As I have already told you, I come from the beautiful island of Malta. St. Julian's is not marked on the map, but in fact it is quite a large town. It's found quite close to Sliema on the map.

The full name of Malta is the Republic of Malta . It's an independent country, but has been colonised by the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Angiovins, Aragonese, Normans, the Order of St .John, the French and English, in roughly that order, probably with a few others thrown in for good measure. The longest reign was that of the Arabs which lasted about 600 years. The shortest reign was that of the French which lasted two years. Some megalithic remains in Malta are amongst the oldest, if not the oldest, remains of human dwellings in the world. These are the Skolba Temples. The Maltese language is a Semitic one with Arab roots, influenced by Italian and English. Most people in Malta speak two or more languages, mainly Maltese and English. Italian is very widespread due to the proximity of Italy, allowing us to watch loads of Italian TV. Most students also learn either French or German. Malta is the fifth most densely populated country in the world (I think). There are around 370,000 people squashed into 316 square kilometres. There are also nearly a million tourist arrivals per year, making the country a very sweaty place to be in, especially in summer, when the majority of the tourists come to enjoy the blinking hot Mediterranean sun that all the Maltese hate and all the tourists love. The temperature in Malta in summer sometimes goes up to 40 degrees Celsius (I have no idea what that is in Fahrenheit) and over. However, to compensate for this, Malta is a very breezy country, and this makes the island habitable. The main religion of Malta is Roman Catholicism, 98% of the population are of this faith. The currency of Malta is the Maltese lira. This is very roughly equivalent to 1.8 English pounds or 2.5 US$. Due to its many rulers, Malta is a very picturesque island, with many fortifications left behind mainly by the Knights, although a substantial part of them were at least started by the Arabs. The way most tourists get around Malta is by bus. This is an experience never to forget. The buses are large, yellow, smelly, dirty hulks. It is advisable that you give the correct change to the driver if you don't want to find yourself at the losing end of a slanging battle, the greater part of which is in a language that only an elite few have the capacity to use. The Maltese Islands are, as the name implies, an archipelago. They consist of the islands of Malta, Gozo, Comino, Filfla and the islands of St. Paul. There are also countless other bits of rock sticking out of the sea, some of which have also had the privilege of being named. I hope that with this bit of information about the wonderful islands I call home, I have persuaded you that they are worth a quick hop over to.

Want more info about Malta? Then go here or send me mail at radioshk@mbox.vol.net.mt.