DAY 94 — April 8, 2017 – Sailing the
Mediterranean Sea
This was a welcome
day off after seven straight stops in ports.
Getting off the ship so many days in a row made all of us old folks
pretty darn tired. Also, everything we
learned from all our tours in Greece were running together into one big history
lesson. It was nice to have some time to
rest our brains . . . and organize our photos.
Getting ready to
sail into Malta, HAL presented a Medieval Dinner. We were prepared to eat our dinner with our bare
hands – as we know people did in medieval times (and at Medieval Times) –
but the only way we knew it was a medieval dinner was that our table stewards
dressed up to serve us. These guys are
such great sports about everything they are asked to do to keep us entertained.
DAY 95 — April 9, 2017 – Valetta, MALTA
This was our first visit to Malta and we were not prepared for
how fascinating it was. Layers upon layers of history comprise the nation of
Malta, located strategically between where Europe and Africa come the closest
together. (Sardinia and Tunisia)
Carthaginians, Swabians, Hapsburgs, Aragonese, Romans, and Britons came
here to develop civilizations. And, no,
I have never heard of Swabians. I have
found that my education has been severely lacking regarding most of the places
we have visited on this trip.
This is the entrance to the Mdina, in Valletta, one of the
world’s finest examples of a living medieval city from the 1500s. It is so impressively maintained that you
would think you were on a movie set.
Maybe that’s why many movies are filmed here. (This is pretty much the
case throughout the islands of the Mediterranean.
The Knights of St John came to Malta in 1530 from Rhodes as a Catholic
brotherhood devoted to providing medical services and stayed for 268 years
transforming what they called “a rock of soft sandstone” into a flourishing
island with a mighty defense and a capital city coveted by the great powers of
Europe. Known officially as The Sovereign Military Hospitaller
Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta, they were also soldiers, engineers, architects,
and whatever else they needed to be.
Their 900-year history is long, complex, fierce, and fascinating. We cannot wait to come back and see and learn
more.
This is the Palace built for their Grand Master by The
Knights of St. John.
Malta was an easy target for the Germans and Italians in WWII. Many of their beautiful buildings, like the Opera
House here, were bombed and have been or are still being rebuilt. The Maltese have an enormous pride in their
history and are so proud to share it with their many visitors.
The medieval city walls form an impressive backdrop for the Grand
Harbor of Valetta.
This simple “paper” boat was created by the Maltese and placed in the
pretty harbor where the cruise ships dock to honor refugee children and to give
us all something to think about. Not
everyone gets on a boat for a pleasure ride.
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