From Blue Sky Days to Blackbird Fields: Only 65 Days of Rain a Year...

On Sunday, we did a walking tour of Valletta and found out that it doesn't rain often here. Our tour guide told us that Malta has only 65 Days of rain. (A quick Google search says 90 days). However, the average number of sunny days is 300 and to her point it often rains at night, so days are mostly sunny. Malta has had water issues in the past and when the fortress was built there was no plant life in the walls. The city was built to maximize the collection of rainwater. Granaries for storing grain underground are prominent in several areas dating back to early days in the fortress.

We found out from our tour guide that the fortress Malta was developed by the Teutonic Order of St. John in 1530. The order was a hospitaler order separate from the crusaders who were were a military order. However; after when an Ottoman siege (thanks to the lack of water and good food); the fortress was constructed. There are others nearby fortress across the inlet that were also built by the knights.

In 1798, Napoleon arrived and expelled the knights. The French ruke was short lived as the people of the island rebelled against them. Malta becameva British protectorate and then a colony in 1813.

Valletta is in a peninsula jutting into the Mediterranean Sea. It has two large, deep, protected ports which made it particularly strategic to the British during WW2 for ship repair and as a military shipyard. The island was heavily bomb as a result and the destruction can be seen in many places where reconstruction has not occurred.

Malta became an independent Commonwealth in 1964 and a republic 10 years later in 1974. Malta has been a member of the EU since 2004. As a result of British rule, one of the official languages is English. The other is Maltese which our tour guide told us is an amalgamation of 60% Arabic, Italian, and other nationalities. Both languages are taught in school. Parliament is held in Maltese. The name Malta is derived from the Greek word for honey. Interestingly, the Albanian word for honey is "mjaltë".

We walk around with the tour guide learning about Malta for several hours. At the end of the tour, she recommended a restaurant (Nenu the Artisan Baker) for lunch where the specialty was sourdough bread top with unusual ingredients. I had bread topped with roasted potatoes, tomatoes, capers, onions, fennel, olives, mint, and sesame seeds. Thom's was topped with rabbit stew, potatoes, and sesame seeds. A young lady joined from Germany joined us to make room for others that followed from our tour group. She was traveling by herself for her holiday break from work. The food was so good and very filling.

After that we took the short walk to the ferry to cross the bay to the three cities of Bormla (Cospicua), Birgu (Vittoriosa), and Isla (Senglea) where we spent several hours walking off lunch. There are fortresses located at these cities as well and the view of Valletta from Senglea was amazing especially at dusk.

The last ferry back to Valletta was at 6:15 pm (Sunday / holiday schedule), so we headed back to Valletta at Soul Food Kitchen. We had amazing Buddha bowls. After dinner, we took an indirect walk back to are apartment. It is so nice to have sun and to sit outside for dinner.

Photos Day 2