Malta

Malta is an island nation in the central Mediterranean Sea composed of three inhabited islands covering 316 square kilometers, with limestone cliffs, sheltered harbors, and fortified settlements across the territory. The main island holds the capital Valletta and several historic towns, while Gozo offers rural landscapes and Comino features a protected lagoon, with terraced fields and ancient defensive walls marking much of the coastline.

Phoenician traders founded settlements in the eighth century BCE, and Roman rule followed from 218 BCE onward. Arab forces brought their language in 870 CE before Norman conquerors took control in 1091, then the Knights of St John governed from 1530 to 1798 and built Valletta, until British colonial rule began in 1800 and ended with independence in 1964.

Elaborate processions mark Good Friday each year, bringing together communities in traditional displays, while local feasts throughout summer honor patron saints with fireworks and brass bands. Traditional luzzu boats decorated with painted eyes line the harbors, and the cuisine here mixes Mediterranean ingredients with North African spices in dishes such as rabbit stew and honey rings.

The international airport sits ten kilometers south of Valletta and offers connections to European cities. Regular ferries run between the islands with the crossing to Gozo taking around 25 minutes, and summer months from June through September bring high temperatures, while spring and autumn provide milder weather for walking and exploring, with public buses linking all major towns and archaeological sites.

The local tongue evolved from North African Arabic with Sicilian, Italian, and English influences, and remains the only Semitic language written in Latin script. Around 520,000 people speak this language today, which gained European Union recognition when the country joined in 2004, with grammar preserving Arabic structures while vocabulary shows heavy borrowing from Romance languages.