We sailed from Tunisia to the island country of Malta, following the Carthaginians who conquered Malta in 480 B.C. But the history of Malta is much, much older and Stone Age farmers were living here in 5900 B.C.
Malta (and Gozo island) are part of an underwater ridge that connects North Africa and Sicily which became emergent when the Strait of Gibraltar closed and sea level was lowered. When this ridge first emerged it still connected Sicily to Africa but subsequent erosion has left Malta (and Gozo) as the only remnants. This tiny speck of land, only 27 km long and 14.5 km wide has been the most coveted spot in the Mediterranean for centuries. It occupies a geographical strategic position equidistant between Europe and Africa and close to the Middle East, and whomever controlled Malta controlled the Mediterranean trading routes. It's history post Carthaginian was turbulent with battles, sieges, and forceful takeovers; by the Romans, the Byzantines, Arabs, the Normans, the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, the French, and finally the English.
The Knights were an 11th-century order that provided shelter for pilgrims to the Holy Land and took on a military role to protect Christianity. In 1530, the Spanish King, Charles V, gave Malta to the Knights and they ruled for 250 years. In 1565 forty thousand troops from the Ottoman Empire attacked Malta laying siege to it for 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days, destroying buildings and infrastructure. However the 9,000 Knights were victorious and the ruthless Ottoman Turk invaders left without gaining a foothold. After the siege the Knights decided to rebuild their capital city better than Europe's finest and at the same time build defenses that would make it impossible to take by force. The grand and beautiful baroque architecture reflects the Knight's stature as aristocrats from the noblest families in Europe, and as you stroll along the cobblestone streets you can sense their presence in the palaces, churches, streets and gardens.
We arrived in Valletta on September 19 and as we took CURARE on a tour through Grand Harbour, looking upward to the city's heights, a 21 gun salute was fired in honor of Queen Elizabeth II's funeral. Then on September 21 it was Maltese Independence Day, it gained it's liberation from British rule on this date in 1964. We were fortunate to visit this remarkable city on two important dates, a moment in our history we will not forget.
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