Malta and Gozo June 20 and 21, 2017
Malta was colonized by Phoenician traders starting in 1,000 BC. The Phoenician colonists were followed by Carthaginians, Romans, and Muslums, during the middle ages, and Christians with the Norman conquest in 1091.
Napoleon captured Malta in 1798 and officially came part of the British Empire in 1814.
Malta is only 50 miles from Sicily. When Italy entered WW2 on the side of the Germans in 1940, Malta was under constant attack by Italian planes from Sicily, since Malta was only 20 minutes by air. The bombing of Malta by Italian planes from Sicily continued until 1943 when the allied forces conquered the country of Italy.
Italy remained part of the United Kingdom until it’s independence
Malta, Gozo, and Comino are the three islands in the Mediterranean that make up the island state of Malta that became independent of the UK in 1974. They belong to the European Union.
There are many, many structures on Malta that have never been restored from war. There are also many more that people have used foundation rock and built somewhat of a structure that they live in. Some “apartment complexes” that are inhabited appear to be very, very sub-standard.
There are also new construction which range from E220 to E1,000,000.+
We did what was primarily a geological tour for two days in Malta and Gozo.
There is really not a lot to say about Malta (primarily because I don’t retain statistics that are spouted out rapid fire) but I can show you a lot of rock formations that are interesting to me, but will put others to sleep.
Jim has nothing to add either, so here you will see some nice parts, some not nice parts, and a lot of geological work.
Some of the remains of the temple date back to 2500 BC.
Malta is another of the walled cities in the Mediterranean.
A bust of Winston Churchill, the leader of the British Empire during the the Second World War.
Sweet Haven Village, the movie set for Popeye, a 1980 musical comedy starring Robin Williams as Popeye the sailor man and Shelly Duval as Olive Oyl. Today it is open to the public as an open air museum and family entertainment complex.
This temple dates back to 2500 BC. Very little is known about the people who built the temple, but it appears that it is a temple for fertility.
Mdina, a fortified city in the Northern region of Malta which served as the island’s capitol from antiquity to the medieval period. The city is still confined within it’s walls and currently has approximately 300 residents. The city displays both Norman and Baroque architecture, including sever palaces, most of which serve as private homes. Mdina was restored extensively between 2008 and 2016.
A 1939 Dodge truck leftover from WW2 that has been re-purposed to haul water to the citizens of Mdina. The truck has been restoted in exquisite detail by it’s owner.
