Crossroads and battlefield

Due to its unique setting in the southern Mediterranean, Malta has seen wave upon wave of cultures for millennia. The story starts with the Neolithic era, with occupations by the Phoenicians, followed by the Romans, Arabs, Normans, the Knights of St. John, and the British. The nearest foreign country, Italy as in Sicily, lies only 60 miles to the north, while if you travel 150 miles due west, you reach Tunisia and going due south 200 miles, you hit Libya (or maybe Libya hits you). So it's no surprise that Malta has been such a strategic location for many civilisations. And the language is like no other; thanks to the north African occupations, it has something in common with Arabic. But nowadays most people are also fluent in English.

Although I've been overseas twice in 2022, this is my first solo trip since Covid broke out. Having ruled out some more far-flung places for the moment, I put my toe in the water for individual travel and find Malta to be an ideal compromise between the different (climate) and the familiar (Europe). After a 3-hour flight from Heathrow, a cabbie picks me up at Valletta---driving on the left, another British legacy---and I check into my hotel without fuss. It's called a boutique hotel but I'm thankful it lacks the pretentions of most of those places, while retaining heaps of character. As you can see, the rooftop view is spectacular, while the details of Christmas knick-knacks and the bird's eye view from my room add personal touches.

Malta's British heritage is remembered with this statue of Queen Victoria, and old-style street furniture, while the balconies celebrating the current football (soccer) World Cup show divided loyalties. A public holiday is celebrated by a marching band, but there's also a darker note with a memorial to Daphne Caruana Galizia, an investigative journalist who died in mysterious circumstances in 2017.

Valletta, like other Maltese cities, is steeped in gorgeous baroque architecture. Despite the bombardments of World War II---it suffered more than any British cities---the city is remarkably well preserved. In fact, it's amazing to see how well it compares with British cities in 1960s and 70s developments which had nothing to do with Hitler or Mussolini. The grid layout of the streets has a natural disaster to thank---a late 17th century earthquake. So while Valletta loves a right-angle, it hates levels, and steps are everywhere.

The final, golden hour view of Grand Harbour, helps to explain why Valletta has been so significant in history, and also why visitors love it.Read more