Malta, officially the Republic of Malta comprises an archipelago of seven islands situated in the Southern Mediterranean sea, 60 miles off the coast of Sicily, 180 miles east of Tunisia and 188 miles north of Libya. Only the three largest islands Malta, Gozo, and Cominoare inhabited. The smaller islands are Filfla, Cominotto and the Islands of St. Paul. Numerous bays along the indented coastline of the islands provide good harbours.
Malta's location in the Mediterranean Sea has always given it a strategic importance. And so, a sequence of powers including the Phoenicians, Romans, Fatimids, Sicilians, Knights of St John, French and British have all conquered Malta. Malta gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1964 and became a Republic in 1974.
Malta's capital city is Valletta. The country's official languages are Maltese and English, which replaced Italian in 1934.
The currency is the Euro. Standard EU regulations cover passport and visa requirements. Traffic in Malta drives on the left, as in the UK.
Malta is known for its world heritage sites, most prominently the Megalithic Temples which are the oldest free-standing structures on Earth. The temples were used from 4000–2500 BC. According to the Acts of the Apostles, Malta is also considered a possible location for the mythical lost island of Atlantis.
History
The Maltese islands were first settled in 5200 BC by stone age farmers who had arrived from the island of Sicily to the north. The population on Malta grew cereals and raised domestic livestock. The culture apparently disappeared from the Maltese Islands around 2500 BCE with historians and archeologists speculating that the temple builders fell victim to famine or disease.
Around 700 BC, the Greeks settled on Malta, especially around the area now occupied by Valletta. A century later, Phoenician traders, who used the islands as a stop on their trade routes from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to Cornwall, also settled on the island. The Phoenicians inhabited the area now known as Mdina and its surrounding town of Rabat.
After the fall of Phoenicia, in 400 BC the area came under the control of Carthage. By 117 AD, the Maltese Islands were a thriving part of the Roman Empire. In the 4th century, Malta fell under the control of the Greek speaking Byzantine Empire which was ruled from Constantinople. Although Malta was under Byzantine rule for four centuries, not much is known from this period.
The Arabs ruled from 909 and introduced new irrigation, some fruits and cotton and the Siculo-Arabic language was adopted on the island: it would eventually evolve into the Maltese language. The Normans relieved Sicily and the Maltese Islands in 1091 and Roger I of Sicily was warmly welcomed by the native Christians. The Norman period was productive; Malta became part of the newly formed Kingdom of Sicily which also covered the island of Sicily and the southern half of the Italian Peninsula.
In 1530 Charles I of Spain gave the islands to the Order of Knights of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem in perpetual lease. These knights, a military religious order now known as the Knights of Malta, had been driven out of Rhodes by the Ottoman Empire in 1522. The knights withstood a full-blown siege by the Ottoman Turks in 1565, at the time the greatest naval power in the Mediterranean. The knights, fighting alongside the Maltese, were victorious.
The Knights' reign ended when Napoleon captured Malta on the way to Egypt during the French Revolutionary Wars in 1798. As a ruse, Napoleon asked for safe harbour to resupply his ships. Once safely inside Valletta's harbor he turned his guns against his hosts. He then sailed for Egypt, leaving behind a substantial garrison.
The occupying French forces were deeply unpopular with the Maltese, due particularly to the French forces' hostility towards Catholicism. The French financial and religious policies angered the Maltese who rebelled, forcing the French to retreat within the city fortifications. Great Britain, along with the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, sent ammunition and aid to the Maltese and Britain also sent her navy, which blockaded the islands.
General Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois surrendered his French forces in 1800. Maltese leaders presented the island to Sir Alexander Ball, asking that the island become a British Dominion. The Maltese people created a Declaration of Rights in which they agreed to come "under the protection and sovereignty of the King of the free people, His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland". The Declaration also stated that "his Majesty has no right to cede these Islands to any power...if he chooses to withdraw his protection, and abandon his sovereignty, the right of electing another sovereign, or of the governing of these Islands, belongs to us, the inhabitants and aborigines alone, and without control.
In 1814, as part of the Treaty of Paris, Malta officially became a part of the British Empire and was used as a shipping way-station and fleet headquarters. In 1919 British troops fired on a rally protesting against new taxes, killing four Maltese men. This led to increased resistance and support for the pro-Italian parties that had challenged the English presence on the island. The event, known as Sette Giugno, is commemorated every year.
In the early 1930s the British Mediterranean Fleet, which was at that time the main contributor to commerce on the island, moved to Alexandria as an economic measure.
During World War II, Malta played an important role owing to its proximity to Axis shipping lanes. The bravery of the Maltese people during the second Siege of Malta moved HM King George VI to award the George Cross to Malta on a collective basis on April 15, 1942 "to bear witness to a heroism and devotion that will long be famous in history". A replica of the George Cross now appears in the upper hoist corner of the Flag of Malta. The collective award remained unique until April 1999, when the Royal Ulster Constabulary became the second – and, to date, the only other – recipient of a collective George Cross.
Malta achieved its independence on September 21, 1964. Under its 1964 constitution, Malta initially retained Queen Elizabeth II as Queen of Malta and thus Head of State, with a Governor-General exercising executive authority on her behalf. On December 13, 1974 Malta became a republic within the British Commonwealth, with the President as head of state. A defence agreement expired on March 31, 1979. On that day British military forces departed.
Weather
The climate is Mediterranean, with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers. The lowest temperature ever recorded at Valletta was on February 19, 1895, with 1.2 °C , and the highest temperature was 43.8 °C recorded in August 1999 at Luqa International Airport. See table at the foot of the page for more info.
Transport
Buses are the primary method of public transport for the islands, which offer a relatively cheap and frequent service to many parts of Malta and Gozo. The vast majority of buses on Malta depart from a large circular terminus in Valletta.
Malta has three large natural harbours on its main island. The Grand Harbour, located at the eastern side of the capital city of Valletta, has been a harbour since Roman times. It has several extensive docks and wharves, as well as a cruise liner terminal. A terminal at the Grand Harbour serves ferries that connect Malta to Pozzallo & Catania in Sicily. Marsamxett Harbour, located on the western side of Valletta, accommodates a number of yacht marinas. Marsaxlokk Harbour, at Marsaxlokk on the south-eastern side of Malta, is the site of the Malta Freeport, the islands' main cargo terminal.
Malta International Airport is the only airport serving the Maltese Islands. The national airline is Air Malta which operates services to 36 destinations in Europe and North Africa.
Local festivals, similar to those in southern Italy, are commonplace in Malta and Gozo, celebrating weddings, christenings and, most prominently, saints' days, honouring the patron saint of the local parish. On saints' days, the festa reaches its apex with a High Mass featuring a sermon on the life and achievements of the patron saint, after which a statue of the religious patron is taken around the local streets in solemn procession, with the faithful following in respectful prayer. The religious atmosphere quickly gives way to several days of revelry, band processions, fireworks, and late night parties. Lija is one of the villages with a very good firework display in Malta.
Maltese Carnival has an important place on the cultural calendar and is held during the week leading up to Ash Wednesday. It typically includes masked balls, fancy dress and grotesque mask competitions, lavish late-night parties, a colourful, ticker-tape parade of allegorical floats presided over by King Carnival, marching bands and costumed revellers.
Food
Maltese cuisine is typically Mediterranean, based on fresh seasonal locally available produce and seafood. While many dishes are native to the island, some popular Maltese recipes reflect Sicilian, Southern Italian or Turkish cuisine, as well as traces of Tunisian, Spanish, Berber, French and British influences. Still, there are many unique, distinctive and popular local dishes such as ftira biż-żejt, ġbejniet, pastizzi and Ross il-Forn.
Weather for the Yacht Charter Area of Malta
