Valletta

After 3 nights at the Paradise Bay Resort I headed to Sliema, the largest city on the island to check out that part.  A few minutes walk to the harbor and with a kitchenette at the Day’s Inn I knew I had booked a good hotel in a good area for wandering. There was nothing much in Sliema that had caught my eye but it’s closeness to Valetta, the capital was good. There are frequent ferries for a few Euros so getting there was easy. The streets oozed with antiquity and I just love how each flat has a wee balcony.  People use them to chill, hang laundry and talk with neighbors.  Some are open some closed.

Turning up this street lead me to St. Paul the shipwrecked guy’s church

The streets were jammed with shoppers and those in the holiday spirit. And the long time President has many statues.

The Great Siege of Malta (Maltese: L-Assedju l-Kbir) took place in 1565 when the Ottoman Empire tried to invade the island of Malta, then held by the Knights Hospitaller. The Knights, with approximately 2,000 footsoldiers and 400 Maltese men, women and children, withstood the siege and repelled the invaders. This victory became one of the most celebrated events in sixteenth-century Europe. Voltaire said, “Nothing is better known than the siege of Malta”. The monument consists of three bronze figures symbolizing Faith, Fortitude and Civilization, standing on top of a granite base. The monument is the work of the sculptor Antonio Sciortino, and it was inaugurated on 8 May 1927.

 

But what caught my eye and eventually forced me to sit down and regroup, was this make shift memorial at it’s base. Daphne Anne Caruana Galizia (née Vella; 26 August 1964 – 16 October 2017) was a Maltese journalist, writer, and anti-corruption activist, who reported on political events in Malta. In particular, she focused on investigative reporting into government corruption, nepotism, patronage, allegations of money laundering,^[1][2] links between Malta’s online gambling industry and organised crime,^[3] the sale of passports, and payments from the government of Azerbaijan.

At around 3 pm on 16 October 2017, Daphne Caruana Galizia died in a car bomb attack on her rented Peugeot 108, while she was driving close to her home in Bidnija.^[37] The large explosion left the vehicle scattered in several pieces across nearby fields. She was in the driver’s seat at the time. Her remains were found by her son Matthew, 80 meters away from the blast site,^[18] after he heard a blast from their family home.^[38] He wrote on Facebook: “I looked down and there were my mother’s body parts all around me”.^[18] Her death marks the sixth car-bombing in Malta since the beginning of 2016, and the fourth fatality.^[39]

Killed for speaking the truth. Terrorism is a world-wide problem

This is one of the main government buildings.

Located on a large plaza near the  old citadel. One of many forts protecting this very good and historically significant harbor.

 

With some great views.

And nothing but the luck got this celebration of noontime.

A couple of sculptures in the garden above the cannons.  Including one to Churchill

And a heroic one in one of the many plazas

Fort St. Elmo was established as early as 1417 but it wan’t until an unopposed Turkish fleet entered the harbor that it was decided that it should become a major defensive point. In 1552 the Order of St. John built a star fort here. Fortified in WWII by the British.

Cannon were protected here doing their job of protecting the harbor.  When not needed these spaces were used as storage areas

Malta was key spot for the British in WWII.  Although isolated and only able to be supplied by convoy, it proved a huge thorn to the Italians and Germans as it acted almost like a land-based aircraft carrier blocking the route to N. Africa and Rommel.

While escorting one of these convoys, the HMS Illustrious was hit with bombs 6 times but was able to limp into the the harbor.

An E-boat was a one man fast motorboat that could slip past harbor defense nets.  Once near the target the pilot bailed and the boat exploded upon contact.

Fort St Elmo

Lookout tower

In the early days of WWII, there were only 3 Golster Sea Gladiators know as Faith, seen here, Hope & Charity.  In one 10 day period they flew round the clock missions making the enemy believe the island was more heavily defended that it was.

With streets like these it was no wonder I was bushed by the end of the day.

And when traveling, as I’ve said many times, it pays to look up!  This was on the corner of a building right after the stairs.

The Siege Bell was erected in 1992 to honor the over 7000 people of Malta who lost their lives in WWII.  Yes, Malta was sieged a lot. It rings at noon each day.

7.12 miles