Malta Overview

MALTA
MALTA IS AN ARCHIPELAGO OF ISLANDS SET IN THE CLEAR BLUE MEDITERRANEAN SEA CONSISTING OF FIVE ISLANDS. THE STRATEGIC POSITION OF MALTA, GOZO AND COMINO HAS MADE THESE MEDITERRANEAN ISLANDS A CROSSROAD OF HISTORY. THE COMBINATION OF HISTORY, SCENERY, EXCELLENT FOOD, FRIENDLINESS, AND GENERALLY GOOD WEATHER, MAKES ANY VISIT MEMORABLE. THERE IS MUCH MORE TO THE ISLAND THAN SUN AND SEA.		THE KNIGHTS OF THE ORDER OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM, HAVE HAD A SIGNIFICANT INFLUENCE IN THE HISTORY OF MALTA. THE MALTESE CROSS IS THE INSIGNIA OF THE KNIGHTS OF MALTA. THE KNIGHTS OF ST JOHN OF JERUSALEM LEFT THE MOST PHYSICAL MARK ON MALTA, AFTER SUCCESSFULLY DEFENDED IT FROM THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE AND WERE IN CHARGE OF THE ISLAND FOR 270 YEARS, BUILDING AGNIFICENT CHURCHES AND LAVISH MONUMENTS.
	ST. PAUL CALLED MALTA A 'FRIENDLY ISLAND' AS HE REMEMBERED THE HOSPITALITY HE RECEIVED AFTER HIS SHIPWRECK IN AD 60. THE FRIENDLY, WELCOMING TRADITION HAS CONTINUED AND THE ISLAND HAS MUCH TO INTEREST THE VISITOR.



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Country Highlights
	Valetta Until the arrival of the Knights of St. John, Mount Sceberras, on which Valletta stands, lying between two natural harbours, was an arid tongue of land. No building stood on its bare rocks except for a small watch tower. The new city, with its strong bastions and deep moats, became an impregnable bulwark of great strategic importance and a sail in the Grand Harbour is the best way to view the city. St. John's Co-Cathedral is quite stunning and perhaps Valetta's centerpiece.	*Mdina* This ancient city stands like a sentinel on the high ground in the western region of Malta. Its high position dominates the countryside and the sloping land which extends to the eastern shoreline. The site had been an ideal natural stronghold for its inhabitants in Neolithic times. It continued to be so for many years, when the island was a base for Punic traders and, later, a colonial settlement of imperial Rome. The Silent City still maintains its primacy as the ecclesiastical capital of Malta and as the refuge of the Maltese nobility.


*St. Paul's Bay* Until the advent of modem transport in the 1920's, St. Paul's Bay was a pleasant fishing village on the southern shore of the wide bay which runs inland for more than 3kms. Here, the Apostle was shipwrecked and commented on the Islands warm hospitality.		*Gozo* a third the size of Malta but greener and more rural. Its landscape has hills, deep valleys and rugged cliffs, which give natural protection to the island's small harbours and inlets. Life here moves at a leisurely pace, revolving around farming and fishing. It is an island where time stands still & little wonder it has become known as an island paradise.


*Rabat* This large provincial township was part of the Roman city of Melita. Its extensive and beautiful countryside offers to nature lovers pleasurable strolls in calm surroundings far from the crowds and noise of industrial neighbourhoods. For many centuries, religious orders have established themselves within the precincts of Rabat. Franciscans, Dominicans and Augustinians still flourish here in their spacious convents and monasteries, and cater for the religious needs of parishioners in their churches.

And the rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land.
And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita.
And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold.
Acts 28


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