The number 13A bus from St Julian's to Valletta takes the waterfront road. It is only 8 km but takes almost an hour because of the traffic congestion, especially in the late afternoon. Having traversed the waterfront by bus and on foot, we decided to see what it looked like from the water.
So we took a one hour boat tour of the Grand Harbour of Valletta. The harbour is very deep and it is easy to see why Malta has always been of such great strategic importance as a naval base for other seafaring nations. Being only 80 kms south of Italy (Sicily), 285 km east of Tunisia and 333 km north of Libya, Malta lies in the path of all shipping routes through the Mediterranean.
Malta has been invaded and subsequently ruled by the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Moors, Normans, Sicilians, Spanish, the Knights of St. John, French and finally, the English. And so, it is a nation of fortifications and its history seems to be based on war.
The fortifications are mightily extensive, so much so that many sections may never be restored.
Those parts that have, such as Fort St Elmo and the National War Museum have been beautifully treated.
Much of the harbour area is protected by these very high and very broad bastion walls.
The tops of the walls hold arcades, monuments, gardens and fabulous views of the harbour.
Valletta was heavily bombed during WWII explaining the amount of restoration needed and the length of time it is taking. This bell was on the HMS Illustrious that was attacked at sea by both German and Italian aircraft but managed to limp back into Valletta harbour and safety, minimising loss of life.
The 17thC opera house was lost to bombs. The metal structure inside the old facade (helping to stabilise it) is an outdoor theatre.
The French occupation by Napoleon Bonaparte left Malta with a number of treasures. Several beautiful buildings like this one, the institution of a republic, abolition of the old feudal system that had existed under the Knights of St. John, patronage of the arts and last but by no means least, schools!
This is the Malta Stock Exchange. In all of our travels we have never before found the stock exchange in the town square.
As the restorations progress they include some wonderful pieces of public art. This one moves like the wind that never seems to stop.
And lovely architecture - can you guess which way is west?
Some things still have a way to go - like the electric taxi charging station!
On one of the few days without rain last week we took the bus to the far north of the island, a short ferry trip to the island of Gozo followed by another bus to the cittadella in Victoria.
The cittadella is beautifully restored with the beginnings of gardens in these lower areas. In France, England and Westeros where there is plenty of rain, these would be called moats and filled with water. But here, where there is little rain, they are called ditches and were filled with rock. They are now home to lilac trees in bud. Good luck with that one, Gozo!
There are very few tall trees on Malta and most scrub is low, sparse and infected with prickly pear. But here at the Gozo bus terminus we found these eight magnificent white barked trees, seemingly topiarised.
The round trip to Gozo took us seven and a half hours, five hours of which was spent either in transit or queuing. We couldn't face another bus ride and another queue to see the prehistoric temples - so we headed home.
Our next outing was Paul's choice. We took the EX4 bus to Malta's container port. Paul was overwhelmed by the size of it, thinking it almost as big as Webb Dock in Melbourne. For a population of about 420,000 people it indicates the huge reliance on imported staples.
For those of us sensitive to the pressures of climate change, the issues here are clear - the need for a clean renewable energy network, the difficulties to be faced without adequate water supply in an area of low rainfall, urban communities completely reliant on petrol driven transport and a food system no longer locally controlled. The future for Malta looks worrying.
As I write this I am looking out a window at a traffic jam at 7.40 pm on a Saturday evening in a residential area where I can see nine busses and about 350 cars at a standstill in a 500m stretch of two lane road. Maybe St. Kilda or Brighton would be the same, but only 420,000 people live here.
This neighbourhood, with its attractive 4 storey waterfront houses and pristine rock and sandy beach is opposite the container terminal. While the sky is blue and there are no waves, don't be fooled ... it is 16 degrees.
It doesn't seem like a sustainable culture or environment. Incredible scenes but not much vegetation. Makes me thing now important it is that we learn from this and take care of our environment.
ReplyDeleteEnjoying your commentary, as always.
Are the locals happy and/or friendly? Is English spoken by most people? I know this is the comments section but I'm curious! Loving your photos and descriptions🙂And just a wee bit envious!!
ReplyDeleteGreetings Caz!
DeleteThe locals are both happy and friendly. English is spoken (to varying degrees) by almost everyone. In addition, many also speak Italian. Many, many, many goods in the shops, supermarket and restaurants come from Italy - so written Italian and English are both very common. The Maltese language has many x, z, w with very unusual pronunciations.... but the buses all have English translations and all but one driver spoke English. This is a wealthy country - nothing indicates an under-class of people struggling. There are no street people, no beggars and you get the impression that the African immigrant population is employed and at school. Those observations may not be entirely accurate, but on the surface, that is what it looks like. It is very hard for me to tell the local population from the tourists. Tourists seem to be mostly English and Italian, with some Americans of all ages and a few Germans. Unless you hear the language everyone looks the same. Off to bed now - we fly out in the morning for Sicily.
Best wishes
Viv