WELCOME

This blog is dedicated to Malta - my island home. My aim is not to bore you with history but to share my thoughts and a few facts together with a photo or two. For a more in -depth background of the island please go here. The purpose of this blog is not to point out the short-comings of the island. There are plenty that do that already. My wish is to show you the beauty of an island at the cross roads of the Mediterranean, a melting pot of history; a place where fact and fiction are sometimes fused to create unique myths and legends; a country that has been conquered so many times that our culture is a mish mesh of the lands that surround us and of lands far away. I confess that my greatest desire is to make you fall in love with this tiny enchanting island.

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Monday, 23 May 2011

Sandstorms – The Birth Pangs of Summer

This is what the weather looked like today.

Sandstorm (1)

The clouds are full of sand which travels across the Mediterranean all the way from the Sahara desert on the wings of strong winds. Known as the scirocco, this wind is usually warm and rather clammy as the hot desert air travels northward and picks up moisture from the sea. When it gets here, some rain falls. Big orange drops, which quickly dry up leaving spots over everything that is left outside.

Sandstorm (3)

Sandstorms,

thunderstorms,

dusty rain,

gale force winds,

overcast skies,

rough seas,

warm days,

cool nights -

all herald the birth of balmy summer days.

Sandstorm (4)

Tuesday, 10 May 2011

Her Majesty

New Year's Eve in Valletta (3)

Still proudly surveying her surroundings, this statue of Queen Victoria by Sicilian sculptor Giuseppe Valenti has kept the memory of Her Majesty very much alive in our capital city. Behind the  statue is the beautiful building housing the National Library.

New Year's Eve in Valletta (2)

The statue itself is in a square which is surrounded by a number of cafeterias and is a very popular place to stop for a coffee while on a shopping spree an errand in our capital city. I can only imagine the thousands of conversations that Her Majesty must have eavesdropped on  - from business transactions to the whispers of lovers – there is not much that goes on in this square that can escape her penetrating gaze.

New Year's Eve in Valletta (4)

The statue of Queen Victoria was erected in 1891 to mark the 50th anniversary of her reign and the first centenary of British colonial rule in Malta.

Queen Victoria Statue

Republic Square (formerly Queen’s Square)

Valletta

The Azure Window: the end of an icon

The Azure Window was a natural limestone arch that rose majestically out of the blue Mediterranean sea to a height of 28 metres (92 fee...