Wanderings: Malta

March 13 & 14, 2018

After a morning flight to Malta, I found a flute and Piano recital at the Augustinian Monastery in Valetta. They played a wide variety of pieces and songs, mainly from the 20th century, ending with an arrangement of the song "Tea for two." In the basement of the Monastery is a bomb shelter from World War 2, mainly dug by hand. The Maltese spent many nights in these dark, dirty, and damp shelters.

Later, Anna offered a tour of facility where the Knights Hopitaller cared for the sick, earning Malta the name the nurse of the Mediterranean. The hall was enormous but contained a private toilet facility for each patient. There was a central seeing system under the floor for waste removal and a vent hole for each location. Quite modern for 1574.

I had been curious about the Maltese language and asked Anna about its origins. She said the basic language is quite close to Arabic, the Arabs having ruled Malta from 870 to 1091 (1). While others have ruled Malta for longer periods of time, the language has retained it basic Arabic structure and vocabulary, supplemented with infusions from other European languages, mainly Italian and French. Maltese is written using the Latin Alphabet.

The next morning included a visit to the Cathedral in Valetta. While plain outside, the church has an elaborately decorated interior with numerous paintings and sculptures. I have never understood art, but I can say that the Caravaggio painting depicting the beheading of John the Baptist was qualitatively different/better than the other paintings in the Cathedral.

I watched the noon salute gun, then grabbed a bus to the airport for my flight to Barcelona. From there, I drove to the Pyrennies on the Spanish-French border.

(1) Malta is s very Catholic country, Chistianity having been introduced to Malta by St. Paul himself, whi was shipwrecked here, according to the Acts of the Apostles.