Friendship on a small island - Part 2

Writing in the Liverpool Daily Post, Peter Elson talks to Nicholas Borg and walks around Malta's historical streets:

Bobbing around this amazing watery expanse, edged by its towering buildings, in a traditional Maltese gondola (or dghajsa), you appreciate why the Maltese are so proud of its World Heritage Site status. “Valletta is the Mediterranean’s largest natural harbour and therefore much-coveted by every power seeking to rule the trade routes. That’s why we have the second greatest number of historical sites after Rome,” says Nicholas Borg, seasoned Malta tourism expert and general manager of Malta’s premier Corinthia St Gorg Hotel, at St Julians.

While the Arabs tolerated the island’s devotion to Roman Catholicism, the Napoleonic French occupiers did not. Maltese leaders welcomed the Royal Naval takeover in 1800, and the island became a vital staging post for Britain’s links to its empire east of Suez. Its courageous support of Britain during the siege of WWII was commemorated by King George VI awarding the island the GC in 1942. “For decades, Malta was the first- choice destination for British people wanting a sun and beach holiday abroad, especially as 90% of Maltese speak English,” says Nicholas. “We also drive on the left – actually, it’s usually in the middle of the road, but apart from that, Malta remains a safe place to be,” he jokes.

Another era is represented by motorcades of past British car marques: Ford Zodiacs, Morris Oxfords and Triumph Heralds chug about, preserved by the dry atmosphere. Ancient fume-belching Bedford coaches form the bus network’s backbone. “With so many rivals for the traditional beach holidays, we should promote our historical and cultural wealth. We also have some of the best diving sites with marine life teeming around the many ship and WWII aircraft wrecks.

“Malta has the oldest freestanding structure in the world, il-Ggantija megalithic temple, in Gozo, dating from before 3,500 BC, which is older than Stonehenge or the Pyramids,” says Nicholas. “The biggest remnants are from the time of the Knights, such as the eight auberges, or lavish hostelries. Valletta’s baroque churches are an artistic experience themselves, but this style is everywhere.”

From where we’re talking at the Corinthia St Gorg Hotel, he points out the 150-year-old Kursaal Palace, now a casino, across St George’s Bay, with a Knights’ 1617 watchtower behind. In the other direction are castle defences. Malta is the EU’s smallest member state, but the island’s abundant heritage matches most other countries’ appeal.