After leaving Croatia, we had a day at sea to rest. On the second morning out from Croatia, we sailed into the port of Valletta, Malta. The first historic inhabitants of Malta were Phoenicians who arrived about 800 BCE (but see Tarxien below). It was subsequently ruled by Carthage, Rome, the Byzantine Empire, Arabs, Normans, Germans, French, Spanish and the Ottoman Empire. In 1530, the Knights of Saint John (Yes, the ‘Hospitalers’ from Rhodes), forced the Ottoman forces from the Island and took it for their own. The capital of the island had been Mdina (see below) but the Knights built their own capital on the coast, Valletta. The Order of the Knights of Saint John was bankrupted by the French revolution and, when Napoleon landed on the island, they surrendered the island and relocated to Rome. Malta became a British protectorate by virtue of their defeat of Napoleon. Malta was granted independence by Britain on September 21, 1964.
We were up early and off on an all day trek. Our first stop was in Tarxien where we toured a prehistoric megalithic temple complex dating back to 3600 BCE. The complex is composed of four separate temple structures that were built between 3600 BCE and 2500 BCE. Unlike Stonehenge and other megalith sites, the stone for these temples appears to have been quarried in situ. The temples are believed to be for the worship of a female fertility goddess.
Next we visited the walled citadel of Mdina (pronounced EM-dina). The original city was Phoenician although the name hails from Arab occupation (e.g. Medina, Saudi Arabia). The city is on a raised plateau and surrounded by massive walls. The streets are narrow and all of the buildings as well as the walls are built of local limestone. The Cathedral of St. Paul is so named because the New Testament mentions that Paul was shipwrecked on the Island during his travels.
Next we went to the Ta’Qali Crafts Village where we visited a Maltese glass shop and saw a glass blowing demonstration and we visited a shop selling local filagree goods. Then we went to Qormi for a traditional Maltese lunch.
After lunch, we went back to Valletta for a walking tour of the city. As Valletta was built by the Knights of Saint John, it is a somewhat more modern city. It is also built of local Limestone and surrounded by massive walls. The church of the Knights is in Valletta, the Co-Cathedral of Saint John. The story of why it is the “Co-cathedral” has to do with a power struggle between church authorities and the Order of the Knights of Saint John. The original Cathedral of Saint Paul was destroyed by an earthquake. The Grand Master of the Order of Knights of Saint John, who was the governmental authority in Malta at the time suggested that there was no reason to rebuild the Cathedral in Mdina and the Church of Saint John in Valletta was, in fact, a grander church and could serve as the cathedral. The Catholic Bishop declined the offer insisting that the Cathedral of Saint Paul be rebuilt but he allowed that the Church of Saint John could serve as a “Co-Cathedral” while Saint Paul’s was being rebuilt.
