April, 2018























THE VIEW FROM OUR HOTEL ROOM





The Republic of Malta is a tiny island country located in the Meditteranean Sea and which is politically part of Europe. It's about 150 KM south of Sicily, and only about 250 KM north of Tripoli in Lybia. It's made up of 5 islands, of which only 2 are inhabited. The 2 inhabited islands are called Malta and Gozo. The population of Malta is about 600,000. For us, it was a different experience being in a country smaller than where we call home. There's a nice map of Malta to view by clicking on the thumbnail to the right.

click above for a full sized map




A BRIEF HISTORY
OF MALTA


MALTA'S HISTORY & HERITAGE

THE TEN HISTORICAL PERIODS OF MALTA
Malta's history is long and checkered. It was occupied or dominated by the Romans (for 600 years), the Ottomans, the Arabs, the Normans, the Crusaders, the French (for only 2 years), and finally the British, for almost 150 years. It became independent in 1964, and in 2004, became a member of the European Union. Today the currency is the Euro, but because of the long British presence, there's lots of British influence. English is the second language of the island (everybody speaks it), driving is on the left, and the electric plugs are British style. And, there are lots and lots of British tourists, who come to enjoy the Mediterranean sun!


The main language of Malta is Malti, and it was very interesting to our Israeli and American ears. We heard words we know from Arabic, English, Italian... Then I found the quote below on this site about the Maltese language, and things became clear:
"Spoken by half a million people in the whole world, Maltese sounds strange to visitors – some feel they should be able to understand it, but many cannot. This is mostly because three out of every ten words in Maltese are words from either English, French or Italian, while the rest have Semitic roots."

the maltese cross

The above site also explains that Malti is the only Semitic language written in Latin script. The other main Semitic languages are Arabic and Hebrew.


Religiously, Malta is overwhelmingly Catholic. We were told that there is one Mosque, and 365 churches (one for every day of the year).





CLICK ON ANY THUMBNAIL TO SEE A FULL SIZED PICTURE

For touristic purposes, Malta can be split into 6 general areas:
  • The “Harbour” area, comprising Valletta (the capital), Sliema, St. Julian’s and their “satellite villages”. Keep in mind that these 3 "cities" have a combined population of only about 35,000.
  • The “Central” area of Birkirkara, Mosta, Naxxar and many other villages
  • The “South” (which isn’t really south on the map) of Marsaskala, Birzebbuga, Marsaxlokk, and a few other towns.
  • The “North” coast, which is mostly Bugibba/Qawra and Mellieha
  • Gozo, which is a separate island with a number of attractions and localities within it.

CLICK ABOVE TO VISIT OUR MAIN PAGE

If you are interested in beaches and sunbathing, there are several venues of interest along the coast, particularly Mellieha, but the most popular place to stay is the Harbour area, in one of the 3 main cities - Valletta - the capital; Sliema - the most stylish city in the area; or Saint Julians - the center of nightlife and restaurants. These 3 cities are minutes apart by public transport, by ferries, even on foot, so the decision as to where to stay should be based on the local neighborhood, or the particular hotel of choice. 

We decided to stay in Saint Julians, primarilly because the hotel that looked best for us was located there. We stayed at Hotel Juliani, a wonderful boutique hotel located at Spinola Bay in Saint Julians. Breakfast was great, the staff were great, the room was perfect, and the location superb. The view from the front rooms is stupendous, and many busses stop right in front of the hotel. Many restaurants, bars and stores are just steps away. The picture at the top of this page is Spinola Bay, as seen from our hotel window.








We had 5 days "on the ground" in Malta. We flew with Air Malta, and we were very pleased with the flight and the service. Also, the airport, which is small, is also modern, clean, neat and efficient. We also had great weather. We are used to sunny Mediterranean weather, but our time in Malta was exceptional. All but 1 day were totally sunny with comfortable temperatures.  The exception was  the day we spent on Gozo, which was very windy, but otherwise quite tolerable.


On our arrival day, we spent the time we had strolling about the bays in Saint Juliens and Sliema. We had lunch at one of several restaurants along the promenade, (all the restaurants we ate at are described farther down in the "restaurant section"), and afterward, took the bus to "The Point", the only modern large shopping mall in Malta. This is a lovely and fairly new shopping center set amongst modernistic neo-Roman buildings at one of the most picturesque spots in the area. You can do high end shopping as well as enjoy wonderful views at the Sliema promontory.








On our second day, we took a 6 hour driving tour of Malta Island with a company called "Prestige Cabs". Before arrival, I was in touch via email with Carolynne in the office and she was most helpful. Our driver for both tours (Malta & Gozo) was Valentine, and he was a great driver and as good as any guide could have been.  There are quite a few companies offering similar services in Malta, that is, a car, a driver and an optional guide. The prices vary between 25 and 30 Euros per hour for the tour with only a driver. I chose Prestige because of the easy and helpful email correspondence with Carolynne, and, as I wrote above, we were very satisfied with Prestige and with our driver Valentine. Below are the places we visited on our Malta tour.


ALISA & VALENTINE




MOSTA CHURCH


mosta church
Mosta Church is a beautiful church built in the middle of the 19th century. It's also known as the "Rotunda of Mosta", but it's also known as "The Miracle Church", because during World war 2, when Malta was heavily bombed, it was hit directly by 2 German bombs, but neither bomb exploded. One of the bombs pierced the dome and landed directly in the middle of the church. A replica of that bomb is on a permanent display in the church.
mosta church




MDINA & RABAT


DOOR IN MDINA
Mdina is the ancient capital of Malta and is reputed to be more than 4000 years old. It is a small walled city with beautiful buildings and lots of horse drawn carriages transporting tourists to and fro. It's a lovely town and can be walked from one end to the other (and back) in about 20 minutes, that is, if you don't stop at the many souvenir stores, or at several galleries selling beautiful hand made glass. Rabat is its attached neighbor and is also quite old. Its name neams "suburb" in Arabic and that's exactly what it is - a suburb of the ancient capital of Mdina. If you visit here, there's a museum, a couple of churches and significant catacombs. We didn't visit any of them.



HORSE & CARRIAGES IN MDINA




DINGLI CLIFFS


The Dingli Cliffs are located on the southwestern coast of Malta Island. The cliffs are magnificent and the views incredible. There is a nearby village called Dingli but there's nothing to visit or do there.





THE BLUE GROTTO



THE BLUE GROTTO
The Blue Grotto is, as expected, a grotto with access by boat. We didn't do the boat and we didn't visit the grotto, but we viewed it from above. It's a very popular attraction in Malta. It's a lovely site and the views from above are magnificent. We had lunch at a forgettable restaurant located above the grotto. In the picture to the right taken from above the Blue Grotto, you can see one of Malta's  uninhabited islands, called Flifla. It seems like just a big rock, but it has some history and an interesting story. The British navy used Flifla as a target for naval bombardment practice. This resulted in lots of damage, rubble, and unexploded ordinance. Today it is a nature reserve of international importance, and is considered a "site of scientific importance" and is strictly off limits to visitors.


A VIEW OF FILFLA




HAGAR QIM TEMPLES


HAGAR QIM
The Hagar Qim Temples are one of the highlights of a visit to Malta. These temples date back to 3500 B.C., and have been excavated and presented in a very impressive manner. At the entry, you are in a visitor's center, where there is a museum like gallery and a 10 minute movie in 4D which explains the site. That was fun - water spray, vibrations, lightning... The whole effect was very impressive. Here's some more information about Hagar Qim. This is well worth a visit on any trip to Malta.


HAGAR QIM






THE GOZO FERRY
Touring on Gozo requires taking some sort of boat ride from Malta Island to Gozo Island. The standard way is the main ferry, which leaves from a terminal about 30 KM from the capital Valletta. 30 KM is about the longest drive you can take on Malta. In order to negotiate the ferry twice and see the main attractions on Gozo,we left the hotel at 8 AM and got back at 4 PM. It was a very windy day, but we still had an enjoyable day with our driver, Valentine. Below are the places we visited.
ON THE FERRY
TO GOZO




ĠGANTIJA TEMPLES

ĠGANTIJA TEMPLE
The Ġgantija Temples are one of Gozo's major attractions. They are as old as the Hagar Qim Temples and they have built a nice visitor's center, although it is not as impressive as the Hagar Qim center. Also the ruins are not as well preserved, and while we were there, there were several large groups which made it a bit inconvenient moving about.
FAMOUS HOLE IN THE WALL AT GGANTIJA




CALYPSO CAVE




Calypso Cave - nice view but the cave and the access to it have been closed for a while. I guess that the appeal is that it is connected to the legend of Ulysses and the Sirens of Calypso. This must be the place! It's really not worth investing any time to visit here. There are plenty of other great views to be had on Malta.



XWEJNI SALT PANS


The Xwejni Salt Pans were originally built by the Romans and they are very similar to salt pans we saw in Peru. The salt is still harvested and collected in the traditional way. Today they are operated by private people and new ones have been built alongside the original ones.

XWEJNI SALT PANS




DWEJRA INLAND SEA


THE DWEJRA
INLAND SEA
I guess I was expecting more, but everything in Malta is small, like Malta itself. This is a small little seawater lake (more like a puddle than a lake) with an opening out to the open sea. People can sail in little boats through the opening in the rock face and get out to the open sea. There is a small beach, a few concessionaires, and other simple facilities here. Previously, there was also a rock formation known as the "Azure Window", a naturally formed rock arch along the coast, but it collapsed about a year ago. It was one of Gozo's main attractions. Here's an article with a video. I wouldn't go out of my way to visit here, but on this particular day, we were already on Gozo.

about dwerja and the azure window

Malta’s Azure Window falls into the sea




FISHING NETS
XLENDI BAY
We went to the fishing village of Xlendi for lunch. Xlendi Bay is a popular spot for swimming, snorkeling and diving. There are several restaurants surrounding this little bay.




TA PINU SANCTUARY




TA PINU SANCTUARY
We stopped for a few minutes in Masalforn, a lively little seaside resort with a lovely bay, and then drove to a beautiful church called "Ta Pinu Sanctuary" which is about 5 KM away. Actually, the full name of this church is the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of Ta Pinu. The shrine dates back to the 16th century, but the present church is relatively new, having been built in the 20th century and consecrated in 1931. There have been several miraculous events associated with the shrine and it is a venerated and important site in Maltese religious tradition. It was visited by 2 popes - John Paul II in 1990, and Benedict XVI in 2010.


The church is beautiful both inside and out, but the most impressive aspect of the church is the incredible mosaic panels which were completed very recently. They surround the open space in front of the church, and depict the 20 stations of the Cross. On the front of the panels are the events, and on the rear of each wall (they are free standing and can be viewed from both front and rear) are pastoral and nature motifs. These panels are very beautiful and were a highlight of our visit to Gozo. 
TA PINU MOSAICS




THE CITTADELLA (CITADEL)


THE CITADEL
The Cittadella, a fortresss located in the town of Victoria was the most impressive place we visited on our visit to Gozo. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and has a long history of use as a fortified bastion by the various occupiers of Malta. The Citadel is located at the highest point of the city and it is a lovely place for a visit, however, the wind on the day of our visit was ferocious and the visit was not very enjoyable at the upper levels. The views are incredible, but because of the wind, we beat a hasty retreat.


CITADEL RAMPARTS








SLIEMA FERRY PORT
Valletta, with its population of 6,000 inhabitants is the tiny capital of Malta. It is a lovely little town with lots of history and lots of interesting palces to visit. To get to Valletta from where we stayed in Saint Julians, we could take a bus the whole way (about 30 minutes), take a taxi (because of the traffic, it takes almost as long as the bus), or take the bus to the Sliema Ferry (about 10 minutes) and then take the ferry across the bay to Valletta.  The ferry ride takes about 15 minutes and runs every 30 minutes during the day. It costs €1.50, but for seniors only €.50, which is a real bargain. The ferry ticket is separate from any bus ticket.


So, that's what we did. We took the bus to the Sliema ferry stop. The bus  stop is called "ferries", and you can get a variety of ferries here (not only to Valletta), including various sea excursions which explore the bays and nearby islands. Using the ferry, and waiting for the ferry makes the ride about twice as long as taking the bus straight to Valletta, but it was a pleasant experience. To get back from Valletta, we took a taxi which cost about €15. The taxi arrangement is interesting. The fare is negotiated in advance. I didn't see any taxi meters, and we used a taxi several times.


ON THE FERRY TO VALLETTA

At the ferry stop in Valletta there were several electric carts waiting for passengers. Each could carry 6 or 8 passengers and the price was 5 Euros per head. The cart takes a circuitous route around Valletta, with recorded explanations of the main sites, and ends at the town center. The price for going back (without tour explanations) is 1.5 Euros. The center of town is a steep walk uphill from the ferry stop, so this offer appealed to us. It was well worth the 10 Euros.





THE UPPER (and lower) BARAKKA GARDENS



AT THE UPPER BARAKKA GARDENS
The Upper Barakka Gardens is one of the most popular attractions in Valletta. They are arcaded public gardens built by the Knights of Malta and embellished by the British, which sit perched on top of Valletta's towering bastion walls boasting superb panoramic views of the Grand Harbour. If you are there at 12 noon, you can witness the ceremonial, daily firing of the cannon. We actually were there at noon, and witnessed the whole show. I have to admit that they put on an entertaining show to go with the cannon firing. Picture below to the right.

VIEW FROM THE GARDENS


The Lower Gardens are located about 800 meters to the east of the Upper Gardens, and it's an easy walk from one to the other. They also offer splendid views of the Grand harbour. They are also popular but the main attraction in Valletta is the Upper Gardens. We did not make it to the Lower Gardens.


THE NOON CANNON FIRING





ST JOHN'S CATHEDRAL
SAINT JOHN'S CATHEDRAL

ST JOHN'S CATHEDRAL
This cathedral, whose full name is Saint John's Co-Cathedral is without question one of the most beautiful cathedrals we have ever visited anywhere. Every square inch is covered by artwork, wood carvings or mosaics. There are also masterpieces by Caravaggio, including his most famous work, "The Beheading of John the Baptist". It is well worth the price of admission.


CARAVAGGIO'S BEHEADING OF JOHN THE BABTIST



VALLETTA TOWN CENTER

DOWNTOWN VALLETTA
The center of town is a delightful place to stroll about. There are lots of clean, beautiful renaissance-style buildings. There are lots of places for a snack or a cup of coffee. There are several attractions here, and the most significant one would be the Grand Master's Palace, which has been the administrative center of Malta for over 3 centuries. The original palace was built in 1571, and was the seat of the Grand Master of the Knights Hospitalliers of St John. Today, parts of it are open to the public, but we didn't visit at all.

PALACE GUARD




THE CHURCH OF ST PAUL'S SHIPWRECK


In 60 BCE, St Paul was shipwrecked on Malta and thereby brought Christianity to the population. There are many stories and churches dedicated to St Paul, but this particular church, located in the center of Valletta is the main one. It houses lots of references to St Paul, but the most significant one would be the remains of his wristbone. I found the church to be dank and musty, and I didn't spend more than 2 minutes here. I didn't even see St Paul's wristbone!

VALLETTA CENTER

VALLETTA CITY GATE



THE VALLETTA CITY GATE
The area now known as the "City Gate" is a design project by noted Italian architect Renzo Piano, which includes the complete reorganization of the main land entrance to the capital city of Valletta. It includes 4 main elements - the City Gate itself, an open-air theatre within the ruins of the former Royal Opera house, a new Parliament building, and the landscaping of the moat. The buildings are beautiful, and the overall effect passing through this "gate" is very impressive. Just beyond the gate is the main bus station of Valletta. 








MARSAXLAKK PORT
Our last day in Malta was slightly problematic. Out flight home was at 1 AM (that would be after midnight), meaning that we had to check out of our hotel, spend the day wherever, and then drive to the airport at around 10 PM. For a reasonable sum, the hotel allowed us to check out at 5 PM, which made things much easier. We decided to spend the day in Marsaxlakk, a fishing village, and one of Malta's main ports. The name means "southern port", and It is the largest fishing village in Malta (population - 4000). It is also home to the only power station on the island. As for pronunciation, the "X" is pronounced liked "sh".

Marsaxlakk is best known for its Sunday morning market, which attracts many tourists. We were there on a Saturday, and there was a market, but it was a very modest market, mainly selling souvenirs and lots of junk. On Sunday, they say it's very different. In any case, it's a nice walk along the waterfront, and the main street is filled with restaurants. After the port and the fishing boats, the main tourist attraction would be the beautiful Parish Church, whose full name is the Parish Church of Our Lady of Pompei. To the right is a picture of a traditional Maltese fishing boat, known as a Luzzo.


TRADITIONAL LUZZO AT MARSAXLAKK PORT


ALISA AND THE FISHERMAN AT MARSAXLAKK PORT
I have to say that the highlight (or, perhaps the lowlight) of this day was the bus ride to Marsazlakk. The full distance from our hotel to Marsazlakk is a mere 14 KM. It requires 2 busses, one to the Valletta bus station, and then another bus to Marsazlakk. It should have taken about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Unfortunately, the bus to Marsazlakk never arrived in Valletta, and we had to wait 45 minutes until the next bus arrived. Then the bus developed a problem as the door wouldn't close after opening to allow riders to get on or off. At each stop, the driver (a small woman with a large temper) had to get up out of her seat and physically force the door to close.


As we had the whole day to kill, we just sat back and enjoyed the show. I hate to say it, but it was rather entertaining! In general, the bus service in Malta is cheap (1.5 Euros per ticket), and dependable. We took the bus several times while we were in Malta, and this was the only time we had such an experience. On the way back, we took a taxi, which took 30 minutes and cost 25 Euros (negotiated in advance). We spent a few hours in Marsaxlakk, walked the waterfront, spent some money in the market, and had one of the best lunches of the entire visit. We ate at Tarturan, with the full details below.










Malta has its share of traditional foods, but the specialty here is fish and seafood. There are culinary influences from all parts of the Mediterranean basin. Rabbit is popular (very Italian), as is a stuffed pastry dish called "pastizzi" (seems Turkish to me), and of course, olives and olive oil are very popular. One of the surprises we found was the popularity of prickly pears (cactus fruit). There are lots of good restaurants, and we tried quite a few. Below is a summary.
33 traditional maltese dishes

15 foods to eat
in malta





BARRACUDA





THE VIEW AT BARRACUDA
Barracuda is a lovely restaurant located right at the water’s edge in Saint Juliens. The view is amazing. The service was great and the food was mostly great. We ordered the chef’s appetizer selection which had 9 different items on it. Unfortunately one was overcooked and dried out and inedible. The others were very tasty. I guess 8 out of 9 isn’t bad, but we expected more from what was billed as the “chef’s selection”. My wife had rock fish, which was dissected by the waiter but still had a few bones in it. I had seared tuna, which turned out to be one of the best tuna dishes I have ever had.
To compensate us for the bad item on the appetizer selection they gave us a free digestive at the end of the meal. (We had grappa!)


ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL SEARED TUNA




ZERI'S



AT ZERI'S

This is another one of several beautiful restaurant which we found in Malta with a lovely view of the sea. Our meal here was pretty much perfect. We had a lovely seared scallop dish, I had a few fresh oysters, and then we had a red snapper broiled to perfection for the 2 of us. Excellent meal and excellent service. 

SEARED SCALLOPS
AT ZERIS




CAVIAR & BULL


THE ENTRANCE
TO CAVIAR AND BULL


LANGOUSTINE
AT CAVIAR AND BULL


This restaurant is considered to be the closest thing to a Michelin star restaurant in Malta. It is located in the Corinthia hotel complex in St. Julians. There are several restaurants at the hotel, but if you are looking for a high end restaurant, Caviar and Bull is the main attraction The restaurant is beautiful and the service was the best we encountered in Malta.
Alisa ordered 2 starters, which were more than enough for her as the portions were generous for such a high quality restaurant. She had a dish of smoked salmon, and then a pasta dish with seafood.
I had a very creative and tasty dish of langoustine with filo and kadaif which was superb and which would have been right at home in any Michelin star restaurant. For main, I had seabass baked perfectly in salt. It came with veggies and roasted potatoes which were perfect. Everything was great, but the potatoes were special – crispy outside and soft and warm inside.





MY SEA BASS IN SALT
AT CAVIAR AND BULL




BIANCO'S


Bianco’s is an Italian restaurant located just steps from our hotel in St. Julians. One evening we decided to have a light meal, so this seemed like the perfect place. We were disappointed. We both had pasta dishes which were severely undercooked, and which the waiter explained to us that it’s that way because the pasta is fresh and it has to be “very” al dente.  We eat and cook plenty of Italian food, so we understood that the waiter didn’t know what he was talking about.
There are several very nice looking Italian restaurants just steps away (Spinola Bay area), and we would recommend you go to one of the others and not to Bianco’s.






VIEW OF ST JULIANS BAY AT HAZE CAFE
HAZE CAFE


SWORDFISH AT
HAZE CAFE
This was the first restaurant we ate at during our recent visit to Malta. It’s right on the edge of St. Julians Bay between St. Julians and Sliema. We had swordfish and octopus. The food was nice but the best thing about this place is the view and the cold beer.




IN.fame





INSIDE INFAME
There are some restaurants which are unique and quite different than the other place in their general area and “IN.fame” is such a restaurant. It’s located in the center of Valletta, near The Church of St. Paul’s Shipwreck, and its menu is totally different from anywhere else we ate.
It’s an airy and modern design and we had a grean salad topped with breaded shrimp, rabbit pie, and a pasta dish with vegetables. The rabbit pie is not exactly a pie, but was very tasty. It’s described as “shredded rabbit served in an open patty with caramelized onions and pickled pear”. Rabbit is popular in Malta, but this is not the way it is usually served. It was very unique and very tasty. Picture to the right.
Regarding the unusual name of this restaurant, the waitress told us that it was one of Caravaggio's nicknames (as in "infamous"), a claim I couldn't find any verification to support.




RABBIT PIE AT INFAME




PIRATE'S GALLEY



ZLENDI BAY
The “Pirates Galley” is one of several restaurants located on the bay of Zlendi, one of the fishing villages on Gozo Island. My wife had a fish called “bazouk”, and I had the classic Maltese rabbit stew. The waiter called the fish “bazouk”, but the closest translation I could find is called “bazzuga” and is a species of bream.
Lunch here was nice but nothing special. However, Zlendi Bay is definitely a nice place to stop for lunch.


INSIDE THE PIRATES GALLEY




STEP IN



THE VIEW AT "STEP IN"
“Step In” is the busiest restaurant near the Blue Grotto, which is a very popular attraction on the island of Malta. The place is located high on the cliff above the blue grotto area.
We were there at the peak of lunchtime, and the service was as expected. We waited to order, and then we waited for the food, and then we even had to wait to pay, until we were told that we had to go inside the restaurant to pay. The service was chaotic. We had fish soup (bland), squid (tough) and pizza. The pizza was good, but everything else was very average.





TARTURAN


This was the surprise restaurant of our trip to Malta. We visited Marsazlakk, with the intention of eating lunch there on our last day in Malta. We expected the usual standard seaside restaurants one usually finds in a touristy fishing village like Marsazlakk, but instead found Tarturan, which turned out to be an elegant restaurant, with excellent service, and original and excellent food.
Alisa had fried calamari (done perfectly with a light batter), and a prawn carpaccio, which was superb. I had a panko encrusted soft shell crab and 6 grilled langoustine. Everything was excellent! It was a great place for the last meal of the trip!


AT TARTURAN IN MARSAzLAKK







THE MALTESE CROSS AND ITS HISTORY


TEN THINGS YOU PROBABLY DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT MALTA


MALTA GUIDE.NET


12 TOP RATED ATTRACTIONBS IN VALLETTA


MALTA CULTURE GUIDE


MORE ABOUT CARAVAGGIO


MALTA PUBLIC TRANSPORT


MALTA.COM - a great guide for visiting Malta


4 DAYS IN MALTA - A PHOTO JOURNEY






This is a page from our site "Travels with Steve & Alisa".  It describes one of the many trips we have made together. We've built these pages not just to describe our trips, but to help other travelers if we can.  Please use the information we've provided freely, and let us know if you have any questions we might be able to answer about your own planned trip, or just let us know if we have helped you. Or perhaps you have some information we could add to the site. Visit our home page using the link to the right. 
            

            Enjoy your next trip!!                                                                                                      ~Steve & Alisa~


SEND US
YOUR COMMENTS
AND QUESTIONS
PLEASE VISIT
OUR MAIN TRAVEL
HOME PAGE
FIRST UPLOAD: May 18, 2018