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The Maltese Islands

Valletta from Manoel Island - Photo courtesy of Visit Malta

Lonely Planet Malta & Gozo
by Carolyn Bain
Basking in the Mediterranean, the Maltese Islands boast attractions well out of proportion to their tiny size. Whether you're here for the magnificent prehistoric temples, the exuberant festivals, or simply to get away from it all on Gozo, this inspirational guide will help you connect with the real Malta.
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Fortress Malta : An Island Under Siege 1940-43
by James Holland
Today, this valiant story is largely forgotten, but James Holland offers a riveting portrait of the siege that helped determine victory or defeat in World War II. For nearly three years, Malta held the key to dominance in the Mediterranean and North Africa. Lying between Italy and Libya, Malta was the ideal place from which to attack shipping lines supplying Italian and German forces in North Africa. To save Egypt, the Suez Canal, and the Middle East oil fields from Nazi control, it was essential that the island be held at all costs.
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The Maltese Islands

The Maltese Islands consist of Malta, Gozo and Comono and two uninhabited islets, Cominotto and Filtla. As Carolyn Bain points out in Lonely Planet Malta & Gozo: "the Maltese Islands cover a total area of 316 sq km - less than the Isle of Wight in the UK or Martha's Vineyard in the USA." Together, they form one of the two Commonwealth nation state members in the Mediterranean, the other being Cyprus. Consequently, English is widely spoken and there are good connections with the UK. The country has also been a member of the European Union since May 2004. The islands' tourist industry has begun to aim at the upmarket visitor with new 5-star hotels and luxury apartments.

The Maltese islands have a history dating back some 7,000 years, so much so that they are virtually an open-air museum. Few places are as packed with interest in such a small area. Once connected to Sicily by a land bridge, signs of neolithic inhabitants date back to between 5200 and 4000BC. Between 3600 and 2500BC the inhabitants built huge megalithic tombs - a thousand years before the pyramids. About a dozen remain, some in remarkably good condition.

The Phoenicians and Romans colonised the islands and St Paul was shipwrecked there in AD60. After a spell as part of the Byzantine empire, the islands were controlled by the Arabs from 870AD until the 11th century when Norman adventurers took the islands. The Maltese flag is said to date from this period. Malta was linked to Sicily for the next 400 years until the Knights of St John, evicted from their base in Rhodes, were given the island in 1530. An attempt by the Turks to take the island in 1565 failed, in great part because of the heroism of the Maltese people - repeated during World War 2 when the islanders were awarded the George Cross for their bravery in resisting the fascist forces. The Knights of St John were evicted by Napoleon in 1798. The French were, in turn, evicted by the British and Malta became a Crown Colony in 1814. Independence was granted in 1964.

Getting to the Maltese Islands

British Airways franchise partner GB Airways provides a more comfortable way of getting to the islands than the usual flying cattle truck (charter airline). See British Airways Flights for the latest deals from London Gatwick.

More about the Mediterranean islands

Travel guides are available through the following links: