Malta is the small island country in the Mediterranean Sea with an interesting history and a lot of sights. Due to the small size it was conquered many times over the centuries by different countries, until knights of the Order of St. John arrived in Malta in 1530. They are known now around the world as the Order of Malta. Since then began the modern history of Malta. In 1964 Malta gained independence from Britain and became an independent state, and in 2004 joined the European Union.
Judging by what we saw, the entry into the European Union has had a very beneficial effect on the economy (GDP grew by 2 times in 5 years) and the tourist attraction (tourism is the main source of income of the country). EU built roads, changed the transportation system, supports many tourist sights. In 2014 EU has invested 174 million euros in Malta.
Malta has two state languages: Maltese and English. We have the impression that everybody speaks English and all the information everywhere is available in English. It's incredibly convenient for tourists and a huge plus to the tourist attraction of the country. The second advantage is the usage of the euro as a currency.
Moreove, Malta is the small country and very convinient for travelling. There is very little precipitation from April to September with no more than 10 rainy days. We visited Malta in the beginning of April and the weather was perfect, about 18-19 degrees Celsius.
April is good, because Malta at this time is green and full of flowers.
Despite the fact that the territory of Malta is only 300 square km., do not come here for less than 4 days. We were here for 4 days and that time is enough if you are an active traveller.
Malta is made up of two main islands: Malta and Gozo, as well as a small island of Comino, situated between them. The rest of the islands are too small.
We used buses to move around Malta. If you have a route map and a schedule, everything is very convenient. By car it would be more convenient, but we did not experience any problems with the buses. And if you're low on money, the buses will be good solution for you as a weekly ticket costs only 6.5 euro (2015). You can buy it from the driver, in the airport or at any bus station.
We stayed at the Grand Excelsior hotel (booking.com). 5 star hotel, good location, fast wifi, 5 minutes to the bus station in Valletta. Of course, a little bit expensive, 150 euro for a room with a sea view. However, in the area of Valletta there are not many hotels and they all are expensive. Therefore, most of the tourists live in the towns of Sliema and St.Julians.
Back to Valletta we returned on the ferry from Sliema, it runs every 30 minutes (timetable). After 5 pm we went to the viewpoint Upper Barrakka Gardens. At this time the evening sun is ideal to observe the towns on the south shore of Great Bay.
While waiting for a bus in the direction of Rabat we saw an explosions in the sky at an altitude of about 300-400 meters. A taxi driver that stood nearby told us about not very positive side of Malta. It turns out that there are more than 12,000 hunters on the islands who like to shoot the birds for sport. Although in EU many birds are protected, this shooting does not stop, and on this day the hunters received the permission to shot. Of course, they were allowed to shoot only unprotected birds, but as the taxi driver said, it would be impossible to verify.
Therefore hunters began to celebrate this fact throughout the island. It started with the launch of missiles, which we saw. And in Rabat we met hundrends of funny cars, decorated with branches of trees and stuffed birds. Hunters were driving around the island, buzzing, screaming and throwing smoke bombs left and right.
Gladiator (2000) - Fort Ricasoli with CGI additions played the role of Rome
Troy (2004) - Fort Ricasoli played the role of Troy, also shooting was done in many other places at Malta (video)
Game of Thrones (2011) - shooting of the first season took place in Valletta, Mdina and Gozo. Malta already have tours to places of shooting the series. Although crew did serious damage to the ecosystem (info) in the vicinity of the Azure window, the major natural attraction of the island, and they were asked to get out (video 1, video 2).
The Count of Monte Cristo (2002) - movie was filmed at Malta. Comino Island was an island with the Chateau d'If. Fort St Elmo played the role of Marseille. Carnival in Rome filmed on the square in front of the Cathedral in Mdina. Palazzo Parisio (Naxxar) played the role of the French chateau (video).
World War Z (2013) - neighborhood of Valletta played the role of Jerusalem and Malta International Airport the role of Atarot Airport. The most spectacular scene of the movie - zombie attack on the wall, was shot in Fort St Elmo (video).
By the Sea (2015) - a drama with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, the last one also acted as a writer and director. Filmed at Malta, mostly on the island of Gozo.
The Da Vinci Code (2006) - flashbacks showing the knights and the Crusades were filmed at Malta.
Agora (2009) - Fort Ricasoli played the role of Alexandria
Comments (Total: 3)
2018-05-10 10:53
# 1 Vera
Spasibo za interesnuju i poleznuju informaciju !!!
2019-03-26 15:21
# 2 Вера
Спасибо за обстоятельный рассказ,фото очень красивые.
Собираюсь посетить Мальту в июне .
2019-11-10 18:14
# 3 Inna Ingulova
Все четко и обстоятельно, прекрасные фотографии! Спасибо.
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited
