VALLETTA — Malta is a country we hear about often but don’t quite know its place on the map. The popularity of this small country has increased in recent years, especially with its English language schools. Each year, thousands of students come to Malta to learn English in a typical Mediterranean country. The famous Order of Knights of St. John of Jerusalem (the Knights of Malta), the beautiful blue sea, old yellow buses, narrow streets, buildings made from different shades of white stone, homes with bay windows and impressive churches and chapels make Malta unique.
Located in the Mediterranean, it is 97 kilometers south of Sicily and 257 kilometers north of Libya. It has great geopolitical importance. It has served as a strategic base in the Mediterranean Sea and as a land in which different countries have displayed their strength. Arabs, Sicilians, Normans, the Knights of Malta, the French and the British have controlled the island.
As in England and countries that were occupied by British forces, cars drive on the left-hand side in Malta. It gained its independence from Britain in 1964, but the last British forced departed in 1979. Along with English, the official language is Maltese.
Malta is an archipelago that consists of three large islands — Malta, Comino and Gozo. There are other islands, but they are extremely small and uninhabited. Regular daily ferries travel between the islands, the most densely populated of which is Malta. Gozo has the second highest population after Malta, but Comino is very sparsely populated. The population density is 1,282 per square kilometer and the gross domestic product per capita is around $12,000.
Malta joined the European Union in 2004 and adopted the euro as the country’s currency in 2008. Turkish citizens were not required to have a visa to enter Malta until 2007, when Malta implemented the Schengen agreement. Its economy depends on foreign trade. Cars, electronic products, water and electricity are expensive. With no permanent rivers or lakes, Malta has limited freshwater resources and is required to resort to the costly process of purifying sea water as a source of drinking water.
Malta is a perfect country for tourism with its hot, dry summers and mild winters. With almost no greenery and no mountains, the country attracts tourists with its beautiful sparkling sea. The number of tourists that visit the country each year is three times that of the population, which is why many large hotels line the country’s coastline.
Maltese people are proud of their Catholic heritage — an important part of the culture. There are churches around every corner in Malta, where 98 percent of the population is Roman Catholic. Churches and chapels are one of the most attractive features for tourists. There are 365 churches, one for every day. The divorce rate in Malta is zero because according to the Church, couples cannot officially divorce or separate. Abortion is also illegal in Malta.
Valletta, Malta’s capital has a population of 92,000. In terms of total area, it could be the smallest capital in the world. Upper Barrakka Gardens in the capital offer a magnificent view of the Grand Harbor and the sea. A popular tourist attraction is the firing of the noon-day gun. The castle that was formerly home to the leader of the Knights of St. John is now used as the president’s official office and parliamentary building. The Cathedral of St. John is also a popular tourist attraction.
The world’s largest gun at the time of British rule, weighing 100 tons, is located in Fort Rinella. The British-built Armstrong cannon was capable of throwing a one-ton projectile 13 miles. It is surprising to still see the British flag waving in the fort that was once occupied by British forces.
Muslim Arabs from North Africa arrived in 870 and inhabited the island for two centuries. Maltese people prospered under Arab control, which introduced new architecture, water irrigation and brought trade in cotton and fruit. Having control over the islands for a long time, Arabs made a lasting impression on Maltese language and culture. In the ancient capital of Mdina, a quiet, historically rich town, there are still street signs containing Arabic words. Maltese bears a similarity to Arabic and contains many Arabic words; many linguists trace the origin of Maltese to Phoenician. While touring the city, you may come across signs saying “masjid.” These signs will take you to a square that used to be an area for prayer, no longer used for that purpose today. A cistern located in the center was used for cleansing. However, mosques and prayers areas that were built during Arab rule have been demolished.
Malta has varied attractions for visitors: Glasswork is popular, and there are many workshops where thousands of unique, mesmerizing glass articles are displayed for sale. The Popeye village was built as a film set for the production of the film “Popeye” starring Robin Williams. Located in a small, beautiful bay, the village consists of colorful wooden homes and is open to the public as an open-air museum.
Many diving courses are offered in Malta, where the coastline is indented with natural deep bays, making it a perfect place for diving. Most beaches are not sandy but rather are dominated by cliffs and rocks, although Golden Bay is one of Malta’s rare sandy beaches, being extremely popular with tourists.
As well as being a tourist island, Malta also has an interesting history. In the 15th century, the unfortunate Prince Jem Sultan, the younger son of Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror, took refuge with the Knights of St. John but was later sent to the pope who ordered him to be poisoned.
In 1565, Ottoman forces besieged Malta but following a series of problems, their reign did not last long. The Ottomans, who took control of Cyprus, Rhodes and Crete, failed to hold on to Malta. It was during this time that Turgut Reis, an Ottoman admiral, was killed. During the siege, the Ottomans not only fought the Knights of Malta, they also fought a 10,000-man army of Sicilian, Spanish and French soldiers supported by the pope that rushed to aid the knights. Along with Turgut Reis, 20,000 Ottoman soldiers died in the clash. In 1874, Ottoman Sultan Abdülaziz financed a martyrs’ cemetery designed by architect Emmanuel Luigi Galizia (1830-1906) in honor of the 20,000 soldiers who were killed during the siege. E?ref Bey, who was the commander of the Muslim forces on the island during World War I repaired the cemetery between 1919 and 1920 and built a martyrs’ memorial for soldiers who died while captured in Malta during World War I.
Very few of the martyrs’ gravestones in the cemetery are decipherable. The gravestones of police officer Hayri from ?stanbul, soldier Abdullah son of Aziz, and officer candidate ?an Ali Mehmet Nasir are among those that can be read. Soldiers killed during the siege of Malta and those who died during World War I are buried in this cemetery. These graves are the strongest evidence of Ottoman existence in Malta. Not all the graves in the cemetery are of Ottoman soldiers. Following World War I, Muslims from other nationalities were also buried here; Egyptian, Burmese and Ugandan Muslims were buried in this cemetery in the late ’80s and early ’90s.
The Ottoman siege has not been forgotten by the Maltese people. Until recently, mothers used to discipline their naughty sons by saying, “Behave or else I will give you to the Turks.”
Malta is also known as a prison base. During World War I, the British forces that invaded ?stanbul exiled 145 Turks to the island. Süleyman Nazif, Ziya Gökalp, Hüseyin Cahit (Yalç?n), Ebüzziyazade Velit, Ahmet Emin (Yalman) Fethi (Okyar), Lt. Col. Ali (Çetinkaya), Abdülhalik (Renda) and Ali ?hsan Pa?a (Sabis) were among those who were exiled. In 1921, 16 people including Ali ?hsan Pa?a managed to escape, some of them joining the Milli Mucadale, the political and military resistance developed by Turkish revolutionaries after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.
02 April 2009, Thursday
SAIM ORHAN ?STANBUL
www.zaman.com