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Six thousand years in Malta.

Malta

Nickjenkins
2003-11-20 16:03:30

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Malta is one of the smaller, more obscure destinations in the Mediterranean for most people. I was only aware of it because of the large Maltese contingent in Australia and the fact that a friend had visited it. Guide books and travel web sites didn't prove very inspiring either, variously describing the island as a "desiccated" or as "pretty flat" with "thin soil yielding very little flora or fauna". Still the island held a faint whiff of historical allure and on with a long weekend and nothing to do it seemed liked a good option.

And so it proved to be. While the soil maybe thin and the terrain a little barren I found the island itself fascinating. Malta, with its pivotal position astride trade routes in the Mediterranean, has long been the object of contention for many nations. From its earliest history Malta has suffered a succession of foreign rulers and only in that past thirty years has it been governed by it's own people. For a land which has a history stretching back some six thousand years (megaliths on the island date to about 3800BC) this represents mere blip on the cultural radar. What this means is that Malta is the home of an intriguing blend of Arab, Sicilian, Turkish, French, English and indigenous culture.

For many years aging English tourists have viewed Malta as a rather charming Mediterranean backwater where you can still get a Guinness and a full English breakfast. This meant that charter flights were plentiful, even in the depths of winter, and a hotel and flight cost less than £250 a head for two nights. As I boarded the flight from the crowded Heathrow terminal I prayed fervently that Guinness and egg-and-chips wasn't all I was going to find in Malta.

We landed in darkness and were greeted by a slightly drowsy tour rep, a new experience for me. He promised to show up at 12.30 the next day and give us some background on the island and ideas on what to do. We were ...