Arrival in Malta - first look around

We left Toronto on Monday March 5 at 6:00 p.m. and arrived in Frankfort on time at around 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday March 6.  We didn't really sleep and Alain and I both watched movies.  After a coffee and a pretzel at the Frankfort airport, we caught the 10:15 a.m. flight to Malta International Airport.  We arrived just before 1:00 p.m. and took a 30 minute bus ride to the Valletta Bus Terminal for 1.50 euro each!  We had a quick 10 minute walk to our AirBnB on Strait Street.  The bus terminal is just outside the City walls.  There has been a new gate to the city built by architect Renzo Piano, that was completed in 2014.

Malta has an amazing history and is a very interesting country.  In a nutshell- Malta is a separate island country consisting of an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea about 80 km south of Sicily.  The population is just under 450,000.  The capital is Valletta, where we are staying for the first part of our trip.  At 0.8km squared, it is the smallest national capital in the European Union by area.

Malta has two official languages - Maltese and English.  Maltese is a Semitic language with around 1/3 of the vocabulary derived from the original Semitic base (Siculo-Arabic), 50% of the vocabulary from standard Italian and Sicilian; and English words make up between 6-20% of the vocabulary.  Maltese remains the only semitic language written in the Latin script.  Most of the signage is in Maltese and English.

Malta's location has historically given it great strategic importance as a naval base.  It's history goes back to around 5200 B.C. with the arrival of its first inhabitants from Sicily.  Its megalithic temples were built between 3600-2500 B.C.  and are the oldest free-standing structures in the world.  The country was occupied by a number of different empires starting with the Phoenicians in 800-400 B.C., followed by the Carthaginian Empire (480-218 B.C.); the Romans (218 B.C. - 395 A.D.); Byzantines (395-570); North African Arabs (870-1090);  and Normans (1090-1530).  Finally, the most important occupiers, the Knights of St. John arrived in 1530, having been gifted the islands by Emperor Charles V.  The Knights had been driven from Rhodes by the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Suleyman and they needed a new home.

Charles V granted them Malta in exchange for the nominal rent of two falcons a year- one for the emperor and one for the viceroy of Sicily!!  [ I knew there had to be a Maltese Falcon somewhere along the way before Dashiell Hammett]

The other Maltese Falcon

The Knights defeated the Ottoman Empire in the Great Siege of Malta in 1565, one that resulted in a large loss of life.  The Maltese populations were integral to the defeat of the Ottoman invasion. The date of the end of the Siege, September 8, is still commemorated as a holiday.

Valletta, the first planned city in Europe was founded in 1566.  In 1798, Napoleon captures the island.  The Maltese fight the French and ask the British for assistance.  The French surrender in 1800.  Following the 1814 Treaty of Paris, Malta is formally recognized as a Crown Colony of the British Empire.  Malta remains under British rule until 1964.  In June 1940, Mussolini's Italy enters WWII and on June 11, his bombers strike at Malta's Grand Harbour.  During the war, Malta experienced heavy bombing and great hardship.  The country assumed huge strategic importance as a WWII naval and air force base.  In 1942, King George VI awarded the George Cross to the entire population of Malta for their bravery.  The George Cross continues to appear on Malta's national flag.

Prior to becoming Queen, Princess Elizabeth and Prince Phillip called Valletta home for two years (1949-51) when Phillip was stationed there with the Royal Navy (pictured in The Crown).  Villa Guardamangia, where they stayed, has fallen into disrepair and successive government efforts to acquire the property for public purposes have never reached a conclusion.

In 1964, Malta gained its independence, but Queen Elizabeth II remained as the head of state.  In 1974, Malta became a republic with a parliament-appointed President as head of state.  In 2004, Malta joined the EU and adopted the euro in 2008 (Maltese euro coins display the Maltese cross).

Square just before walls of Valletta

Valletta, the capital of Malta is colloquially known as Il-Belt (The City) in Maltese.  It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.  The city, built after the Great Siege of 1565, has a grid plan.  The city is essentially Baroque in character.  There are a series of defensive walls and other fortifications surrounding it.  Valletta became the capital of Malta in 1571.  In 2011, the City Gate which had been built in the 1960s was demolished and a new City Gate was completed in 2014.

Alain and hand just outside of gates

World Heritage Site since 1980

The new gate to the city

Sign in Maltese in gateway noting that Valletta is European Capital of Culture for 2018

The new gate was designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano and completed in 2014.  He also built the new Parliament House which was completed in 2015.  It is located near the City Gate and the ruins of the Royal Opera House, which Piano also converted into an open-air theatre in 2013, called Pjazza Teatru Rjal .

New Parliament building by Renzo Piano

Pjazza Teatru Rjal (Royal Theatre)- now functioning as a performance venue

The street where we are staying is one of the narrowest in Valletta and very picturesque.

Strait Sweet

Our AirBnB is on the 4th floor.  Luckily, the person who met us took both our bags up the flight of stairs.  The place is small and in an old building, but is well equipped and in a great location.

The apartment opens into a bedroom with a separate kitchen and bathroom.  There is also a small outside area

There is a Gin and Tapas Bar located below us.  It was closed when we arrived, but opened in the early evening.  No noise on our floor from the bar.

We walked down our street.  In our block there are a number of professional offices. Further down the street are a number of small restaurants and cafés.

Alain walking down Strait Street

We then went for our first coffee in Valletta at Caffe Cordina. The Caffe was founded in 1837 in another town, but moved to Valletta in 1944.  The founder was Cesare Cordina and the business is still run by the Cordina family.  It is housed in a beautiful building known during the rule of the Knights of St. John as the "Casa del Commun Tesoro- the Treasury of the Order".  During the early days of the British rule, the building was appropriated to various public offices and then the Grand Hotel.  It suffered heavy damage during the blitz of 1942.  

The Easter window at the Caffe Cordina

The inside decor includes paintings by a Maltese painter Giuseppe Cali.  The final three paintings commissioned by the Cordina family represent Malta's independence, the birth of the Republic and joining the European Union.

Chandelier and paintings on the wall in the entrance to the caffe

Outside of the Caffe

                                                        Alain with his first macchiato 

We sat outside for our coffee.  There was a plaque on the wall beside the café indicating that Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the renowned poet worked there in 1804-5.  The other plaque notes that the building was The Treasury of the Order.

We walked around a bit and then found another coffee shop that we had been looking for earlier.   The streets are numbered in order up one side a street and then continue in a loop around the other side-- takes a while to figure out.  Lot Sixty One is an artisanal coffee shop, where the beans are from their roastery located in Maxxar, Malta.  We stopped to buy some beans and had another espresso.   We think this may become our hangout.  The coffee was excellent and reasonable (1.30 euro for an espresso).  Very nice people who had good coffee chops.



      Alain outside Lot Sixty One-- in a beautiful old building

Across the way is the brand new restored market called Is-Suq tal-Belt (Maltese for "City Market" or "Valletta Market").  It was a covered market hall originally built in the 19th century and notable for being the first building in Malta to be constructed mostly of iron.  It was severely damaged in WWII.  The market declined until it was renovated in 2016-17 and reopened as a food market in January 2018.  There is a gorgeous grocery store in the lower level, restaurants and stalls.  The upper level is intended for cultural activities and events.  The renovation was inspired by the Market of San Miguel in Madrid (we have been there).  Our friend David had just visited there last month and had sent us a picture and advised us to visit.

Outside of market-- gorgeous reno

Inside grocery store section on lower level.

Having a Maltese pastizzi- a savoury pastry at one of the stalls

After buying some provisions for dinner, we wandered down to the water and then slowly made our way back to the apartment.

Beautiful light on the harbour

                                                           Palm trees and churches

More to explore

One street had an old gramophone sign outside of a music store.

The Valletta Local Council has posted signs on a number of streets---"Cleanliness and quietness, reflect civil sense. Be considerate!"

We were both tired so had an early meal of pasta with some homemade pistachio sauce we had bought at the new Market.  We crashed early though as we were still on Toronto time we woke for a while in the middle of the night.  I am posting this entry on Wednesday March 7.  Beautiful sunny day- going to 18C.  Lots to explore.