For those who aren't familiar with where Malta is situated, it's a small Mediterranean island off the southern tip of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya. As might be expected, it's had various invasions down the centuries but there are megalithic and neolithic sites on Malta and Gozo which date back from as far back as 5,200 years BC - much older than Egyptian pyramids and Britain's Stonehenge.
Modern Malta feels and looks very Italian with a fair smattering of north African arabic thrown into the language / town and city names. It's devoutly Christian; it's said that there is a church for every day of the year - quite a lot for an island with dimensions of 25 miles by 15 miles. Just off the north west coast, sit the islands of Comino and Gozo. Comino is the smaller - little more than a rocky crop of about a square mile. Gozo is larger - probably 20% of the size of Malta.
Malta is noted as being the most densely populated country in Europe with 400,000 inhabitants and 250,000 cars on the main island. The population grows massively during peak holiday season. Malta was awarded the George Cross for gallantry and to "bear witness to the heroism and devotion of its people" as it stood firm against the attacks by the Axis powers during the Second World War.
I went to Malta about 25 years ago and, upon my return this year, noticed that the main changes were that corporate retail food and clothing chains have moved in with a vengeance and also that the roads have become incredibly crowded - making moving around the island a lot slower than I remember from my first visit. The vast majority of the population speak English (a throwback to the 100+ years up to the 1960s when Malta was part of the British Empire) but Malta is now an independent republic.
As I mentioned, it's Mediterranean. Hot dry summers and mild, wet winters are the order of the day. It doesn't have beaches, as such, though. The island is a rock with mostly steep shelves into the sea (especially in the south and west). Great for scuba diving, though we didn't do any on this holiday.
Malta has been host to the shooting of various feature films. In the 1980's the Robin Williams version of "Popeye" was shot there and you can still visit the village / stage set as a tourist attraction. In May 1999, Oliver Reed famously died during the filming of "Gladiator". This happened whilst he was having some light refreshment with sailors in a bar called "The Pub" in the centre of the capital, Valletta. The walls of the place are full of photos and memorabilia. It's a great place to have a cool pint and soak up the atmosphere.
As for the photography; for once I travelled light. I took my Rolleiflex 2.8e on which I shot 14 rolls of Ilford Delta 400. I also took a digital rangefinder. The "other stuff" will be posted on my blog but I'm posting the film photos on here - as and when they are returned from being processed and scanned. I decided to get these jobs done professionally (a) as I don't process my own film at the moment and (c) scanning that much is an impossibility with work and other current commitments. There is a (c) inasmuch as I'd also like to do a Blurb book if I get enough good stuff from the film and "other stuff".
Anyway, for now, the following photos were a test roll they developed / scanned for me. These were taken in Mdina, a walled medieval city adjacent to Rabat (the old capital). The streets are very narrow and curved and sharp street corners - apparently a defensive ploy to slow down / prevent invaders using horses / cavalry when trying to invade / attack.
Hope you like them.
