Malta and its islands [antikvár]

MaltaThe land and the peopleLying 90 km to the south of Sicily and 290 km to the north of the African mainland, 1830 km to the east of Gibraltar and 1500 km to the west of Alexandria, Malta and its islands might be said to occupy a position in the center of the Mediterranean.The group is composed of the islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino all of which are inhabited, and the smaller uninhabited islands of Cominotto, Filfia and St. Paul. The total area of the archipelago is 320 km2. The longest distance in Malta in a south-east/north-west axis is about 27 km and the widest distance is 14 km. The corresponding figures for Gozo are 14 km and 7 km. Comino, the smallest of the inhabited islands being 2.6 km2. The length of the shoreline around Malta is 136 km and that of Gozo is 43 km. The indentations around the coast form bays, sandy beaches and rocky coves and, more importantly, deep natural harbours. With a population of around 350,000 crowding an area of 320 km2 the Maltese Islands can claim to be the most densely populated country in Europe. As a result of intermarriages throughout the ages, Semitic, Latin, Rhodian-Greek and a dash of Anglo-Saxon blood has produced a rich diversity of the Maltese physical "type" and it is only where character is concerned that there is conformity. Perhaps because of his fear of being swallowed up in the crowd, the average Maltese will assert his individuality by adding his personal touch to his car, boat, house or any other of his possessions. The Maltese are realists, they grumble about everything as a matter of form but they are not unduly depressed by adversity; they are blessed with the inherent ability to adjust themselves to practically any condition. The Maltese are more clannish than patriotic, in fact theawareness of a national identity arrived rather late in Malta. To the uninformed the Maltese language sounds much like Arabic, but like most over-simplifications this statement would not be correct. The Maltese language is basically Phoenician, therefore Semitic in origin, as can be deduced from its grammar.Arab influence in Malta lasted for more than 300 years and during that period it is inevitable that the language was enriched by many Arabic words. Moreover, some of the Sicilian loan-words are, themselves, of Arab origin. Notwithstanding the fact that the Maltese language is Semitic in origin it is written in Roman characters. The two official languages of Malta are Maltese and English but most Maltese can also speak Italian. The Maltese are predominantly Roman Catholic; the tangible evidence of their faith - magnificent cathedrals and churches - being the hubs and pride of eveiy town and village.PrehistoryAt a point in time around 4,000 BC a group of Late Stone-Age Sicilian farming families left their island home to settle in a small group of islands to the south. They brought over with them their domestic animals, potteiy, bags of seeds and flint implements. They were the first Maltese. In time more of these farmers crossed over to join the first settlers and before long little settlements dotted the islands. On occasion they returned to Sicily to obtain flint for their tools and red ochre for the funeral ceremonies as these could not be found in their new homeland.The islands were then covered with forests and the soil was generous, while hunting and fishing added to their store of food. In time these early Malteseincreased and prospered and gangs of workers could now be spared from the day to day chores so that they could give all of their time to the building of the temples. As the centuries rolled on the temples became more elaborate and imposing as befitted the now more prosperous communities. By this time (circa 2100 BC) new immigrants swelled the islands' population. These were more refined than their forerunners and the latest additions to the old temples were decorated with graceful spiral and animal bas-relief carvings. The dead were now buried in a complex underground cemetery in close proximity to the temples themselves.The new immigrants were familiar with the use of copper, although the tools they used were still being chipped out of flint as they had been for thousands of years. Several hypotheses have been advanced to explain the presumed extinction of the temple builders: a prolonged drought; famine; epidemics and civil strife, taken in isolation or as combined causes. It is also possible that a more prosaic cause was the gradual degeneration of the race as the exhausted land could no longer support the growing population. At one time it was believed that the temple builders succumbed to an invasion of fresh migrants who exterminated, or enslaved, the original settlers and took over the land. The invasion theory cannot be entirely ruled out and still has its adherents. If there was an invasion, the new arrivals, who, originally, hailed from the heel of Italy would have had no difficulty in overcoming the remnants of the original stock who colonized the islands some 2,200 years before.If the first settlers were peaceful farmers (no trace of weapons of the period has been discovered) the newcomers were more belligerent; these newcomers, invaders if you