Monday, June 4, 2018

Malta May 2018

While in Israel for Shavuot, we decided to take a short trip to visit the small country of Malta.

We were not going to post a blog on this short 3 and a half day trip, but a number of our readers expressed outrage, so on the plane on the way back to Israel, we are writing this short blog post.

Malta is located in the middle of the Mediterranean, between the Northern African countries of Libya and Tunisia to the south and the Italian Island of Sicily to the north. 





It is comprised of two larger islands of Malta and Gozo and one tiny island of Comino. Its population is about 440,000 and its area is 316 square kms. which is 66 times smaller than Israel. It is the tenth smallest country in the world and one of the most densely populated. 

At various times in its history it has been under the rule of the Romans, the Goths, the Byzantines, the Knights of St. John, the Turks, the British, and others, and gained independence in 1964. 

It seems like many people coveted Malta because of its strategic position in the centre of the Mediterranean. 

Its name is said to have been derived from either the Greek word for “honey” or the Phoenician word for “port”.

The flag is bi-colour of white and red with the cross of George VI of Britain in the top left hand corner.

The national symbol is the Maltese Cross, an eight pointed cross which has been associated with the Knights of St. John since the 16th century. This symbol appears on virtually every souvenir or product associated with Malta.

The capital city is Valletta has a metropolitan population of 393,000 people which means that 89% of the country’s population live in the metro area of its capital city.

There is a small international airport about a 15 minute drive from Valletta (we arrived mid Sunday morning and left at 6 AM on Thursday morning, so each way it took 15 minutes, but in rush hour it is guaranteed to take much longer) and there is a direct Tel Aviv - Malta three hour flight on Air Malta a few times a week. 

The Jewish population of Malta is around 200 people (estimate given to us by the Chabad rabbi’s wife); almost all live on the main island and three live on the island of Gozo. 

There is an active Chabad with a Centre in the heart of the busy tourist area of St. Jillian, a beachfront marina section of Valletta. (It is actually strange to point out that any particular area of Malta is “beachfront”, as the majority of the population live very close to some beach). 


Chabad has a very small shul and a much larger restaurant, called L’Chaim. It is open all day Sunday, and from 6 PM Monday to Thursday with a full and varied menu. On Shabbat, there are services in the small local orthodox Synagogue in the Valletta suburb of Ta’Xbiex (I know it looks strange, but I did spell it correctly in Maltese and it is pronounced Tash-baish) with meals following at Chabad. 

We actually ate at Chabad each of the four evenings that we were in Malta and the service and ambiance were good, the meals were delicious and reasonably priced. Everything is freshly prepared; our favourite appetizer was the Hamshuka (Hummus with Shakshuka), and our favourite main course was the Schnitzel, followed closely by the grilled whole fish. The portions were plentiful and seeing how each meal came with 2 or 3 buns, we always had a doggy bag of one or two buns to take home with us for our lunch the next day. So no need to shlep bread for sandwiches. 

What was interesting about this Chabad (and we have visited many in our travels) is that we never saw the Chabad Rabbi once, tho’ the Rebbetzin dropped in one evening. There is little Chabad PR material lying around and other than the large picture of the Rebbe and the sign outside, it could have been simply a kosher restaurant in any urban centre. There were no Moshiach signs and no “Y’chi” banners to be seen (could this possibly be a non-meshichist Chabad?). There was a teudah on the wall, but we never saw a mashgiach in any of the 4 evenings that we ate there. 

There is a long and historic connection of Jews to Malta; and we even read somewhere that in days of old in the city of Mdina, the former Capital city of Malta, the population was one third Jewish; today, sadly there is little to show for it. 

It seems that the first Jew to set foot in Malta was Paul of Tarsus who was shipwrecked there in 62 CE. This is the same Paul of the New Testament who went ahead and introduced Christianity to the local population. I guess his being cast ashore is the reason why there are now 359 churches in Malta (only one synagogue and one mosque)!

At its peak the Jewish population might have reached 1000. Today’s Jews mainly originate from England, Gibraltar, North Africa, Portugal and Turkey. 

The most famous Jew to have lived there was Rabbi Avraham Abulafia, a noted Kabbalist, who lived on the island of Comino for a number of years. He had a very interesting life; it is worth googling!

There are a few signs indicating a Jewish Street, the Jewish port etc., and there are the few etched menorahs in the St. James Catacombs in Mdina; that’s about it. 


On the busy main pedestrian shopping street in Valletta, there is one store with a mezuzah, and you guessed it, it is a few Israelis actively hawking their miracle lotions and creams; some generic brand, not Ahava. 


After nearly 4 full days in Malta, we have concluded that this was a pleasant stop, but in retrospect, one that would not be on our bucket list. 

The good points: 

It is English speaking (and they drive on the British side of the roadway), it is sunny and warm, it has a decent public transit system, there are beautiful bays and marinas, it is well maintained and orderly and we are told that it is very safe. 

Accommodations are varied from hotels to Airbnb’s and are reasonably priced. We found that certain items that normally cost an arm and a leg in touristy places in other cities, like cappuccinos and street side souvenirs, were much more reasonable in Malta.  

There are very convenient and reasonably priced water taxis or ferries that allow you to go from one section of the centre of Valletta to the other by boat, saving you enormous amounts of time travelling by car or bus, with the added benefit of having a fresh air, invigorating, picturesque harbour cruise in the process. 

Many of the buildings all have an old town, medieval look to them, and there are very amusing white sculptures that dot the downtown area which help create a very whimsical atmosphere. There is much renovation going on, especially the old building modernization. 

As is my (David) usual custom, I wore a kippah everywhere and there was not even a hint of anyone reacting to it. From everything that we had read, Malta is a very accepting and safe place for Jews. 

This was not the high tourism season (July and August are said to be jam packed) and yet it was very busy, the roads filled with cars (there is approximately one car per permanent resident of Malta), and the roads outside of Valletta are mainly narrow two lane roadways; so when budgeting time for travel, you need to allow much longer than you would normally in a place with decent highway infrastructure. 

Our first day was spent on a very long walking tour on a promenade that hugged the shore from our apartment in the MSida (correct spelling….btw, Malta has some very odd looking characters in their alphabet) section of town to the walled city of downtown Valletta, a visit to the Upper Barrakka Gardens where you have a beautiful view of the harbour and port, a walk thru the centre of Valletta, a touristy train ride that circumnavigated the city, pointing out the main tourist attractions (mainly churches), a water taxi ferry ride from one side of the harbour to the other, a visit to the largest shopping mall in Malta and finally dinner at Chabad.













Monday saw us being picked up by a tour operator for a ocean cruise to the Island of Gozo and a visit there to Victoria (Gozo’s principal town) and its imposing fortress; then to the island of Comino and the Blue Lagoon, with its crystal clear azure waters in a very protected harbour (I unfortunately did not swim there because while the water was clear enough to see many fish, I could also see Jelly Fish), and an exciting return trip to our main island in a very fast and powerful speedboat. And again Chabad.














On Tuesday, we spent the morning in downtown Valletta, visited the very interesting audio visual The Malta Experience exhibit, visited the historic, beautiful, and collector-item-filled Casa Rocco Piccolo - home of the 7th Marquis of Malta, and then took a water taxi to the opposite side of the port and walked around the quaint village of Birgu, before returning again to Chabad for another delicious dinner.




















Our last full day, was very clear, sunny and warm, seemingly a perfect time to visit the Blue Grottoes, one of Malta’s prime tourist spots. It is a series of caves or grottoes on the south western edge of the island, where you can take a small boat ride and explore the insides of these water filled caves. Apparently because of the reflection of the sunlight on the clear water, there is an amazing light show in the caves. But when we arrived, there was a sign that the boats were not operating that day, because of rough seas. And since we are likely not returning to Malta, we are including some internet shots of the grottoes.

From there we caught the bus to Mdina and Rabat, where we visited the old walled city and the very interesting catacombs of St. Paul, where we saw the Menoras etched on these ancient burial tombs.



















We returned to our apartment and used the rooftop pool area to relax and then for the last time, returned to Chabad for dinner. On Thursday morning we were at the airport early for our return trip to Tel Aviv.




All in all, it was a very pleasant place to visit and its proximity to Israel with the added benefit of direct Air Malta flights makes it a good location for a short sun-filled stay.

And we will end with the downloaded pictures of what we missed at the Blue Grottoes.