Malta and Gozo Eyewitness Travel Top 10

[...]... spite of this, he impressed the Grand Master and was made a Knight But soon after painting The Beheading of John the Baptist he was in trouble again; he injured another Knight and was thrown into prison He escaped, and was stripped of his Knighthood as a “foul and rotten member” The crypt is in a poor state of preservation, and is rarely open to the public 11 Malta s Top 10 Left Grim Reaper memorial stone... corresponding right-hand stone For more Maltese temples and ancient sites See pp34–5 15 Malta s Top 10 Mdina and Rabat Mdina is Malta s most hauntingly beautiful city It and neighbouring Rabat were once part of the same settlement, but the Arabs walled off Mdina and made it a fortress-city Still caught within the impregnable walls, it has barely changed in centuries, and the elegant palaces are still home to ancient... understanding of the Hypogeum The Hypogeum’s function remains mysterious; some eccentrics have contended that it was a control centre for alien spaceships 23 Malta s Top 10 The Citadel, Rabat/Victoria, Gozo All roads in Gozo lead to Victoria – or Rabat to locals The Gozitan capital is crowned by the walled Citadel, the hilltop city whose handsome silhouette is visible from almost everywhere on the island... DeOpuo, found the thought of his wife and daughters being sold into slavery so intolerable that he slit their throats rather than allow their capture A street in the Citadel is named after him In Jan 2008, Malta abandons the Maltese lira (Lm) and adopts the euro (€) As this book goes to press, Lm1 is equivalent to €2.33 25 Malta s Top 10 Dwejra, Gozo The western tip of Gozo is savagely beautiful, with wild,... miraculously failed to explode (see p38) Memorial, £ Warmonument is Floriana This inscribed Malta s Top 10 Malta from the Knights without a struggle He stayed just six days, but stripped the islands bare of all valuables The outraged Maltese revolted and sought British help The French were defeated and the British took control Top 10 World War II Sites with the names of 2,297 British Commonwealth servicemen Medal,... Daniel Deronda (2002) and as an Italian villa in another BBC television drama, Byron (2003) In Jan 2008, Malta abandons the Maltese lira (Lm) and adopts the euro (€) As this book goes to press, Lm1 is equivalent to €2.33 19 Malta s Top 10 Marsaxlokk This enchanting fishing village is set around an azure bay Traditional fishing boats painted in bright colours bob in the harbour, and the quays are spread... First Grand Master This coloured engraving from Father Helyot’s History and Costumes of Monastic Orders (1842) shows Raymond de Puy, the first Grand Master His robe is adorned with the white Maltese cross The Ottoman siege of Rhodes in 1480 For more on the Maltese Cross See p9 13 Malta s Top 10 Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra Temples These ancient temples of creamy limestone, built during the Ġgantija and Tarxien... particularly lacemaking and silk, cotton and wool weaving Cosy woven rugs, sweaters and other items are usually available to buy Gozo, hard to defend and vulnerable to attack, suffered countless raids by pirates and corsairs The worst occurred in 1551, when legendary corsair Dragut Rias attacked the Citadel and took nearly 6,000 people into slavery – virtually the entire population of the island A local soldier,... returned to Sicily and was then captured by the Roman governor, who had her tortured and killed For more on St Paul’s Cathedral and the Cathedral Museum See pp38, 41 17 Malta s Top 10 Palazzo Parisio, Naxxar The Palazzo Parisio was originally built in 1733 for Portuguese Grand Master Manoel de Vilhena In 1898 it was bought by the Marquis Giuseppe Scicluna, who transformed it into one of the island’s most extravagantly... of conservation 27 Malta s Top 10 Comino Comino is a diminutive but paradisiacal island with a permanent population of just four or five The Romans introduced the cumin that gives Comino its name, and its spicy scent, mingled with thyme and other aromatic herbs, lingers headily in the air It takes just a couple of hours to make a circuit of the island, taking in dramatic cliffs and rocky coves where . w0 h0" alt="" TT -Malta_ 001-TitleUK.indd 1 14/09/06 07:37:05 AM Malta & GOZO Mary-ann GallaGher eyeWITneSS TraVel tOP 10 TT -Malta_ 001-TitleUK.indd 1 2 /10/ 06 5:23:04 PM TT -Malta_ 002-003-Cont_UK.indd. Armoury of the Grand Master’s Palace, Valletta Malta s Top 10 Malta and Gozo Highlights The tiny Maltese archipelago, oating on the cusp of Europe and Africa, has been coveted and invaded throughout. pp18–19). .FMMJFĐB #BZ F 7 J D 0HUKOD 0DQLNDWD 0 ;HP[LMD 'LQJOL (ĐBEJSB #BZ 3BNMB #BZ *R]R &RPLQRWWR . B S G B  3 J E H F 7DO 0HUKOD %DéULMD ÌLUNHZZD 0DQLNDWD *éDMQ 7XIILHéD 7DŝO $EDWLMD 6DQWD/XÍLMD ;OHQGL 0XQ[DU 6DQQDW ;HZNLMD *éDUE *éDVUL 4DOD 1DGXU ;DJéUD *éDQMVLHOHP ĽHEEXã 0DUVDOIRUQ 5DEDW9LFWRULD 0ãDUU 'ZHMUD &LWDGHO &RPLQR TT -Malta_ 006-007-Highlig.indd 6 2 /10/ 06 5:31:51 PM        TT -Malta_ 006-007-Highlig.indd 7 14/09/06 09:37:43 AM Note that Malta and Gozo both have towns named Rabat. Malta s Top 10 7 ^ Marsaxlokk In