Malta for travelers

 

Hordes of tourists from all over Europe flock to Malta every summer: some arrive by giant cruise ships, others by low cost airlines such as Ryanair, WizzAir and EasyJet. Most of them, however, are here to see the exact same top tourist attractions, including Comino’s turquoise Blue Lagoon, Valletta’s old town, and the famous beaches of Golden Bay, Ghajn Tuffeiha or St. Peter’s Pool. During the summer months, these attractions quickly get crowded with tourists looking to check places off their must-see lists. At the time of my visit in late June, the sea at Golden Bay was extremely murky because of the sheer number of people disturbing the soft sandy bottom. St. John’s Co-cathedral in old Valetta filled up with groups of Russian-, Italian- and German-speaking elderly tourists who were following their guides in long queues. But the absolute winner among the cramped sights was undoubtedly the Blue Lagoon in the island of Comino. Tourists troop here, mostly on a day trip from Valletta, to marvel at the unusual azure color of the sea in this area. Although Comino officially has only three inhabitants and there are no roads or other facilities on the island, hundreds of visitors arrive every day, jam-packing the steep rocky slopes leading to the lagoon. Given the number of visitors, the local authorities are doing a great job removing the waste and taking care of the environment. Feeling cramped during one’s vacation surely does spoil some of the beauty, though.  

 

One of the greatest surprises during my vacation in Malta was the grandiose beauty of St. John’s Co-cathedral in Valletta and St. Paul’s Cathedral in the inland medieval city of Mdina. Their austere facades of light brown local sandstone give no justice whatsoever to the richly adorned baroque interiors. The layouts of the two cathedrals, which today jointly represent the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Malta, are rather similar, although St. John’s Co-Cathedral is even more lavish in ornamentation. Both contain gilded carvings, ornamental side chapels and paintings that adorn the vault, apse and chapels, and both took several centuries to be completed. Most of the side chapels are dedicated to patron saints of various administrative divisions of St. John’s Knights, with the more influential ones such as Italy, and Aragon, Catalonia & Navarre being closest to the altar. Additional embellishment to the interior is provided by the gravestones of prominent Maltese historical figures, which are engraved into the marble floor. The oratory of St. John’s Co-cathedral displays The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist by Caravaggio, but you won’t be allowed to take photos in this area. 

 

Just a twenty-minute ferry ride from the north-west side of the island of Malta is Gozo, an even tinier piece of land much less crowded than the main island. The Azure Window, an 18-meter tall natural stone arch, was the most famous attraction on the island until it dramatically collapsed into the sea during a storm in early 2017. Nevertheless, the surrounding area will not let you down even without the arch. The beautiful landscape, numerous snorkeling and diving opportunities, nearby cliffs, and unexpected rock formations such as the Fungus Rock and the Inland see, are all well-worth a visit. If the name Azure Window derives from the shape of the natural arch, the Fungus Rock is named after a particular type of fungus which grows there. In the time of the Knights of St. John, people believed in its medicinal properties.  

 

Beaches in Gozo, such as Ramla and Mgar ix-Xini, are more frequently populated by locals than tourists and they are certainly far less packed than some of those on the main island of Malta. The Ramla beach is a long stretch of red sand and crystal clear water, where you can count every single pebble in the bottom. Mgar ix-Xini is a much smaller pebble beach at the end of a fjord, which received some attention worldwide in 2015 when the movie By the Sea starring Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt was shot here.  

 

 

In between the Ramla beach and the area of the Azure Window is the Reqqa point also known as the salt pans. Here, you can see how local people still extract salt from seawater. Using simple pumps, seawater is transferred from the sea into flat puddles where it evaporates under the summer heat and leaves behind salt. The latter is then collected manually. At the time of my visit, there was a tiny stall selling souvenirs made of salt in neat packages. 

 

Given its size, it is quite remarkable how historically rich and culturally diverse Malta is. It is a good holiday destinations for those who wish to both relax at the beach and explore sights of historical importance and natural beauty. Those who prefer to discover the country without having masses of other tourists doing the same should come off-season. Malta’s mild climate makes it a beach destination between May and October, but with temperatures never dropping below 12°C, the Republic is really a year-round holiday destination.