Malta

Deep in the rock beneath the bastions of Valletta lies a forgotten World War Two site. The museum is called Lascaris War Rooms, and it’s a “must visit” attraction if you come to Malta. Lascaris was the top secret centralized war headquarters for the entire air defense of Malta. Builders tunneled into the rock beneath the Upper Barracca Gardens by expanding an old communications tunnel from the...

Malta is a largely Catholic island, and the rhythms of religion influence the cycles of life here, just as they have for centuries. One of the biggest events of the calendar year is Easter. For those of you unfamiliar with Christian traditions, Easter commemorates the time when Jesus Christ was crucified, died and rose from the dead. Christians celebrate this event because they believe Christ...

It’s been nearly a year since I packed up my books and moved to a small island in the Mediterranean. It was a goal I set 8 years before, after reading Lawrence Durrell and island hopping the Adriatic. I was attracted to something in the landscape: those dry stony islands, the wind in the olive trees, the quality of light, and the pure clarity of Poseidon’s translucent domain. It took me 8 long...

“The entire Mediterranean seems to rise out of the sour, pungent taste of black olives between the teeth. A taste older than meat or wine, a taste as old as cold water. Only the sea itself seems as ancient a part of the region as the olive and its oil, that like no other products of nature, have shaped civilizations from remotest antiquity to the present.” – Lawrence Durrell...

It was Notte Bianca this past Saturday in many European cities. An all-night street party where the centre of town is turned into one massive public art display, and where buildings that aren’t normally accessible to the public throw open their doors in a late night architectural peep show. Everything’s free — and it feels like everyone in the country comes out to take advantage of it. The...