The Island of Malta

J.C.'s 40th Birthday Trip (Nov 2004)

Valetta Alicia inside city gate of Valetta, the magnificent fortified city built by the Knights of St. John in the 16th century, capital of Malta	Royal Opera House remnants Hen looking remains of Royal Opera House, destroyed in 1942 by a German air raid	Fort St. Angelo, Vittoriosa Ancestral fort of the Knights of St. John; first home of the Knights when they arrived in 1530	Valetta at Sunset Looking inwards from the ocean, St. Paul's Anglican Church rises in the distance	Alicia in Valetta Along Triq il-Fontana at the ocean edge of Valetta, near Fort St. Elmo
Valetta As seen from Vittoriosa; Fort St. Elmo, which bore the brunt of the Great Siege of 1565, is on the far right	Grand Harbor Encompassing Valetta, Vittoriosa (seen across the water), and Senglea	St. John's Co-Cathedral Built in 1573 as conventual church of the Knights of St. John	Tombstone Knights and important persons are buried in St. John's Co-Cathedral with elaborate coverings	Auberge de Castille Prime Minister's House, former residence of Spanish Knights of St. John
Mosta Dome The Parish Church of Santa Maria; survived WWII bomb that pierced dome, but failed to explode	Mosta Dome Interior The stunning blue, gold, and white interior ceiling	Silent Streets of Mdina Ancient walled city of central Malta with its narrow streets	Proper Punishment Misbehaving tourists get their just desserts	Central Malta Views from Mdina eastward with the stone fences and vineyards
Grotto of St. Paul St. Paul shipwrecked on Malta in 60AD and converted the island to Christianity from this grotto	Dingli Cliffs Radar tower along 220m high cliffs on western side of Malta	Evening Clouds Night arrives around 5:30pm in December in Malta, generally with clouds over the Mediterranean	Public Transportation Traditional buses go everywhere on Malta; convenient given the narrow roads and crazy drivers	Mgarr, Harbor of Gozo Entrance to Gozo; Church of Our Lady of Lourdes hangs over village
Il-Kastell Walled city inside Victoria, Gozo	The Cathedral of the Assumption The Cathedral inside Il-Kastell; built in 1697 to replace one destroyed by earthquake	Trompe L'oeil Due to lack of money, the dome of the cathedral was never completed; instead there is a painting that fakes a dome	Interior of Il-Kastell Old homes and shops abandoned inside Il-Kastell after the 1697 earthquake	Temples of Ggantija Megalithic temples from 3600 to 3000 BC on Gozo; largest of the megalithic temlples in Malta
Hagar Qim Temples Meaning "Standing Stones", these are best preserved megalithic temples on Malta	Hen at the Altar Contemplating what to sacrifice at Hagar Qim	Mnjadra Temples Nearby the Hagar Qim temples; these megalithic temples are the oldest freestanding stone structure in the world	Cliffs toward Wied iz-Zurrieq Azure waters from the clifftops	Blue Grotto Huge natural arch and seven adjoining caves in the sea cliffs
Fishing Village of Marsaxlokk Brightly colored luzzu (fishing boats) dance in Marsaxlokk Bay	Kalkara Creek Harbor village next to Vittoriosa	Fort Rinella Hen looks out from Vittoriosa toward the fort built by the British in the late 1800s to counter Italian battleships	Maltese Facades Typical Maltese building with colored shutters and box window	View of Grand Harbor Looking inwards from Fort St. Angelo
Valetta from Fort St. Angelo Peek-a-boo glimpse of Valetta and the Sacra Infermia (hospital of the Knights)	Valetta by Night Twilight view of the ancient walled city