Last, but definitely not the least - we spent the rest of the maltese trip in Gozo, the smaller of two main islands of the country. It is really small, even for maltese standards as it occupies merely 67 kilometers of land with 13 kilometers of length and 7 kilometers of width. We drove across the entire island a few times just to reach a particular restaurant, or cafe. But even despite its ridiculously tiny dimentions it is very abundant in mindblowing landscapes, dramatic cliffs, vast beaches and picturesque villages. It is much more spacious than the main island, and has a vibe of slow, rural life.
We've talked about Valletta, but time to go past the borders of the mighty maltese capital and explore the Malta island a bit. Yes, the main island of the country is named exactly the same as the country itself. A little bit bizarre and confusing, but it's easy to get used to!
Malta is the biggest island of the maltese archipelago, but still it has a tiny circumference of 70km. It is where most of the culturally significant cities are located, including Valletta, the maltese capital. So, with such small distances, it is really easy to move around and see a lot from what there is to see. The best way is to rent a car (as we did), but cycling around is also a popular option, and for those who do not wish to rent anything - public buses are a great way to travel as the whole island is covered by public bus connections.
There's plenty of attractions and notible sights! The island does seem to be quite flat, but it actually isn't. Perhaps there are no mountains, but the whole isle is elevated a bit and covered in hills. There are also far more cliffs than beaches, so if you like hanging around cliffs and seeing the sea from above - this is a perfect spot.
Malta is a truly peculiar little country, it's located on an archipelago in central mediterrenian sea, just 80km away from the coast of Sicily and about 300km from the coast of North Africa. It consists of two main islands, Malta and Gozo. Malta is the main one, as can be easily guessed, it is where the country's capital Valletta is located. Still, both islands are tiny, even with Malta being the bigger one, the length of its coastline is less then 70 kilometers! Gozo is even smaller with 35 km, and the area of the country is 315 square kilometers in total. Now that's tiny.
Malta has its own, strong identity that has developed from a mashup of mediterrenian, english and arabic influences. By having a quick look at Malta's history we can understand those influences, it is amazing how many times those remote islands were conquered or peacefully occupied by another nation. It wenth through the handsd of Greeks Phoenicians and Cartaginians, then through an Arab period in the middle ages, then Norman conquest, then christianity striked back with the reign of knights of Malta, then came the french alongside Napoleon who captured Malta on his way to Egypt (Napoleon asked for a safe harbour to resupply his ships, and then turned his guns against his hosts once safely inside Valletta) and finally - by having enough of the French, Malta gave itself to Great Britain, became its colony and remained under the crown for the next 150 years gaining independence in 1964.


