Tuesday, July 26
Today we visited the Grand Master's Palace, which included the State Rooms with pictures of famous Grand Masters and a pictorial record of the Great Siege against the Ottoman Turks in 1565. This building was a bit like Government House in Melbourne, but a lot older and with amazing history! Who were the Grand Masters? They were the elected leaders of The Knights of the Order of St. John, who arrived in Malta in 1530 after being defeated by the Turks and kicked out of Rhodes where they ruled. The Maltese Cross became their symbol and the eight pointed star stands for truth, faith, repentance, humility, justice, mercy, sincerity, and to endure persecution. All of these are good qualities that we should all live by today!
Also in the Palace was the Palace Armoury, which had the best preserved sets of armour I have seen, including full sets of armour that could be traced back to individual Grand Masters. There was also a great display of weapons from swords, cross bows, canons and all sorts of pistols and muskets, again in amazing condition.
It was now time for lunch, and again we enjoyed a fabulous feed - this time mixed seafood which was cooked perfectly and delicious, and a very big serve for a lunchtime meal!
We headed for Fort St.Elmo and the National War Museum, and again this was really well presented. It traced Malta's history from medieval times, but focused on the Great Siege of 1565. Other important events over the next 350 years included being invaded by Napolean Bonaparte for a short while, until the British defeated him and Malta became part of the British Empire. This meant that during both world wars Malta was strategically important to the British, but it also meant Malta endured bombings in both wars, and in 1942 it was awarded the George Cross for its bravery in holding out against the Germans and Italians.
After getting kicked out at closing time we visited the nearby Malta Siege Memorial and Lower Barrakka Gardens. It was lovely just sitting there looking out over the Harbour and enjoying the cool breeze on another warm sunny day.
Today we visited the Grand Master's Palace, which included the State Rooms with pictures of famous Grand Masters and a pictorial record of the Great Siege against the Ottoman Turks in 1565. This building was a bit like Government House in Melbourne, but a lot older and with amazing history! Who were the Grand Masters? They were the elected leaders of The Knights of the Order of St. John, who arrived in Malta in 1530 after being defeated by the Turks and kicked out of Rhodes where they ruled. The Maltese Cross became their symbol and the eight pointed star stands for truth, faith, repentance, humility, justice, mercy, sincerity, and to endure persecution. All of these are good qualities that we should all live by today!
Also in the Palace was the Palace Armoury, which had the best preserved sets of armour I have seen, including full sets of armour that could be traced back to individual Grand Masters. There was also a great display of weapons from swords, cross bows, canons and all sorts of pistols and muskets, again in amazing condition.
It was now time for lunch, and again we enjoyed a fabulous feed - this time mixed seafood which was cooked perfectly and delicious, and a very big serve for a lunchtime meal!
We headed for Fort St.Elmo and the National War Museum, and again this was really well presented. It traced Malta's history from medieval times, but focused on the Great Siege of 1565. Other important events over the next 350 years included being invaded by Napolean Bonaparte for a short while, until the British defeated him and Malta became part of the British Empire. This meant that during both world wars Malta was strategically important to the British, but it also meant Malta endured bombings in both wars, and in 1942 it was awarded the George Cross for its bravery in holding out against the Germans and Italians.
After getting kicked out at closing time we visited the nearby Malta Siege Memorial and Lower Barrakka Gardens. It was lovely just sitting there looking out over the Harbour and enjoying the cool breeze on another warm sunny day.
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