Nigel and Vicki LIVE: Malta

The Maltese Cross

As we slowly climbed out of winter into a slightly warmer but wetter spring, it was time to take a cheap holiday somewhere warm. Mid-March nicely splits up the time between our last (very brief) holiday at New Year to our next big one in Sicily this June. When we saw a special deal to Malta for a week for £179 per person, inclusive of flights, accommodation and all food and drink except lunch, we knew we were on to a good thing. Malta is one of the warmest nearby destinations at this time of year, being not far north of the African coast, and full of interesting sites to explore.

Janos, Nigel and Gail

We went with my sister Gail and her husband Janos. With four people it helped further economise by sharing the costs of driving to Gatwick airport and parking for the week. We had looked at getting the hop on – hop off tourist bus around the island until we found we could rent a car for a week for the cost of the bus for one for a day, or a taxi ride to and from the airport! As it was the off-season a car was only £28 for the week! Even with all the extra insurances possible and an extra driver it was still under £60 – a bargain.

Having a car proved ideal as it allowed us to see as much as we wanted, when we wanted, and for as long as we wanted. Not hard on an island that is only 25km long and 14km wide! The roads were numerous (with a large population in a small area there are villages and towns everywhere) but of variable quality. The main roads between towns were good: wide and smooth and funded “jointly” with the EU, i.e. 85% EU, 15% local. All the other roads were in pretty poor shape - sealed but heavily pot-holed, and filled, and pot-holed and filled, and .... - quite a patch-work. The good: country roads are quiet at this time of year and British road rules rule, i.e. drive on the left. The bad: Mediterranean driving - chaotic, fast, passing on both sides, etc.

Our first stop was the hotel we were booked into for the week. Full of older English and Germans, and a few Americans. At least we had missed the 300-strong evangelical conference group staying there a few months earlier! First problem was the non-smoking rooms. Presumably instigated following an EU directive against smoking indoors, but implemented in a typically Mediterranean way ... smoking only allowed on the room balconies which, of course, meant people take their ashtrays back into the rooms and smoke there. Our room stank, next door's occupants were smoking heavily and the smoke was coming through the adjoining door, and people smoked in the hall. Staff insisted that it wasn’t a problem but after a couple of room changes we found one that was ok.

inland sea boat trip

look for the tiny people on the arch

The inland countryside isn’t very exciting. Agriculture is big given the warm climate, though getting tricky as they run out of water (decreasing rainfall, increasing population). Almost no farm animals to be seen but plenty of vegetables. Most of the countryside is gently rolling with small stone-walled terraced fields, well irrigated but few trees. But the coast makes up for it: on the east there are big harbours and the odd beach; everywhere else there are spectacular cliffs with just a few inlets to small fishing villages. Everywhere along the coast there are watchtowers, this was a frequently invaded island. Along the coast, in several different places, the rock shelves out just above the water line. On these have been constructed salt pans: the water washes over them and gets trapped, then evaporates leaving the salt behind. Many of these date from Roman times and some are still maintained and used.

salt pans - still in use

typical inlet

an out-of-season tourist spot on Gozo

All the buildings are made of stone as there is a lot of limestone. It is, or was, a big export item so there are quarries, including the remains of a Roman one we stumbled across. It is hard to tell the age of most buildings as they are all of a similar style, excluding the newer high-rise apartment blocks in the coastal towns. The country was heavily bombed during WWII so many buildings are recent (though you can’t tell) or restored. One interesting feature is the first-floor street-side covered balconies made of stone or wood that adorn many of the houses.

ferry crossing to Valletta

We took a trip across the bay to the capital, Valletta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. From all angles it still looks old as they have restricted modern buildings, apart from parliament, and you have to pretend the TV aerials don’t exist to get the real effect. The small city is surrounded by water on most sides and large stone walls and forts. There are plenty of historic buildings and churches but the biggest and best is St. John’s Co-Cathedral. Built by the Knights of St. John from 1572, it is very ornate and contains the most amazing marble floor. The floor is a set of tombs housing about 400 knights.

Marble tombs

ceiling and walls at St John's Co-Cathedral

Mnajdra Temple

Malta has numerous prehistoric sites, some also designated as World Heritage Sites. These are the remains of stone temples and standing stones, up to 3,500BC. Unfortunately the local stone erodes quickly. There are photos showing the sites as excavated 150 years ago and now – neatly cut and fitted stones are now crumbling away. A couple of the most important sites now have huge, 'permanent' tents over them as protection. Can you imagine Stonehenge with a roof? Thank goodness most standing stones don't need cover - they certainly put a damper photographs!

cart tracks

Another fascinating site is the “cart tracks”. These appear as parallel grooves criss-crossing each other across rocky ground. No one knows what they are.

Just a half-hour ferry ride north of the main island of Malta is the smaller island of Gozo. More of the same but certainly a little nicer. It made for a great day-trip.

Our hotel deal included breakfast and dinner - huge buffets but somewhat disappointing as most dishes were fairly bland. And the wine watery. It might have something to do with the other residents, mainly older English and Germans. We did manage to consume huge quantities though! The food situation was rescued by lunches in little Maltese cafes. The local speciality is rabbit and we’d have to say eating 8-hour roasted rabbit while sitting outside staring across the road at a huge and ornate church was magical. The proprietors - and indeed all locals – were incredibly friendly. Everyone speaks English as well as Maltese, which is more closely related to north African languages. A few times we were asked if we needed help and locals would stop for a chat.

One thing that can’t be avoided here is religion. Around 99% are Catholic and you can tell – icons everywhere (little statues on many houses), and churches all over the place. Not surprising given the island’s history: St Paul, shipwrecked here on his way to Rome, spent his time converting everyone he could, including the Roman governor; Spanish conquerors handed the island over to the Knights of St John to rule for several hundred years; famous for the “Great Siege” where the Knights held off a huge invading Ottoman force and became the heroes of Christian Europe. Supposedly there are 365 major churches on the islands. And I mean major. Worldwide, the two biggest domes on churches are St Peters in Rome and St Sophia in Istanbul, the next two are both in Malta! Almost anywhere you stand on the island you can see the tops of churches in all directions. At the airport Janos and I counted 19 as we looked around. There are also many caves and catacombs. In certain areas there are the remains of where people used to live in caves – and were still living in some into modern times. The catacombs started as Roman cemeteries before becoming Christian churches, and finally bomb shelters during WWII.

We think that this is a good place for a week’s holiday – if you come at the right time of the year. It doesn’t get too cold in winter (supposedly they have never had a frost), but summer is best avoided as it gets very hot. Also, peak season will mean a lot of tourists and it is a small place to try and get away from them.