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Malta Info |
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Malta, the island for water sport enthusiast. Not only divers are attracted by the clear waters, swimming in 26º C water, sailing, surfing, water-skiing are also very popular along the Maltese coast.
But not only crystal clear waters and nearly guaranteed sunshine are the main attractions in Malta. Varied impressive scenery is offering something for nearly everybody. You like the nature and quiet evenings or the fast live in the cities with pub and the nightclub just around the corner, Malta offers it all.
What ever you do, wherever you go, Malta's old and impressive history will always be around you. Temples dating more than 8000 years, med evil fortifications and with Mediterranean mentality mixed British bureaucracies are giving you a lot to explore.
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However, Malta is an island with a unique character. Everybody occupying it left a little. So you find it influenced by the Greek, Bycantinians, Phoenicians, Rome, France, and England. But very soon you will find that the Maltese understood to form their own friendly character. |
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Geographie
The Maltese Islands are located in the center of the Mediterranean Sea, 93 km south of Sicily and 290 km away from North Africa. The island group consist of Malta, Gozo and Comino and the uninhabited islands Cominotto, Filfla and St. Pauls Island. The archipelago is stretching from southeast to northwest. Malta is about 27 km long and 14 km wide and the whole coastline is measuring 136 km. Malta is covering an area of 46 km². Gozo is only 14.5 km in length and 7,2 km wide. Gozos coastline is only 43 km long. Comino is measuring only 2.5 km².
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Population
On the Maltese Island living about 380.000 people. Gozo's population is only about 26.000. With that, Malta is no. 4 worldwide looking at population per km².
However, the Mediterranean character allows still a more relaxed lifestyle than in the rest of Europe. |
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Language
The official Maltese language is Malti, a Semitic dialect. Malti is the only Semitic language written in Latin letters. Next to Malti is English official language. A lot of older Maltese also speak Italian.
Vegetation
Malta is at least in summer very dry. The farming areas are restricted to the view valleys, where the water stays a bit after watering the fields. In winter during the rain period, everything turns green in a matter of days. The little Island Gozo is in general a little greener and hillier than the main island. The highest point with 260 m above sea level is located at the Dingli Cliffs. In Gozo is "Ta'Dbieg" with 194 meters above sea level the highest hill.
There are no rivers or fresh water lakes on the islands. That's while fresh water in Malta is very valuable. Fresh water is completely produced in desalination plants ore stored from rainwater in winter.
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Traffic
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In Malta is left-hand traffic. Please be aware, that the Maltese drive with Mediterranean temperament and rules exist in general only for foreigners. Don't be shy to use your horn and be always prepared to hit the brakes. Take care about trucks and buses, which usually just pull out without even looking at the traffic behind. Just drive slowly and imagine everybody else won the driving license in a lottery and you get by pretty quick.
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