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<\/a><\/p>\nThe Republic of Malta<\/em><\/strong><\/a> is a small, but densely populated island country made up of an archipelago in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea in the south of Europe. Malta, otherwise geophysically, forms part of North Africa, but this country is geopolitically located in southern Europe. It has an important geographical position on an important road to the central part of Sicily and Italy as well. Malta is a Mediterranean pearl located somewhere between Europe and Africa.<\/p>\n The climate<\/em><\/strong><\/a> is Mediterranean with extremely mild winters, which is one of the main benefits for a pleasant holiday for most of the year. The culture of Malta is a blend of many cultures that have been in contact with the island for centuries, which makes my trip an interesting adventure.<\/p>\n This spring I received a kind invitation from the National Tourism Organization of the Republic of Malta<\/em><\/strong><\/a> to come to Malta and visit their biggest fashion event – Malta Fashion Week<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. Since I have been planning to come to Malta for a long time because I heard it was a land of knights and lost dreams, I thought this was an ideal opportunity to explore Malta and finally to check out all those legends about knights.<\/p>\n At the end of May this year, little Marko and his photographer headed to this Mediterranean paradise. I have to admit after the cold of Russia, Malta was the perfect next fashion station for Mr.M, but this adventure is a little bit warmer, because of the Mediterranean climate which I really love.<\/p>\n In collaboration with the Tourist Organization of Malta<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, I visited the capital of Malta – Valletta<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, Sliema, Birgu, Mdina, Marsaxlokk and, of course, the sister’s island of Malta – Gozo<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. This incredible adventure lasted for 6 days and I think that for 7 to 10 days it is quite enough to explore this island without any rush.<\/p>\n According to the plan and program, the first stop was: Sliema. The city is located on the northern coast of the island and is not to far from the capital city, about ten kilometers away. Otherwise, Sliema is known as\u00a0a major residential and commercial area and a centre for shopping, bars, dining, and caf\u00e9 life. There is the largest shopping mall and retail complex – The Point Shopping Center. Since I was able to visit a couple of stores, I can tell you that as far as prices are concerned, almost as much as in other parts of Europe, such as Italy and France. It was time to find my car and to go to my next destination – Birgu.<\/p>\n P.S.<\/em><\/strong> For all lovers of Zara, the prices of products of this famous street style brand are the lowest in Greece and Malta, so now you will know where you can buy some of the fashion pieces of your favorite brand. I believe that some of you will say after this: “Thank you Marko!”, I will only say, “No worries!”.<\/p>\n Birgu or Vittoriosa is one of the official 11 cities in Malta. Have you heard the famous legend of the “Three Cities<\/em><\/strong><\/a>” in Malta? The three cities represent a collective description of the three fortified cities of Vittoriosa, Senglea and Cospicua in Malta. The oldest of these cities is Birgu, which exists since the Middle Ages. The other two cities, Senglea and Cospicua, were founded by the Knights of St. John in the 16th and 17th centuries.<\/p>\n Birgu<\/em><\/strong> is a very old locality with its origins reaching back to medieval times. Prior to the establishment of Vallettaas capital and main city of Malta, military powers that wanted to rule the Maltese islands would need to obtain control of Birgu due to its significant position in the Grand Harbour. In fact, it served as the base of the Order of Saint John\u00a0and de facto<\/i> capital city of Malta from 1530 to 1571.<\/p>\n When the Order of Saint John first settled in Malta in 1530, all of their administrative divisions\u00a0were based in Birgu, so the Church of Saint Lawrence<\/em><\/strong><\/a> was used as the Order’s first conventual church in Malta. It served this purpose for 41 years from 1530 to 1571 until the Knights were transferred to the new capital city Valletta. The foundation stone of the present church was laid in May 1681 by Bishop Molina, it was completed in 1696. The church was inaugurated by Bishop Davide Cocco Palmieri on the feast of St Lawrence, August 10, 1697.<\/p>\n In January, 1941 the church was bombed. Both the sacristy and the chapter hall were destroyed. They were both re-built in 1949. In March of the same year the chapel of the blessed Sacrament was destroyed and in April, 1942 the dome of the church was destroyed. The chapel was re-built in 1951 and the dome was re-built in 1952.<\/p>\n The architecture of this church is incredible and I must be honest that I did not expect something like this in Malta. After this visit to this lovely island country, the picture of Malta in my head is totally different. Of course, due to the legend of the “Table of Knights” and the Knight orders of Malta I imagined completely different. I’m glad that I had the opportunity to visit this country.<\/p>\n Birgu is still rich “in heart” just because of beautiful facades, whose architecture shows historical heritage, despite the damage that it suffered during the bombing during World War II. His other name Vittoriosa was awarded as a result of its winning position in the Great Siege of 1565.<\/p>\n After this wonderful walk around the streets of Birgu, my photographer and I were headed to another important city in Malta – Mdina.<\/p>\n Mdina<\/b><\/em><\/a>\u00a0is a fortified city in the northern part\u00a0of the island, which served as the island’s capital from antiquity to the medieval period. The city is still confined within its walls, and has a population of just under 300, but it is contiguous with the town of Rabat, which takes its name from the Arabic word for suburb, and has a population of over 10,000 people.<\/p>\n Its mixture of medieval and baroque architecture, the fortifications walls and its position make it one of the most beautiful cities on the Malta.<\/p>\n Today, Mdina is one of Malta’s major tourist attractions, hosting about a million tourists a year. There are no cars (other than a limited number of residents, emergency vehicles, wedding cars and horses) are allowed in Mdina, partly why it has earned the nickname “the Silent City”. The city displays an unusual mix of Norman and Baroque architecture, including several palaces, most of which serve as private homes.<\/p>\n Mdina is on the list of the most expensive cities in Europe at the price of a square of real estate, so if you want to have the “smallest palace” in this city you must be ready to pay at least 5 million euros, while for the magnificent palaces you have to pay more than 50 million euros. I promise you in the next post I will dedicate to this unusual town where you will be able to enjoy the architecture of this most expensive “village” in the world.<\/p>\n Bye, bye my dear Mdina, for now see you again next week! Now I just want to warn you to prepare on time for the most colourful village on the Malta. Welcome to Marsaxlokk!\u00a0Marsaxlokk<\/em><\/strong> is a small, traditional fishing village in the southeastern part of the island. It has a harbor and tourist attraction famous for its incredible landscapes, fishing and history. In March 2014, the village had around 4,000 inhabitants. The village is also known for the famous Marsaxlokk market, which is mainly a large fish market, which is held almost every Sunday along the whole coast.<\/p>\n This colourful and lovely village is still inhabited and known since antiquity. Marsaxlokk had an important role even with the ancient Phoenicians and Cartagines making business with local harbour, and also has the remains of the harbour from the Roman era. It is known for its traditional and colorful ships “Luzzus”. The village is also popular among locals and tourists for walking around the coast and the harbor, restaurants, as well as because of its large areas which are reserved for swimming.<\/p>\n The<\/strong> Blue Grotto<\/b><\/em><\/a>\u00a0represents\u00a0a number of sea caverns on the south east coast of Malta, a short distance off the fishermen’s harbour of Wied iz-Zurrieq.\u00a0The location of the caves, combined with the rays of sunlight, lead to the seawater mirroring and showing numerous shades of blue on the cave walls and ceilings.\u00a0Several caverns also mirror the brilliant\u00a0colours of the underwater flora and fauna, whilst other caverns show a deep dark shade of blue.<\/p>\n Underwater, different colors of red, green, orange and yellow give an impressive and most beautiful photo to its visitors.\u00a0The Blue Grotto is a popular destination for tourists with boat trips visiting the caves running almost all days of the year, depends on weather condition.\u00a0Scuba diving and snorkeling on the coastline walls, together with rock climbing, are the most popular activities practiced in this area.<\/p>\n My dear travellers, once again we have come to the end of our travel adventure. Time just flies so fast when you are having a good time!\u00a0At the end of this post, I would like to thank my friends from Malta Tourism Authority<\/a>\u00a0<\/i><\/b>for this incredible adventure and for their huge efforts to\u00a0make my stay unforgettable and I felt like at home.<\/p>\n How do you like this post about Malta? Have you ever visited this island? Did you enjoy in the story of the interesting Mediterranean pearl of Europe?\u00a0I would like to share with me your opinion!<\/p>\n In a couple of days we will continue our adventure in Malta, you will find out more about this island and amazing city Mdina! I can\u2019t wait to share all those beautiful photos with you.<\/p>\n If you have a question, comment, suggestion or message for me, you can write me down in the comments. Of course, as always you can contact me via mail or social media, which you can find on the\u00a0CONTACT<\/strong><\/em><\/a>\u00a0page.<\/p>\n Best,<\/em><\/p>\n Mr.M<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nThis post was sponsored by Malta Tourism Authority<\/i><\/a><\/strong>. I also thank my friends from\u00a0<\/strong>Sony<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0who made it possible to enjoy in these beautiful photos made with the Sony Alpha 7r Mark II<\/a> camera with Sony FE 24-70 mm<\/a>\u00a0lense from special G Master<\/a> series of\u00a0professional lenses…<\/strong><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"