ABOUT MALTA  
Map of MaltaThe Maltese Islands offer plenty of specialist holidays for those seeking to learn a new skill from scuba diving to that of learning a new language.

Despite small in size, Malta offers various places of interest to visit, from archeological sites like Hagar Qim, Mnajdra and other Pre Historic Temples, to that of the Knights of St. John era which is still evident in the buildings remaining in our capital city Valletta.

But Malta is no regular museum. Here life is lived to the full, so make time for some living history and action.
   
HISTORY  
The many ancient monuments and remains on Malta attest to the great age of its civilization. Remains from Stone Age and Bronze Age peoples have been found in subterranean burial chambers near Rahal Gdid. The islands became a Phoenician colony about 1000 BC. In 736 BC they were occupied by the Greeks, who called the colony Melita, and later the islands passed successively into the possession of Carthage and Rome. At the division of the Roman Empire in scaps AD395, Malta was awarded to the Eastern Roman Empire. The islands were occupied by Arabs in 870. A Norman army conquered the Maltese Arabs in 1090, and Malta was later made a feudal fief of the kingdom of Sicily. In 1530 Holy Roman Emperor Charles V granted Malta to the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem, who ruled the islands until the 19th century. After a famous and unsuccessful siege by the Ottoman Turks in 1565, the Knights fortified Valletta so strongly that it became one of the greatest Mediterranean strongholds.
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LAND
The islands of Malta consist of low-lying coralline limestone plateaus surrounded by impermeable clay slopes. The highest point is 239 m (784 ft) above sea level. The climate is dry and temperate, with a mean temperature of 19° C (66° F). Average annual rainfall is about 560 mm (about 22 in). Because Malta has no permanent rivers or lakes and precipitation is limited, the natural water supply has become a problem. The country has implemented a program to desalinate sea water; up to 70 percent of Malta's water comes from desalination plants.
 
 
POPULATION
The Maltese are predominantly Roman Catholic and speak a language similar in vocabulary to Arabic, although its alphabet and grammatical structure are derived from Latin. Both Maltese and English are official languages. Italian is widely spoken. Education is free and compulsory for children between the ages of 5 and 16. The University of Malta (1592) in Msida had approximately 5,000 students in 1994.
 
 
AIRPORT

The Malta International Airport is just a 15-minute drive away from Valletta. Air Malta is the national airline and it operates regular scheduled flights to many European and North African airports with connections to other European carriers. Charter flights are available only as part of a package holiday. Flights to Malta from London Heathrow will take just over 3 hours with up to 14 flights a week and from London Gatwick 13 flights a week. Air Malta also operates regular scheduled flights from Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow.

The Bureau de Change at Malta's International Airport open 24 hours and there are several bars, cafés, souvenir shops, newsagents and duty-frees. For more information visit the Malta International Airport website.
 
 
WEATHER & CLIMATE

The climate is warm and healthy. There are no biting winds, fog, snow or frost. Rain falls for only very short periods averaging about 578 mm (20 inches) in a whole year. The temperature averages 14.1°C in winter (November -April) and 32°C in Summer (May-October). The sun shines for an average 6.46 hours each day in Winter and 10.11 hours in Summer. The hottest period is from mid-July to mid-September. The island is seldom too hot even in the height of Summer as hot summer days and nights are regularly tempered by cool breeze from the sea.

 
 
MARINE LIFE

The combination of sheer cliffs, caves, wrecks, shelves and sandy and rocky sea beds, means there is a large variety of fauna and flora to see in the Maltese waters.  It would be too difficult to list them all.  Wrecks, as artificial reef habitats, have provided a home for a greater number of species in recent years and make excellent dive sites.

Species you are likely to see include groupers, amberjack, various bream, octopi, squid, flying fish, gurnard, stingrays, meagre, bogue, red mullet, parrot fish and the occasional moral eel.  Although the rocky structures and underwater coast seem ideal living conditions for eel, you tend to see them mostly during night dives.

The chance of meeting a big game fish is almost non-existent.  Rare sights include Tuna, Dolphins and Bonitos, though there is more chance of seeing these large fish in winter when they come closer to shore, attracted by the warmer waters.

John Dory are also occasionally spotted, mostly during wintertime, since they normally live a greater depths.  Corals are also found on arches, reefs and caves.  The glow a wonderful orange to pink colour and are particularly excellent to photograph at night.

There are a few sea animals to watch but not handle as they have vicious or poisonous bristles and spines. Keep your eyes open for the scorpion fish, bristleworms, sea urchins and the stingray. If you do step on or touch one of these fish, seek medical attention as your reaction to the injury will depend on your general medical condition and age.

If you would like to know more about Malta's wrecks and marine life, contact the Malta Marine Foundation by email info@marinefoundation.org or through the Foundation's website at www.marinefoundation.org.  The Malta Marine Foundation is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the preservation of Malta's fragile marine habitat.
 
 
LINKS & RESOURCES
- Malta Marine Life
- Malta Tourism Authority
- Government Website
- Malta Airport
- Air Malta