 |
Location
The republic of malta consist of malta, gozo,
comino and two uninhabited islands, and is situated
in the mediterranean sea. Malta is around 93km
away from sicily and 290km away from north africa
(tunisia). Gibraltar is 1,826 km to the west
and Alexandria is 1,510 km to the east.
physical
features
malta's topography is characterised by a series
of low hills and slopes towards the northeast
and low lying land to the southeast. Malta's
coastline, which is 137km long, is well indented
with natural harbours, sandy beaches and flat
rocky coves.
size
the total area of the islands is 316 sq. km,
broken down as follows
| malta |
246 sq
.km |
| gozo |
67 sq. km |
| comino |
2.5 sq. km |
| longest distance across |
27 km |
14 km |
| widest distance across |
14 km |
7 km |
The largest island
of the group is Malta, from which the archipelago
takes its name. Valletta, the capital, is the
cultural, administrative and commercial centre
of the archipelago.
The second largest island, Gozo is topographically
quite different from Malta. Quaintly attractive
for its less industrialised way of life, Gozo
can be reached from Malta by ferry-boat or by
helicopter from the airport.
Comino, Cominotto, Filfla and St Paul's Islet
are the other major features of the archipelago.
Of these, only Comino, straddled between Malta
and Gozo, sustains a very tiny population. Turned
into a popular resort because of a couple of
very fine beaches, Comino can be reached either
by boat or by excursion ferries during the summer
months.
People
and its history
the maltese islands have one of the oldest civilisations
in the mediterranean, dating back to circa 5000
B.c. throughout its long history, malta's people
came in contact with several nations that dominated
the islands, each one leaving a mark on the
islands' culture, tradition and lifestyle.
Most Maltese are practising Roman Catholics,
and this is the official religion of the islands
according to the Constitution. The population
is around 390,000 and is homogeneous with its
own identity and language. The official languages
are Maltese and English with most of the people
also fluent in Italian and to a lesser degree,
in french, german and arabic. Business correspondence
is mainly in English.
Malta has a parliamentary democracy with executive
power resting with the Prime Minister and the
Cabinet. Parliament is composed of 65 representatives
elected every 5 years. The President represents
the unity of the nation.
Climate
The Islands have a typically temperate climate
offering warm, dry summers and mild winters.
They enjoy some 300 days of sunshine and the
average rainfall is about 590mm in a year. Temperatures
range between 14°C in winter and 32°C
in summer.
some average figures on
malta's climate
| |
max |
min |
sea |
hrs
of |
rain
(mm) |
| Months |
temp
°C |
temp
°C |
temp
°C |
sun |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| jan |
15.1 |
9.5 |
14.5 |
5.46 |
90.1 |
| feb |
15.3 |
9.3 |
14.5 |
6.36 |
60.8 |
| mar |
16.5 |
10.2 |
14.5 |
7.33 |
44.7 |
| apr |
18.8 |
11.9 |
16.1 |
8.46 |
24.0 |
| may |
23.1 |
15.1 |
18.4 |
9.99 |
8.9 |
| jun |
27.4 |
18.6 |
21.1 |
11.23 |
3.8 |
| jul |
30.2 |
21.2 |
24.5 |
12.15 |
0.9 |
| aug |
30.6 |
21.8 |
25.6 |
11.36 |
8.8 |
| sep |
27.8 |
20.4 |
25.0 |
9.00 |
40.4 |
| oct |
23.8 |
17.2 |
22.2 |
7.22 |
123.6 |
| nov |
20.0 |
13.9 |
19.5 |
6.50 |
76.8 |
| dec |
16.6 |
11.1 |
16.7 |
5.20 |
100.2 |
some important dates
in maltese history
| 5000bc to 3000bc |
malta's
first inhabitants are believed to have
crossed over from sicily. |
| 3000bc - 1800bc |
Copper
age in malta was characterised by the
several temples, some of which are still
with us. best known are mnajdra, hagar
qim, the hypogeum and tarxien temples.
the ggantija temples, found in gozo, date
back to 3400bc, and are believed to be
the oldest known man-made free standing
structure existing in the world. |
| 800bc |
arrival
of the phoenicians in malta and setting
up of first punic colony. |
| 600bc |
malta
taken over by carthage |
| 218bc |
from
their base in marsala, sicily, the romans
overtake the island and establish it as
their imperial province. |
| 200bc |
malta
obtains autonomy for local government
and gains reputation within the roman
empire, for the production of textiles
and honey. incidentally, malta is the
latin word for honey. |
| 60ad |
st paul
is shipwrecked on malta on his way to
rome. malta is converted to christianity
and appoints st publius as its first bishop. |
| 870ad |
malta
overtaken by the arabs, who were led by
admiral ahmad bin-umar. |
| 1090ad |
malta
falls under the rule of count roger and
the normans. legend has it that count
roger tore off part of his flag and gave
it to malta, thus giving the island their
present red and white flag. |
| 1127 |
norman
rule is reaffirmed by count roger II and
malta is effectively annexed to sicily
as one jurisdiction. |
| 1224 |
the
arabs are expelled from malta. |
| 1530 |
the
then emperor charles v, gave malta in
perpetual sovereignty to the order of
st john of jerusalem (better known as
the knights of st john) for the annual
rent of one falcon. |
| 1551 |
gozo
falls under the attack of the ottomans
and the entire gozitan population of 5000
are taken into slavery in libya. in september,
the ottomans turn their forces onto malta.
with a fleet of 181 ships and ground force
of 30,000 men, these were repulsed by
700 knights and 9000 men. this heroic
victory for the maltese islands is still
remembered today as the great siege day.
it is celebrated on 8 september and considered
a national feast. |
| 1566 |
planning
commences for the construction of today's
capital city, valletta. |
| 1798 |
napoleon
finds little resistance from the knights
and takes over the islands under his rule. |
| 1800 |
the
maltese revolt against the french rulers
and seek british support. Lord nelson
places capt. alexander ball in charge
of the mission which ends up in a french
surrender. |
| 1814 |
malta
confirmed as a british crown colony at
the treaty of paris |
| 1835 |
malta
establishes its first constitution. |
| 1940 - 1942 |
malta
heavily involved in second world war.
being an english base, with its closest
allies some 2000 miles away in gibraltar
and alexandria, malta puts up a very strong
resistance to enemy forces both in the
north and south. malta is eventually awarded
the george cross for bravery, which is
now incorporated in its national flag. |
| 1943 |
a similar
award for bravery is received from president
franklin d. roosevelt. |
| 1959 |
negotiations
undertaken to achieve full integration
of malta with britain. efforts fail due
to several reasons. |
| 1964 |
malta
gains independence from britain. |
| 1974 |
malta
becomes a republic and retains its status
as a member of the commonwealth. |
| 1979 |
the
British military establishment gives up
its bases in malta. |
| 1990, july 16 |
Malta
submits formal application to join the
European Community.
|
| 2003, april 16 |
Malta
signs the EU Accession Treaty in Athens.
|
time
malta is on central european time
(CET), that is one hour ahead of greenwich mean
time (GMT) in winter and two hours from the
last sunday in march until the last sunday in
october.
photo
gallery
|
|
