Scenes From Malta

Well, we've had fun doing nothing, next to nothing, a little bit more than nothing, and every now and then... stretching our legs and doing just a bit of something.

Some have asked what there is to do in Malta. Good question. After a week here, I can tell you - we're not sure.

Malta's been around for thousands of years. Being that it's directly in the middle of the Med, has a large natural harbor, and is a large chunk of rock in the middle of the sea, it was destined to be stumbled upon by people in boats, as far back as the early Phoenicians (check your history books). There are even some old Roman ruins here.

Not to sound too blase, but... I guess part of the letdown (that is, if you're expecting exciting ruins) is that ruined stone looks like ruined stone. Whether destroyed Roman house, destroyed Moor house, or destroyed Medieval house... it looks like chunks of stone scattered around.

What about the Knights of Malta? As one might expect from their name, they've played a large role in the history of Malta. From what I can gather from the tours, though, Malta's history is rather thin, so a large part of thin is still thin. They ruled Malta, built it up, fortified it, and can still be found around... but aside from battles with Turks, no major news here.


On some tours, they'll point out all the fortifications. On other tours, they discuss all the times Malta's been conquered. Conclusion - Malta has built a lot of unsuccessful, yet impressive fortifications.

All that said, Malta is an impressive, sleepy town. Yes, yes, Malta is really many towns, but it really seems like one big town. Everything is tucked into corners and any available spot that can be found. The people are friendly. Crime seems minor. The newspaper carries such major stories as the new car fleet at Avis and McDonald's has a new menu.

We have had quite a bit of fun just wandering and meandering. We picked up a stack of brochures and tried a few of the tours - educational, but not much to tour. Here are some pictures of us having some fun...

Some interesting experiences? Well, on one day, while wandering around the capital of Valleta, we learned that there was going to be a military tattoo. A tattoo is basically like a military music concert / marching demonstration. Ooooooh. Sadly, the tickets were sold out. However, we did just happen to be in the right place for a parade! Yippee!

Thomas has never seen a parade, and what little boy would not love to see a parade? What with the marching and the horns tooting and the drums... ooooh, people allowed to bang on things. It doesn't get any better than that. Thomas was absolutely entranced as the various groups came marching by on the way to the main city square for the tattoo. Each one represented some small group that was taking part. It was exciting... not just to watch them, but to watch Thomas positively lose his little boy mind while they went by.

Of a special devious pleasure for me, there was a protest set-up in a square just down the street from the square where the tattoo was. In the picture I've included, it is easy to see the large turnout for the protest. Ok, there were maybe 5 or 6, if you don't count the people actually setting up their protest area. All the goodies were there. There were signs for "Peace Not War", "All Different, All Equal" (not a math major), protests against McDonald's, Nike, Adidas, the usual exhortations for workers to unite... I was just soooo tempted to go and introduce myself and what I do for a living, but... that wouldn't have been prudent. Never know what the moonbats will do.

I'm all for protesting. It does have a very valid place in democratic dialogue. But, I'm just wondering what they were expecting to happen? Is someone going to call the President and say, "Sir... there are some protesters in Malta asking for Peace, not War," and the President says, "Well, ok then, call the generals!"

The McDonald's protest was set up across the street from a Burger King. No indication how Burger King felt about the protest. I wanted to go and buy Big Macs for everyone though.


They had a large stage set up so they could have their protest concert. It dawned on me that their noise was going to overplay the tattoo down the road. Perhaps another strategic mistake... I can envisage some happy audience members enjoying the tattoo show, and then upon hearing the protest music drift over and drown it out, kick themselves for finally realizing the evil doings of their lifestyle, shed their Nikes, and rush to join the protest. Maybe not.

It must be hard to be a protester. Workers Unite has been around for awhile, yet communism has failed, unions are declining. Nike and Adidas apparently (according to the moonbats) still use slave labor, and many people still wear such shoes. Birkenstocks, while comfy, are not yet used in the NBA. Maybe just one more protest.

As for "Peace Not War" (with the always ubiquitous Mercedes symbol)... if you never prepare for war, and are willing to commit war, you will not have peace. There will always be times where policy needs to be carried out via armed force - even when the policy is preventing others from exercising that force against you. While universal peace is certainly an ideal and a lofty one, it is an illusion. No? At how many peace protests these days do you see protesters throwing rocks and fists? These are the most basic weapons and if "peace" protesters are using them, can peace be far behind? What would a peace protest be like if the protesters had bigger weapons?