Malta is very beautiful, it is really worth the trip. I visited Sliema, Valletta, Mosta (the land of my ancestors), Mdina but also Gozo, a magnificent island with Xlendi, the salt marshes of Malsaform, Victoria (or "Ir-Rabat") or even the island of Comino. The Maltese are very devout Catholics and many churches are erected on all the islands.

Besides the religious monuments of Malta have a particularity. There are very often 2 clocks which do not give the same time.

This in order to deceive the Devil: "According to legend, this deception prevents him from knowing the exact time of the mass and thus from coming to disturb the faithful . FYI, the correct time is always on the right clock, the left being considered the evil side. But, you mustn't tell him!"

I rented a quad, a marvelous machine for criss-crossing the roads and enjoying the landscapes, taking the back roads and feeling free.

The Republic of Malta is made up of an archipelago of eight islands, four of which are inhabited (Island of Malta, Gozo, Comino and Manoel Island), and several islets and rocks. It is also the smallest state in the European Union. Malta has been coveted for many years due to its geographical position, a strategic location between the Western Mediterranean and the Eastern Mediterranean.

The Arabs seized the archipelago in 870 by emptying, according to historical studies, the island of its occupants and replacing them with Arab settlers and Muslim Berbers as well than Christian slaves to better defend the island. The Normans, masters of Sicily, in 1090, seized Malta. Muslims are expelled, although some may remain there by converting. Despite this, they retain their language, Maltese Arabic close to "Ifriqiyan" Arabic, while massively borrowing part of their vocabulary from Sicilian and Italian.

Charles V donated Malta to the Order of the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem in exchange for his contribution in the fight against the Ottomans. The Order settled there for more than 2 centuries and their domination ceased when the island was taken by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798. But the Maltese called in 1800 the British for help under the pretext of looting the property of the Church by Napoleonic troops, several unpopular laws enacted by Bonaparte and the disrespectful attitude of the French reinforce the anti-French mood. Malta was annexed in 1816 to the British Empire. Malta gained independence in 1964 as part of the Commonwealth. In 1974, Malta finally became a republic with full independence and in 2004, Malta entered the European Union. For the record, in October 1996 Alfred Sant froze EU membership.

A photo of my great-grandparents