SMALL BUT PERFECTLY FORMED

With an area of just 316 square kilometres, Malta is by far the smallest of the 27 countries that make up the EU. Until 2004, that title had been held by Luxembourg, which is eight times bigger. In fact Malta is the 204th country in the world by size. The population of 400,000 is spread across three of the seven islands that make up the Maltese archipelago: Malta, Gozo and Comino.

However, most people live on Malta. The main island has a coastline of 196.8km, while Gozo’s is 56km long.

VALLETTA: A MODEL CITY

The country’s capital city is built on a peninsula that juts out into the Mediterranean Sea, with the ports of the Grand Harbour and Marsamxett Harbour flanking it on either side.

The fortifications that still encircle the city are a testament to its often turbulent history.

It was first established in 1566 and over the years it has been ruled by a bewildering array of foreign invaders, including the Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines and Arabs.

All these groups have left their mark on the city and consequently, Valletta squeezes some 320 monuments into its narrow streets, making it one of the most concentrated historic areas in the world. As a result, the entire city was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.

Valletta is also notable in being the first city in the world to have its streets laid out in a grid system, making it a model for the likes of New York.

ANCIENT CIVILISATIONS

The seven megalithic temples found on the islands of Malta and Gozo are believed to be the oldest free-standing monuments in the world. In 1980 they gained international recognition when they were included on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

Five temples are found on Malta, while the other two are at Ggantija on Gozo. They are described by UNESCO as “unique architectural masterpieces” and are all the more impressive when you consider what limited resources were available to their builders.

“TITKELLEM BIL-MALTI?”

Malti is one of the country’s two official languages, alongside English. It is part of the same family of languages as Arabic, Hebrew and Amharic, but what makes it unique is that it is the only Semitic language that is written in the Latin script.

Its alphabet consists of 30 letters, with some novel ones for English speakers such as Għ, which is silent but lengthens any preceding vowel sound.

The language evolved from Arabic but many of the Maltese words used today have their roots in Italian, English or French, so the answer to the question above (which means “Do you speak Malti?”) might well be “Ftit” (just a little).

But even if you can’t speak any, you should have no trouble communicating with the locals. Most Maltese people are at least bilingual and a significant number are even trilingual – as well as English, geographic proximity has ensured that Italian is also widely spoken.

ENVIRONMENT

‘Green’ buses take over Malta took a significant step forward this summer, when the country’s colourful but ageing fleet of buses was finally replaced after putting in many decades of service. The orange buses that used to cluster together at the City Gate in Valletta before striking out to all corners of the island were one of the most noticeable features of any road journey in the country. However, the noxious black fumes that many of them emitted as they drove around were rather less welcome.

As a result they have been gracefully retired and, as of 3 July, a new fleet of modern buses has been plying the country’s roads, operated by UK transport group Arriva. The new vehicles offer substantially lower emissions and more energy-efficient engines. According to a recent government study, the buses will produce 94 per cent less particulate matter, 70 per cent less nitrogen oxide and 55 per cent less carbon monoxide.

A DIFFERENT CHURCH FOR EVERY DAY

As befits what is still a very religious nation, Malta has more churches per square kilometre than any other country in the world.

In all there are 365 churches, or “one for every day of the year” as people in Malta like to say. Many have impressive architectural features, such as the dome of Mosta church in the centre of the main island. The history of Christianity on Malta dates back to a visit by St Paul, who was shipwrecked on the island around 60AD and subsequently stayed for three months.

Outside the box

Edward de Bono, the father of lateral thinking and one of the world’s most influential thinkers, was born in Malta in 1933. And even though he has travelled far and wide, this small island nation remains proud of perhaps its most famous and arguably most influential son.

De Bono’s concept of lateral thinking has become well known the world over, challenging conventional practice and analysis in a range of sectors, from banking to transport to IT.

Preaching the concept of thinking as a deliberate act, de Bono suggests that standard solutions are no longer satisfactory in many situations, thus requiring an alternative method of thinking that draws on creativity as an essential factor.

The author of more than 80 books not only preaches lateral thinking, however. He has also written at length about happiness, valuing its positive effect on productivity, both personally and professionally.

A witness to history

It is perhaps not widely known, but Malta was the scene of the official end of the Cold War. A summit between the then US president George H W Bush and the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev was held on the island in late 1989, just a few weeks after the Berlin Wall had been torn down. Attracted by the island’s neutrality, the two leaders held a series of meetings aboard the Soviet ship SS Maxim Gorkiy and the USS Belknap. During the summit the two leaders declared that the Cold War had come to an end.

The Knights of Malta

Perhaps the most famous group to have ruled Malta over the years were the Knights of St John or, to give them their full title, the Sovereign and Military Order of the Knights Hospitaller of St John of Jerusalem.

Founded in Jerusalem in around 1048 during the crusades, they were given Malta as a gift by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V after they were thrown out of their previous base on the island of Rhodes. In exchange for taking over Malta they had to pay an annual rent of two falcons a year. The group arrived in 1530 and remained on the island until Napoleon expelled them in 1798.

These days the group is known as the Order of Malta and has diplomatic relations with 104 countries around the world. Its main activities centre on providing medical and social care and humanitarian aid in more than 120 countries. Despite its name the organisation today has its headquarters in Rome.

Car crazy

If there is one thing that almost all Maltese people agree on, it is the necessity of having a car. Everyone drives everywhere, despite the short distances involved in travelling around the country – the main island is little more than 17 miles long and up to 8 miles wide at its widest point, while Gozo is even smaller.

Although no one can drive very far or for very long, Malta today has the fifth highest rate of car ownership of any country in the world, with 607 cars for every 1,000 inhabitants.