A JEWEL IN THE MEDITERRANEAN

A European country often called "the mouse that roars," Malta is also referred to as "the island of sunshine and history." Malta covers 122 square miles in the center of the Mediterranean Sea and is comprised of three inhabited islands: Malta, Gozo, and Comino. Malta, 17 miles long and about nine miles across, is the largest of the three islands. Gozo, the northern island, is 35 square miles and is known for its grottos, copper beaches, and the third-largest church dome in the world. Comino, at one square mile, has a small population and is located between Malta and Gozo. The uninhabited islands in the archipelago are Filfla and St. Paul's. Malta lacks mountains and rivers, but the island is characterized by a series of low hills with terraced fields.

The weather, more than any other feature, has made Malta a key tourist resort in the center of the Mediterranean. It never snows, and the total average rainfall is 20 inches annually. The summers are warm and breezy and the winters are mild, with an average winter temperature of 54 degrees. About 606,000 tourists from all over the world, including the United States and Europe, arrive annually. Tourists boost the economy significantly by spending approximately $3.6 million each year on the island. The Maltese weather and lifestyle also call for afternoon breaks, when shop owners close and the island people rest. Everything resumes again later in the day, when the sun is not as tiring. The climate, sea, and terrain also provide perfect backdrops for movies.

Malta is located 58 miles south of Sicily and 180 miles north of North Africa. The total population is 350,000, which places it among the most densely populated countries in the world. Ninetysix percent of the population is of Maltese descent, two percent are British, and the remaining people are of various other heritages. The chief languages are Maltese, English, and Italian. Ninety-seven percent of the population is Roman Catholic.

Along with Italy, Turkey and Jamaica, Malta has been named one of the hottest spots for weddings abroad. That comes to no surprise to me, with all the historical chapels, churches and cathedrals to choose from to exchange wedding vows in. Lavish receptions are commonly held in manors or palaces, like Palazzo Parisio, located in Naxxar, an ancient village, in the centre of Malta. It is predominantly one of my favorite places to visit on such occasions. It's grandeur and opulance, makes one feel they have been taken back in time, a few hundred years. It's large and lush gardens are full of nooks and crannies with benches where one can sit still and reminisce about times past.

This is a typical dish you will delight in, at Riccardo's in Gozo, Malta's sister island. Fresh peppered goats cheese, tomatoes, capers, olives, sundried tomatoes, served with a basket overflowing with the most amazing crusty bread. Home made wine is also an option to compliment this delicious snack.

Maltese cuisine is the result of a long relationship between the Islanders and the many foreigners who made Malta their home over the centuries. This marriage of tastes has given Malta an eclectic mix of Mediterranean cooking. Many popular Maltese specialities are Italian/Sicilian or Moorish in origin.

Maltese cuisine is, nowadays, still popular in households and restaurants in Malta, but is by no means the main gastronomical form present on the island. Rather, it is a traditional form of cuisine, which was prepared more exclusively in the past centuries, and which has now become a part of a much more varied diet followed by the Maltese people. Indeed, the Maltese enjoy a Mediterrannean diet, with heavy Italian influences. However, Maltese cuisine is seen to be the more traditional form of Maltese cooking, which is still present in the island, but which has now been joined by other different types of cuisine and influences, which are also an integral part of the Maltese diet.

Pastizzi are small, diamond shaped parcels of flaky pastry stuffed with fresh ricotta or peas. They are the most popular snack in the Maltese Islands, found at pastizzerias and most village bars, pizzerias, some restaurants, bakeries and coffee shops. They are delicious, cheap, filling and if you asked me what I miss most in Malta, pastizzi come to mind, without any hesitation at all. Maybe it's because I haven't eaten them in over a year, maybe it's simply because they are delicious or maybe it's because they evoke some deeply ingrained memories.......

When I was a kid, and got sent to my room without supper, I used to sneak out of my bedroom balcony, which thankfully, was not too far above the ground. I ran all the way downhill for a mile to the closest pastizzeria, where I would get a paperbag full of hot pastizzi. I would immediately start my uphill trip home again, with a bottle of Kinnie under one arm, the bag of pastizzi cradled in one hand, while I fed myself with the other.
This happened on a regular basis, but as I got older, I got more brazen about the whole affair, and would sit across the road from the pizzeria, eating my pastizzi while I sat by the sea watching the fishing boats. I did this for quite a few years, until my mother got this brilliant idea of organising all our shoes in a closet. But, I never got caught, and my mother still doesn't know!

Here is a list of just some of the movies which have been filmed in Malta. There are many others, including various TV shows, significant or otherwise. More information about these movies can be found on IMDB.com

THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)
ORCA KILLER WHALE (1976)
THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1977)
MIDNIGHT EXPRESS (1978)
RAISE THE TITANIC (1980)
POPEYE (1980)
NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN (1983)
CUTTHROAT ISLAND (1995)
WHITE SQUALL (1996)
THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES (2001)
U-571 (2000)
GLADIATOR (2002)
PINOCCHIO (2002)
SWEPT AWAY (2002)
THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO (2002)
THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN (2003)
HELEN OF TROY (2003)
TROY (2004)
ALEXANDER (2004)
MUNICH (2005)
THE DAVINCI CODE (2006)
OPEN WATER 2:ADRIFT (2006)