We've just come back from a week in Malta; I've never been there before, but I've wanted to visit it since I was a teenager.
Back then, I read "The Great Siege" by Ernle Bradford; I was captivated by the story of the siege of Malta in 1565 when the Ottoman Empire tried to seize this strategic island in the middle of the Mediterranean sea. This sparked a continuing interest in Malta’s history, and the number of books that I’ve read about it is quite surprising.
Before we went, I had a long chat with my friend Mark Vella, who originally comes from Malta. He was tremendously helpful — thanks so much, Mark! — in pointing out places to go and what to eat.
Mark has recently done an extensive and excellent project on the "honey coloured" limestone of Malta. As he recounts it, legend has it that Malta gets its name from the colour of its characteristic limestone: μέλι (meli), the Greek word for honey.
So, with inspiration from Mark, here are some pictures that are part of my own impression of Malta. Intermittently, over about 4 days, I made a little mini-project of the honey coloured stone. The feel of Malta is bound up in that stone, and these pictures express some of that for me.
Limestone in its raw state, with plants growing in the cracks
Weathered blocks in an old building in Valletta
Vittoriosa
Fort St Angelo
Valletta rising over Sliema creek.
A monster cruise ship entering Grand Harbour. Three of these were in port while we were in Valletta: as a result the lines to see some of the famous sights (such as the Caravaggio in the cathedral) were impossible.
And finally… Fort Tigné on the tip of Sliema seen from the entrance to the harbour. The old fortifications built with local limestone are now loomed over by modern (anonymous, could-be-anywhere) apartment blocks and hotels made from the modern universal glass, concrete and steel. From what I read, the best limestone quarries are now well past their peak production so this is the future, with a complete change to the feel of Malta.