What does an average person know about Malta? Maltese dogs, Maltese Military Order, and Maltese offshore. Yes, it is a tax heaven. Foreign companies pay a low local 5% income tax and do not pay a cent back home. The singers Shakira and Bono from U2 hid their millions here for a while. What else is interesting here? It is a tiny country in the Mediterranean Sea which is surrounded by the castle walls and high sandy banks.
Want to Find Your Knight-In-Shining-Armor? Go to Valetta
Let us start with the capital of Malta – Valetta. It is about as big as the borough. However, each small detail has a history. See for yourself. Valetta is a truly medieval city. It is not as dirty as Rome. There is no graffiti on the walls like in Paris. There are no homeless that you would see in London. Should you look above the cars and store signs, you would never know which century you are in. Is it the 16th or the 21st? People come from all over Europe to get a taste of the medieval flavor.
Valetta is a city of thick walls. There is a wall of a house or a wall of a fortress everywhere you turn. No cannon can penetrate it to this day. To put it simply, the whole country is a scrumptious island. If you were able to control Malta back in the day, you would have your hold on the Mediterranean Sea. That is why Maltese had to build these huge walls. Maltese used the only available building material – limestone. That is why all of the buildings here are the color of gold. They project warmth and illumination even on a rainy day. What does it remind me of? A town of the sand castle! As if they secured the beach sand castle with concrete.
The balconies are what you will remember most about Malta. Each house has one. Wooden and forged, bright and dim, new and worn-out. The better the balcony – the richer the owner. You would also be hard pressed to find any turf on Malta, just the solid rocks. That is why the plants in the cities only grow in the big pots. If you want to travel in such a cheap way like this one will dig out the treasures this sity is hiding.
What you need to know about Malta is it is a refuge for knights. That is why its capital has lots of stairs. The steps are low and wide so it was convenient for the knights to commute on horses. It is really hard to meet one nowadays, but I hope you will have that encounter at least once while you are there.
The Spots That Make Your Heart Leap
Now, we are done with dry facts. Let us see the Maltese magnificence.
Three Cities
Get on a ferry and sail to the open sea so you can enjoy the view from the water and visit a unique place – Three Cities. Three Cities (Vittoriosa, Senglean, and Bormla) is the three small towns located across the strait from Valetta. There are no distinct city borders to be found on Malta. The towns merged and look more like districts. The tourists rarely come here, but there are plenty of things to see! Here is a piece of advice, do not go to Valetta if you want to see the real life on Malta. Head straight to the Three Cities. It is basically the same Valetta but with no tourists.
The Inland Sea
It looks as if the Maltese islands are just as fortified as the cities. Nature decided that having the sea all around Malta is not enough and played a prank by creating the Inland Sea. The scientists believe that there was a cave here before an earthquake ruined it. Maltese came up with a way to profit from the Inland Sea. They give people rides for 4 Euros per person. The narrow cave corridor connects the Inland Sea to the Mediterranean. It looks like it is about to collapse. The path is so narrow that a boat can barely fit.
Azure Window
Gozo is a tiny island in Malta that is full of wonders. There you will see the ancient cities, fortresses, and the world-famous natural arch – Azure Window. Well, you could have seen it, if you would come here in 2017. At 9:40 a.m. on March 8, 2017, the arch could not withstand the gusts of wind and powerful waves any longer and crashed to the sea bottom. The Maltese were mourning it. Imagine France losing the Eifel Tower or Egypt without pyramids. The Maltese are not ready to say farewell to Azure Window just yet. You can dive to see the remains for 70 Euros.
Saint John’s Cathedral
This looks like an ordinary chapel. There are dozens of them here. But the inside looks like a Faberge’s chest! Maltese knights built the Saint John’s Cathedral. They invested all of their loot from the crusades in this and their offspring are trying to make the money back now by charging 10 Euros for entering. It is unbelievably gorgeous. Everything that is higher than 5 meters is the real gold. This church is 450 years old but even then, the artist Mattia Preti painted images in 3D. The drawing exceeds the frame of a painting. If it is not enough for you – look under your feet to see more gold.
Mosta Rotunda
Should you come to Malta, be sure to visit Mosta Rotunda. This is the place where the real miracle happened. Imagine this is the World War II, 1942. There are 250 people praying in this church. Then all of the sudden the sirens are starting to go off. The screams, the panic. The half of the people ran to the bomb shelter. The other half stayed here and prayed during the massive air strike. One of the bombs crashes through the dome and hits the walls with Jesus’ image on it. Then the bomb bounces off and lands right in the middle and does not go off! It did not explode! Do not you believe in miracles still?
Night Life of Malta
Paceville is the main nightlife hub on Malta. This is where the students are hanging out. They study English during the day and practice it in bars at night.
Unique Restaurant
No other restaurant on Malta gets more reviews than Caviar & Bull. They added the zest of molecular gastronomy to the best culinary traditions. This place also excepts bitcoin! Complete fusion.
Esplora Scientific Center
Do not close a page yet! This is the format of a museum you will love. You can touch, turn and twist everything here! You can easily play with the laws of physics here. You can touch electricity and not end up at the I.C.U., control the hot balloon or become the captain of a submarine. You could hang out here for the whole day! If we had these things available to us when we were kids, there would have been so many scientists instead of bloggers.
Everything on Malta is different from the other countries. You can never tell where one city ends and the other one begins. It makes you want to kill your shoes in an attempt to see it all on foot. You can always jet to the world’s edge if the city gets too crowded for you. The neighboring island will have you losing the mind when you see the natural wonders. Do hurry! It will be a shame if you do not make it in time.