletta, however, seeing Old Town. The entire city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

• We visited the incredible Saint John’s Co-Cathedral. Magnificent. Every inch of the walls, ceiling, altars, chapels are decorated. The floor is covered with the tombstones of over 500 knights of St. John’s that are buried here. We visited the crypt, sacristy, all the chapels, and saw the Caravaggio “Beheading of St John”.

• We made it to the Upper Barrakka Gardens for the noon cannon at the Saluting Battery. The gardens offers some of the best views of the Grand Harbour.

• I visited the Lascaris War Rooms. It was where the invasion of Sicily was planned (Operation Husky). This was the site of the British Army HQ, then the joint army, air force, navy command. It was bombed by the Italians and Germans, but never had a direct hit to cause a collapse of the tunnels. I read a lot about how important Malta was to the WWII North Africa campaigns, including the invasion of Tunisia and Libya, and the invasion of Sicily in Churchill’s WWII history books. Very interesting to be here in the war rooms where Eisenhower and Montgomery planned Husky. I came here for about 90 minutes while the rest of group visited National Archeology Museum (I saw that Saturday). I could have easily spent another hour but was meeting a few people and had to leave.

• The Grand Master’s Palace is on Republic Square. Over 450 years old, the palace is newly restored. It was originally constructed by the Knights of St. John and enlarged over the years. It was the Governor’s Palace during the British period. It is currently the President of Malta’s office. We saw the State Rooms, Throne Room, Ambassadors Room, and the huge armory, with some amazing armor of former Grand Masters. The paintings in the State Rooms depict the Great Siege of 1565.

• We spent a day visiting the “Three Cities of Senglea, Vittoriosa and Cospicua”, considered to be ‘the cradle of Maltese history’. The Knights of the Order of Saint John settled in Vittoriosa in 1530 and used the city as their headquarters. We visited the Inquisitor’s Palace. Built around 1530 and first used by the Knights, then used for 224 years for the Inquisitors in Malta. Great building and interesting history. We also saw a restored Norman House.

 

• The Gardjola Gardens offers wonderful views of the Grand Harbor. This area includes a great watchtower, Vedetta Watchtower, with “symbols of watchfulness”, a huge eye and ear. This area is site of some of Malta’s oldest fortifications protecting the harbor.
• Marsaxlokk is Malta’s largest fishing port. Marsa is harbor and xlokk (shlock) means south, so South Harbor. It is a beautiful little fishing village. I started with a visit to the church, Santwarju tal-Madonna ta’ Pompei or Our Lady of Pompei, then walked along the harbor. I saw the Fisherman statue, all the colorful boats. Most have the eye of Horus for protection.
• We had a 90 minute Grand Harbor cruise starting in Sliema. We had great views of the walls and forts, seeing Old Town, Fort St. Elmo, Fort St. Angelo, Upper and Lower Barrakka Gardens, very expensive yachts, naval ships, the Vedetta Watchtower, and a crane painted like giraffe.

• Like Gganjita, Hagar Qim and Mnajdra are Megalithic temple complexes and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. These “Standing/Worshipping stones” are from 3600-3200 BCE. We visited both temples and enjoyed a walk along the cliff to get back to the visitor center, seeing the Congreve Memorial, the arch of Il-Ponta ta’ Rsejjen, and the Tal-Ħamrija Coastal Tower before returning to the visitor center. There is a lot to see in the visitor center and on the site. I would have liked more time to spend in the visitor center.

• Our fourth boat trip of the tour was the Blue Grotto to see the natural caverns, and glowing blue water from the white sand and corals and sea sponges. We stopped above for a great view of the arch before descending to the boats.

 

• The tour included a lunch at Malta Sunripe, which served their red and white wines, sundried tomatoes, pickled zucchini, and so much more. We had some excellent strawberries for dessert. We visited their wine cellar, heard about their farming practices, saw them finishing some canned preserves in their kitchen, then visited their greenhouses. I definitely recommend stopping by to purchase some of their delicious products.

• Our last day we visited Malta’s Medieval old capital, Mdina. We spent about two hours walking around this beautifully preserved city with its narrow roads and alleys. This is another one of several places I would have enjoyed more time on our tour. There is a lot to see here, museums and churches and more.

• I really enjoyed our visit to Domus Romana, a townhouse that belonged to Roman dignitaries. It has great mosaics, statues and other exhibits. It was discovered by accident in 1881.

• Saint Paul’s Catacombs was a very interesting visit. It has a good visitor center, we saw the largest catacomb then one with still identifiable menorahs and a very low chamber where we had to kneel to enter. Both Christian and Jewish burials here.

• Rotunda of Mosta or Sanctuary Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady is the largest church on Malta. It was built between 1833 and 1860. The design is based on the Pantheon and the church has the third largest unsupported dome in the world. On 9 April 1942 a German bomb fell through the dome and into the church during Mass, but failed to explode. This is considered a miracle; there were 300 people in the church. There are photos of this, the damage and the bomb, a video reconstruction of the event, and a memorial with a replica of the bomb. I also visited the air raid shelter out front. Malta was under heavy attacks during WWII by the Germans and Italians.

• Our final stop was the San Anton Botanical Gardens. It was nice to relax here seeing the fountains and gardens after seeing the PM house.

** All photos (except where indicated) property of Lisa, not to be copied or reproduced **