The Malta Portal
Malta, officially known as the Republic of Malta, is a small island nation comprising an archipelago of seven islands (Malta, Gozo (Għawdex) Comino (Kemmuna) Filfla, Cominotto (Kemmunett) Manoel, Selmunett (St.Paul's Islands)) in the Mediterranean Sea. A country of Southern Europe, Malta lies south of Sicily, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The country's official languages are Maltese and English. Roman Catholicism is the most practised religion. The islands constituting the Maltese nation have been ruled by various powers and fought over by many states for centuries. Malta has been a member state of the European Union (EU) since 2004 and it is currently the smallest EU country both in population and in area.
Selected ArticleAir Malta is the national airline of Malta. It operates services to around 50 destinations in Europe and North Africa. The airline is based at Malta International Airport, Luqa, with hubs at Birmingham International Airport and Bristol International Airport, England. In July 2002, Air Malta announced that its new fleet of aircraft would be from the European aeroplane manufacturers Airbus. The new fleet comprises A319s and A320s and deliveries have already begun.[when?] The last plane will be delivered in 2007,[needs update] thus reducing the average age of fleet to around 2.5 years. Air Malta has concluded over 191 interline ticketing agreements with other IATA airlines. It also has a codeshare agreement with Qantas from Sydney–Singapore–London–Malta. According to the Association of European Airlines quarterly review of May 2006, Air Malta is the airline that loses the least amount of passenger baggage. The amount of baggage lost in the first quarter of 2006 was 4.1 bags missing per 1000 passengers. Air Malta is owned by the Maltese government (98%) and private investors (2%). Air Malta also has a 25% shareholding in Medavia. The airline employs 1,547 staff. (more...) Selected Locality Żabbar (or Ħaż-Żabbar) is the fifth largest town in Malta, with a population of 14,694. Originally a part of Żejtun, Żabbar was granted the title of Città Hompesch by the last of the Grandmasters of the Knights of St. John to reign in Malta, Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim. The Grandmaster gave his surname to the city, which is still known (in honorem) as Città Hompesch. The name of the city probably derives from the Maltese word 'niżbor', the process of pruning trees. Indeed, a number of families who specialised in żbir, this process, are known to have lived in the vicinity of this village during the Middle Ages. (more...) Selected Picture Photo credit: Philip Serracino Inglott
The Sopu Tower is situated at the edge of a cliff between San Blas Bay and Dahlet Qorrot Bay. It was built in 1667 by Grand Master Nicolas Cotoner to guard this part of Gozo from the warships of the Turks who at that time sailed between Gozo and Sicily. The tower is unique in its kind in Gozo. It resisted the incursions of the French troops on 10th June 1798, who landed on this part to capture Gozo. Did you know
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