Marvellous Malta

Malta was a fascinating and unexpected gem.  I had assumed it would look like the other Mediterranean islands we have been to.  But Malta has quite an exotic North African look to it, except instead of the square minarets jutting above the skyline, there are the rounded domes and spires of hundreds of churches.  It is a comfortable modern Western European city where everything is clean and efficient, and everyone speaks English.  So it is at once very different and very familiar. 

Valletta from the Grand Harbour

Churches everywhere

We had quite a welcome into Valletta.  As we entered the Grand Harbour and were sailing along the city walls the Saluting Battery fired a canon over our bow just as we passed by.  Unknown to us they fire a canon every day at midday and 4pm from the Saluting Battery.  We just happened to be going exactly underneath this at 4pm on Wednesday when we arrived.  After recovering from a near heart failure, we felt quite important to be welcomed so officially!

The Saluting Battery overlooking Grand Harbour and Fort St Angelo

Taken from Songster - gunsmoke in the air just after being 'saluted'

We spent a week in Malta with Songster tucked up comfortably at the Creek Marina in the suburb of Ta’Xbiex.  The whole country made up of three islands; Malta, Comino and Gozo is only half the size of the single Greek Island of Corfu.  Yet the land is steeped in history from the ancient megalithic Scorba Temples from 5000 BC to the heyday of the Knights of St John in the middle ages to the heroic resilience in World War II.  We went to museums, churches and exhibits from all these eras and revelled in the fascinating history.

We went to St John’s Co-Cathedral and numerous other churches from the 16^th and 17^th Centuries built on the pirated and pilfered riches amassed by the Knights of St John, or today known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.  The Baroque artwork and marble inlaid of the floor and altars were spectacular.

Ornate painted and gilted ceiling in St John's Co-Cathedral

Beheading of St John the Baptist by Caravaggio

Marble Maltese cross

Inlaid marble column

Marble inlaid tombstones

 

One day we took a hop on hop off bus to the interior of the island visiting the Medieval city of Mdina, the old capital of the island.  Unlike Valletta which is one of the first cities to be laid out in a grid pattern, Mdina is a typical Medieval city of rabbit warren streets and old buildings nearly touching across the narrow passageways.

The hilltop walled city of Mdina

Winding narrow streets

The Baroque ceiling of St Paul's Cathedral, Mdina

We crawled around underground tunnels and air raid shelters.  We went to several WWII museums and the Lascaris War Rooms where the WWII defence of the island and the invasion of Sicily were co-ordinated.  We had watched the WWII flag waver, The Malta Story, the night before and fully expected to bump into Alec Guinness in the hallways.  By the by, Malta has a thriving film industry today.  Films such as Popeye, Game of Thrones, Gladiator, Assassins’ Creed, The Da Vinci Code, and Troy were all filmed here.

Crawling through the underground tunnels

The birthing room - imagine going through labour here with bombs falling outside

Operations map

On our last day in Malta we took a long bus ride to Birgu and Fort Rinella on the south side of the Grand Harbour.  Fort Rinella is run by some wonderful historical re-enactors which bring to life British Military history of the Victorian age.

The now abandoned Fort Racasoli with Fort Rinella behind

Sword demonstration

19th Century Victorian rations

Armstrong 100 ton gun - the nuclear bomb of its day.  Fortunately never fired in anger.

We also checked out the Inquisitors’ Palace, the Knight’s version of the Abu Ghraib prison.  The museum presents a fairly sanitized rendition of the Roman Inquisition period which practiced intolerance and torture at the Palace from 1574 to 1798 when Napoleon ousted the Knights from Malta.

Ceiling painting

Not a bad career move to be an Inquisitor

Sadly, despite the modernity and friendliness of Malta, pockets of intolerance amongst the powerful still exist today (as it does in far too many countries).  The assassination last year of Daphne Caruana Galizia, a journalist and anti-corruption campaigner, is a cause célèbre on the streets of Malta.  In front of the law courts is a moving memorial of flowers, candles and tributes to her and her work.  Her anti-corruption investigations were becoming a bit too hot for the powers that be and in October 2017 she was killed by a car bomb near her home.  Some of the quotes at her memorial are quite inspiring.

Daphne Memorial

 

 

There is so much to learn from Malta’s history, old and new, all is relevant to today.

Taormina and Siracusa, Sicily

We spent a delightful few days in Taormina, swimming, snorkelling and sightseeing.  It was a treat to be in clear water with lots of fish about.  The waters around Preveza in Greece are quite turbid and green, not that inviting though we did swim a bit.

Taormina is a hilltop town overlooking the harbour and islands.  The ‘strip’ town along the seafront is Giardini Naxos.  The eight day feast of Mary, culminating in the blessing of the fleet was underway while we were there.  Military bands played in the town square and there were several displays of fireworks at night. 

We took a bus up a steep winding road full of hairpin turns to Taormina.  The views were magnificent but the main street very touristy.  Bob could hear the bongo drums starting in his traumatized brain (a left over reaction from the touristy towns we visited in China) so we went off a side street and started walking up a path which turned out to be a Stations of the Cross trail leading up to a charming church.  It was a hot climb but the views were fantastic and well worth the effort.

 

Back at the anchorage we watched the many moods of Mt Etna.

  

After three days it was time to move south down the coast to Siracusa (or Anglicised – Syracuse).  After a 10 hour motor sail we rounded the point with the ubiquitous fort on the headland.  Siracusa is a sizable city with a large harbour.  We anchored in the late afternoon and had a welcome sundowner while watching the other boats come in.

 

We spent the next week exploring this pretty old city.  In the Cathedral in the beautiful Piazzo Duomo hangs the Caravaggio painting “The Burial of Saint Lucy” – magnificent.  Another square had the impressive fountain of Diana and Arethusa.  We stopped at a café overlooking the fountain and discovered a wonderful refreshing sorbet type drink called Granitas – perfect for the hot days.   

The legend of Arethusa continues with a waterfront fresh water pool and fountain, Fonte Aretusa.  This is supposed to be the place where the nymph, Arethusa emerged from the sea after fleeing her home in Arcadia.  Here grow natural Papyrus plants, the only place in Europe where they grow.

 

Another day we trekked above the city to the Greek and Roman amphitheatres.  Nearby is the limestone cave called the Ear of Dionysius, a name coined by Caravaggio in 1608.  The cave is suppose to have excellent acoustics where even a small sound resonates throughout the cave.  Bob gave a loud ‘Cooeee’ but it didn’t make much of an effect.

 

 

On the way we passed the ultra-modern Santuario della madonna delle Lacrime (Sanctuary of our Lady of Tears), a church opened in 1996 to honour an event that happened in 1953.  A plaster statue of the Virgin Mary was seen with ‘tears’ rolling down her face.  This condensation on the statue was considered a miracle and ‘scientific analyses’ at the time determined the fluid was human tears.  Construction of the sanctuary began in 1966.  During the excavations the ruins of houses from the 6^th Century BC were found.  Twenty-eight years later the building rising 74 metres above the city was completed.

 We enjoyed our week in Siracusa, all the more so for having met up with a couple from the MedNet.  The MedNet is a SSB radio schedule that runs during the summer.  Cruising sailors from all over the Mediterranean check in to let people know where they are and that all is well.  We have been talking with this group for a few years and it was great to meet some of the members in person.  We had a lovely time socialising with Brad and Ruth from Korsar- a perfect finish for our time in Siracusa.