7-day trip to Malta
For centuries Malta played a particular role in the game of powers in the Mediterranean. Phoenicians, Carthaginians and Romans ruled the island in the antiquity and later it was up to the Osmans who put in a claim to the Mediterranean and Malta in particular. The Great Siege of 1565 was the first big test to the people of Malta. Then it was up to Napoleon, followed by the British, to keep a firm grip on the island. In 1940 the Italians and Germans wanted to eliminate Malta as an “aircraft carrier”. This trip will certainly be helpful to understand Malta´s incredible history7-day trip to Malta
| Day 1 |
Flight from Germany to Malta. Check into a four star hotel (details soon). Walk through Valetta up to the Barraka Gardens where you have the best view across the Grand Harbour and the three cities. This is followed by dinner in our hotel. |
| Day 2 |
One highlight right at the start of our trip: the visit of the multimedia show „The Great Siege of Malta & The Knights of St. John”. This 60 minute presentation of the Great Siege will give you a perfect idea of what you are about to see in the next few days. After that we will then visit the Palace of the Grand Master and its amazing armoury. The palace was first built by the Knights of St John of Jerusalem on the site of 7th c. Byzantine fortress. After its dereliction during the Turkish occupation, it was largely destroyed by the explosion of the powder magazine in 1856. The restoration of the palace with many alterations was carried out between 1937 and 1940 under the supervision of the Italian architect Vittorio Mesturino. He rebuilt it in a grandiose pseudo-mediaeval style as a holiday residence for the King of Italy, and later for Benito Mussolini, whose name can still be seen on a large plaque near the entrance. When Greece reclaimed the island from Italy in 1948, the palace became a museum. The Palace Armoury is one of the world’s greatest arms collections housed in their original buildings, and ranks among the most valuable historic monuments of European culture. We then carry on to the St. Johns Cathedral. It was commissioned in 1572 by Grand Master Jean de la Cassière as the conventual church of the Order of the Knights Hospitaller of St John. The marble pavement of St John’s consist of over 350 tomb stones in intricately-inlaid marble; the work of some six generations of craftsmen. These stones preserve the memory of members of Europe’s most famous aristocratic families. Although each tomb stone is an independent composition, they form an exciting and magnificent art work the length and breadth of the Cathedral. We will then pay a visit to Fort St.Elmo. Fort Saint Elmo was the scene of some of the most intense fighting of the siege, and withstood massive bombardment from Turkish cannon deployed on Mount Sceberras that overlooked the fort. Though the fort was reduced to rubble during the bombardments, when the Turks abandoned the siege the fort was rebuilt and reinforced. After that we will do a harbour tour by boat to examine the fortifications from the seaside. Obviously, we will then visit the Naval Museum, followed by a dinner at the hotel. |
| Day 3 |
3. Today we will reconnoitre the center of the island. With one of the typical Maltese coaches we will drive around Malta to investigate the British heritage of Malta. Our first visit will take us to Fort Rinella. Fort Rinella is one of a series of four coastal batteries built by the British in Malta and in Gibraltar between the years 1878 and 1886. The purpose for building these forts was for each of them to house an Armstrong 100-ton gun. The building of these forts was necessitated by Britain’s fear of loosing her naval superiority in the Mediterranean to Italy, who was at the time rebuilding her navy to an unprecedented strength. The 100-ton gun presently at Fort Rinella arrived in Malta from Woolwich on 10th September 1882. In 1906, after just twenty years in service, the 100-ton guns in British service were declared obsolete. As a consequence of the 100-ton gun being phased out, Fort Rinella was stripped of all its machinery and abandoned. The 100-ton guns had never fired a shot in anger. We will then drive to the Victoria Line and the Bingemma Stop Wall, as well as to the Forts Bingemma and Mosta. The rest of the day we will spend at Mdina. Mdina is the old capital of Malta. This medieval town, with narrow quiet streets, is situated in the centre of the island. We will have dinner at Mdina and then return to Valetta. |
| Day 4 |
6. Today is fully dedicated to the events of World War II. The objects of interest that we will visit are the Siege Bell Memorial, the War Museum with the original Gloucester Gladiator “Faith” and the Lascaris War Rooms. Here you can see the actual rooms where allied commanders such as Eisenhower, Montgomery and others conducted operations that led to the first invasion of Axis occupied Europe. Dinner at the hotel. |
| Day 5 |
This day is completely yours. You can either relive some of the things you have seen already, check out other interesting spots or spend the day on the island of Gozo. Whatever you intend to do we will be there to help. Dinner at the hotel. |
| Day 6 |
Today is the day of the Malta Air Show, one of the greatest flying displays in the world. It is a huge attraction in the Mediterranean and promises to be an even bigger event in 2007. |
| Day 7 |
Return flight to Germany. |