Malta Blog

This year, Easter falls over the first weekend in April, and with Malta being one of the most devoutly Catholic countries worldwide, Easter and Holy Week is of particular significance. Prior to Lent, Malta celebrates Carnival in February with extravagant processions in the streets, and raucous celebrations lasting several days, particularly in Nadur, Gozo. On Ash Wednesday, the partying grinds to a halt with many observing Lenten traditions.

Holy Week commences on the Friday immediately before Good Friday, with the day dedicated to id-Duluri – Our Lady of Sorrows.

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For nationals from certain countries, a visa is required to enter Malta. Requirements for visas and the length of issue of a visa may vary from country to country. A visa is an authorization which is issued by a diplomatic mission and affixed to a passport belonging to a third-country national.

Visas for Malta must be obtained prior to entry, and can be issued at a Maltese diplomatic mission abroad, at the representative mission of another EU member state, or, if no overseas representation is based in the home-country of the person wishing to travel, by contacting the Immigration Police Headquarters in Floriana prior to purchasing travel tickets.

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In 1565, during the rule of the Knights of Malta, Turkish Corsairs led by Turgut (or Dragut) Reis invaded Malta. At the time there was an ongoing battle for supremacy in the Mediterranean and the invasion of Malta was a culmination of the bloody fight between Christians and the Ottoman Empire. In 1522, The Knights were driven out of their base in Rhodes by the Turks, and relocated the Order to Malta. Once again, the Turkish forces decided to take on The Knights and therefore gain control of Malta which was strategically placed in the centre of the busy shipping lanes of the Mediterranean.

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On May 29th, an audience of millions will be glued to their TV screens for the Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. Live from the Telenor Arena, Oslo this 54-year old annual song-fest is one of the most-watched live television shows globally, attracting an audience of up to 600 million. The 2009 final broke all tele-voting records, with more than 10 million people calling or texting to cast their vote for the winner. Last year’s winner was Alexander Ryback representing Norway singing “Fairytale”, and the final was held at the Olimpiysky Arena, Moscow on May 16th 2009. The hosts for the evening were Alsou & Ivan Urgant.

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Cheekily and controversially titled, Porn is a musical (with some great comedic elements) by Maltese writer Malcolm Galea and musicians Kris Spieri and Boris Cezek, who are collectively known as Indiskarf.

Malta Porn was Indiskarf’s first production, and it debuted in March 2009 at the Centre of the Mediterranean Institute Theatre Programme (MITP) in Valletta.

The story is centred on a young man called Stefan Bugeja who has grown up on the outwardly conservative island of Malta.

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