Yesterday we went on the panoramic tour of Valletta. Malta
is the 4th most populated country in the world. It has been continuously
occupied for at least 6000 years. Some primitive structures there predate
Stonehenge and the pyramids. There are both megalithic and Neolithic structures.
We were not able to see any of those sites except from a distance.
The Maltese language is one of the oldest in the world but
was only put into written form in the 1800’s. The guide said it is both the
oldest spoken language and one of the youngest written languages. It dates back
to nine centuries before the birth of Christ. It’s based on the Phoenician
language which is now known as Lebanese. It includes some Egyptian, some
Syrian, some French and other languages. Students learn Maltese in school and
English is taught as their second language. They were one of the last places in Europe to have a
widespread outbreak of Bubonic plague. It lasted into the 1800’s in Malta.
The Maltese people are superstitious. If you ask them how
they are, they never say they are doing great. Instead, they say they are not
bad. If a person says they are doing great, they are likely to generate envy
and cause someone else to attack them with the evil eye. They keep their good
fortune to themselves.
They are blessed with a lot of sunshine in Malta and they
have been able to switch 30% of their energy needs over to solar. They import
oil from Saudi Arabia and Italy for the rest of their needs. Because of the
current upheaval in many oil producing countries, there are oil rigs sitting
off the coast and even in the main harbors of Malta. They are not blessed with
oil so the rigs are not being used for drilling. They are just being parked for
safety reasons.
In 30 BC, Malta was part of the Roman empire. The Romans
used it for a summer resort. They also cultivated honey and olive oil.
The boats in Malta have several stripes of color. The red
and white stripes represent the flag of Malta. Yellow represents the sun and
the rocks used in construction. Blue is for the ocean and the sky. Brown
represents the dry land and green is the cultivated land. The only water they
have is rainwater. There are no rivers or lakes. In spite of the lack of water,
every spare inch is under cultivation. They like to grow their own food and
many in the rural areas are self sufficient.
Land is at a premium and graves cost between 25,000 and
30,000 Euros. Graves are reused with the old bones removed and placed in a
container about the size of a shoe box.
