At the beginning of 2007, I was lucky enough to go on a family holiday to one of the most interesting places I have seen so far in my life, Malta. Most people from my home country (that being South Africa) have no clue where Malta is or that it even exists at all.
So, for those of you that are not too sure.... you can Google it...I'm just kidding! Malta is a small island off of Italy in the Mediterranean. It takes approximately two hours on a boat to get to Sicily and one hour on a flight to safely arrive in the beautiful Italian capital, Rome.
What an eye opener. It was like nothing I had ever seen before! I had not done any research before leaving to Malta (very unlike me) but even though I wasn’t expecting much, it was still, truly, a surprise. My brother and I had started our journey in Durban. We flew to the thriving metropolis, 'the City of Gold', Johannesburg, where we caught another flight to Frankfurt, from where we flew directly to the island.
I love airports. They are amazing places. The people coming and going, some passed out on the chairs waiting for the announcement that their delayed flight is now ready for boarding. I even like the shop attendants and waitrons exchanging fake, toothy smiles with every customer, whom most likely are ordering another cup of coffee to keep them going. It is almost like a bustling ant colony. I sat and watched people and wondered, as I always do, where are they going? What do they do? What are they thinking about as they shuffle from one gate to the next? There are so many different people in the world, living different lives and when you are in an airport, for once, they all come together. At the time I was currently attending university and for argument sake, you could say the same about them; a mix of students from around the world come together in the pursuit of knowledge. But, the difference is, at university everyone is there for the same objective- to either teach or to learn. At an airport, everybody has a different story.
I was sitting, listening to Bon Iver, when a very hyperactive finger, belonging to my brother, tapped me on the shoulder and then pointed out the giant wall of glass in front of us. An A380 plane was facing us. One of the most impressive planes I have ever seen and that was what we were going to embark the majority of our journey on. It kind of reminded me of the great dane of planes; a long tail, gigantic but friendly. Twenty hours and three flights later, we found ourselves standing in the small, yet neat, arrival terminal in Malta. Out parents had arrived the day before but sadly couldn't make it to the airport to greet us. Instead, they had arranged a friend to pick us up. At first, we couldn't make out who our parent's connection was but after five minutes, a short, brown-haired lady with a friendly, smiling face came rushing through the small crowd around the 'Arrivals' door and introduced herself as Joana. Joana was the first person we had met in Malta and the first Maltese person we had ever met in our lives. I came to learn that she was the prime example of all the Maltese people we were to meet: extremely helpful, friendly, welcoming, caring, generous, outspoken and exciting. With two shy and tired passengers, Joana drove us through the heart of Malta to our hotel, in what we learnt was one of her three cars. Apparently that is the norm, to have more than one car, which is surprising for such a small island (Malta also has more Ferrari's per capita than anywhere else in the world.) The entire car ride Joana was informing us about the history of Malta, interesting facts about the island, places to go and even the education system. We tried to be as responsive as we could with the influx of information; which we found extremely interesting but hoped our brains would be able to soak it all up in our tired state. I remember staring out the window and to be honest I wasn't sure if I was in a developing country or developed. Malta does have the second-highest standard of living, statistically, in the world but all I could see was the most (amazing) old, dilapidated buildings (I am a sucker for them). Everything was concreted with hardly any open spaces. I was soon to discover though that the old analogy: do not judge a book by its cover would apply in a big way. If you have ever built a house or renovated before, you will understand what I mean when I say that Malta smelt like freshly laid concrete and brick. Why? Well, as we found out Malta is constantly developing. The narrow streets are lined with cars, cranes and workers. The buildings are constantly being stretched into the sky. It seems like a very over-built island in some parts but never dull and never lacking in beauty. Growing up in a place where space was not an issue; gardens and fields for days, I was surprised at the density and lack of space there was there. However, more surprised at how little it bothered me. For most of the buildings are aesthetically pleasing and the older ones are rich in history.
The cities of Malta left me feeling like I was running around in fairy tale of King Arthur surrounded by a stereotypical, picturesque, brilliant blue ocean. The island has a few fortified cities. We visited: Velletta (the new capital) and Mdina (the old capital, also known as the Silent City). Mdina dates back to 700BC. We also visited Sliema, San Gilan and Qawra. There are many ruins of what used to be amazing castles but one, in particular, caught my attention. The Red Castle. On top of a hill that overlooks the entire island and Gozo (the neighbouring island). Surrounded by green grass, blue sky, the Red Castle is majestic. Some houses in the cities hold secret passageways that the knights would use to get from the city to the coastline. Many Maltese buildings are heritage sites, so you are not allowed to renovate them. Other buildings have been passed down generations for centuries. The families are either too poor to do anything with them or are not allowed to sell them (as it is written in the will of their forefather to never be sold). That is why they are left to just fall down...literally. Other buildings have tenants, at the age of 80, who are on a 100-year lease. We were told that sometimes these tenants are bribed out of their homes, however, most do stay, paying the lowest amount you could believe, to live in the most amazing locations. So, why would you want to leave? Surprisingly, even though a few buildings may look a little 'worse for wear' on the outside but when the doors open to reveal its secrets, you are presented with five-star quality.
Being an enthusiast in ancient history I was in my element when I found out we were to visit Malta’s megalithic temples for the Magna Mater (Great Mother). Often compared to Stonehenge in England, these structures are a mystery. The builders and inhabitants left no written evidence. Some artefacts have been found- fertility dolls, pottery and art on the walls. There are five temples on Malta (two on Gozo) called: Ħaġar Qim, Mnahdra, Ta’Hagrat, Tarxien and Skorba. They are the oldest known structures in the world and date back between 7500BC- 3000BC. Older than the pyramids! No-one knows who lived there or more importantly how the stones they used got there. The material composition of the stone slabs used for these structures is not endemic to the area. So, how did these inhabitants, from so long ago, move these giant, foreign stones to this area and why? I could spend weeks there looking at the site and reading all the archaeological evidence if I could.
The coast of Malta is magnificent. You can go to the calm beaches for a day in the sun or visit the Dingli Cliffs or even the Blue Grotto. Ahh, the Blue Grotto. It took my breath away! We took a day to drive around the island to see the cliffs and the grotto. To get to the Grotto we all hopped onto a small rowboat and were taken out to sea and around the cliffs. Underneath this giant arch of rock, lies this small grotto where the water was the brightest turquoise/ topaz I have ever witnessed. The water is so clear that you can almost see each speck of sand. Since I was about twelve years old I had wanted to visit a blue or red grotto (and I still want to see more) so one of my childhood dreams was fulfilled. Hopefully next time I will be able to dive in one. The Dingli cliffs, on the other hand, are a sheer 100-meter or more drop into the ocean. It kind of reminded me of the White Cliffs of Dover, without being white. Small yellow daisies dotted the top of the cliffs; little yellow dots swaying like candles held up at a concert by millions of people moving in unison in time to the music. Standing on the edge, looking out to the ocean, was one of the most peaceful and memorable moments of my life. It was silent, only the freezing wind kissing my cheeks and the clouds casting shadows onto the blue blanket of the ocean. Sigh. When I close my eyes I can still feel it, smell it; as though I am still there.
Not only is Malta full of history and beautiful scenery, but the culture is also vibrant! One Sunday we headed down to the local fishing market. It was a beehive of activity. The amount of fish and other creatures that were being sold was outstanding. I really wanted to buy an octopus which was trying to escape the square dish it was being held in. One suction tentacle at a time, it would latch onto a side as it was being peeled and lifted out. I thought I could call is Squid and keep it as a pet or set it free but sadly, he was bought to be someone else’s Sunday dinner. There are many different types of boats the fishermen use however the luzzu seem to be the happiest. It might be the fact that they are pointed at both ends or more likely the fact that they are painted with bright yellow, red and blue. They have a pair of eyes on the bow that is similar to The Evil Eye from Turkey. However, they probably stem from the Phoenicians and therefore probably more related to the Eye of Horus. There were fruit stands, clothing stands, cosmetics, ornaments, cheap Chinese knockoffs and the best of all Maltese strawberries. I'm serious, once you have a Maltese strawberry your life will change and you will never want to eat any other strawberry in your life. It is as though your body gets injected with a syringe of sweetness, happiness and delight.
Everybody that we came across on our journey was genuinely friendly and welcoming. Joanna invited us into her home, she showed us more than our minds could capture, teaching us as much as she could. Reno, the owner of Chaplin's Restaurant and Pub and his wife Pauline made us feel as though they were family we hadn't seen in years. Feeding us amazing traditional food and entertaining us with delightful conversation (rabbit stew and banoffee cake that I will never forget!). Then there were some people that we didn't get a chance to learn their names but were super helpful. We were lost but were found by a farmer and his wife who directed us all the way back to the city. At a roundabout, the farmer stopped in the middle of the road, jumped out his car, gave us a handful of the juiciest naartjies we had ever eaten, pointed us in the right direction and then drove away. Thank you, farmer, whoever and wherever you may be today.
We were in Malta for a full two weeks, we went shopping and sightseeing, we met some amazing people and saw some amazing things and bonded as a family. The flight home was long and tedious...the wait in Frankfurt resulted in us in making friends with the one airport assistants and prancing up and down the hallways.
This will always be one of my most memorable and favourite journeys.
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