About Malta
In the middle of a remarkably clear and unpolluted expanse of Blue Mediterranean Sea, some 90 km south of Sicily and 280 km north of Libya, the Maltese archipelago consists of three inhabited islands- Malta, Gozo and Comino - and a number of minuscule uninhabited rocks.
Malta is the largest of these (around 267 square km) Gozo - 67 square km and the smallest one Comino- about 13 square km.
As a stepping -stone in the long history of man on earth, the Maltese islands went through a golden Neolithic period, the remains of which are the mysterious megalithic temples that are older than the Pyramids in Egypt.
Later on, the Phoenicians, the Greeks , the Carthaginians and the Great Roman Empire all left traces on the islands before yielding them to the Arabs and then to the Normans. But it were the Knights of St. John, who in restoring the links with Christianity , a faith first brought to the Islands by St.Paul in AD 60, took Malta through a new golden age by making it a key player in the cultural arena of the 17th and 18 th century Europe.
In 1798 Napoleon was in Malta on his way to Egypt and the Order capitulated. French rule lasted only two years. Britain became the last of a vast chain of rulers. Under the British, Malta fought two world wars, was savagely destroyed in the Second but acquired no physical or monetary assistance afterwards except for a symbolic George Cross. Malta became independent state in 1964 but effectively the last British soldiers left the Island on 31st March 1979. Malta marks this day - Freedom Day - as its real and true liberation day. In 1974 Malta became a Republic with the first Maltese Head of State.
Malta became a member of EU on 1st May 2004 and adopted the Euro on 1st January 2008. It has five seats in the European Parliament and the right to appoint one Commissioner and one judge in the European Court of Justice and one member in the European Court of Auditors.
The Islands enjoy a very special relationship with Libya. Apart from sharing almost the same language, the two countries are signatories to various bilateral agreements and for a relatively long time excluded each other from visa requirements. Libya has supported Malta in its fight for freedom through economic and monetary assistance whilst Malta proved itself to be Libya's only gateway to Europe during the 1990's US and UN sanctions.
The Maltese language is part of the Semitic family, together with Arabic and Aramaic. However, the alphabet is Latin. Maltese learn Arabic very fast since Maltese is probably the Lebanese version of Arabic, taking it into its Phoenician origins. Nowadays, with the use of technical language, with the influx of foreign residents and tourists as also by way of marriages to other nationalities, the language, unfortunately, is becoming less Maltese and more of a pot pouri of English, Italian and Maltese all mixed together.
Malta has a sound infrastructural setup. Telecommunications , postal and courier services, banking and all other services are very efficient and of high standard. The national airline , Air Malta , operates to all major European and North African cities whilst other airlines serve the same and other routes mostly within Europe and the Mediterranean region
Malta has over the last fifteen years become one of the most attractive financial centres. This is mainly due to the total national political consensus which exist as regards the financial industry as also due to the efficient banking and telecommunications infrastructure as also due to the professional maturity and efficacy of the local financial, accounting, auditing and legal personnel.
Everybody speaks English and most, probably better than the English. This makes integration and communication easy. All official documentation is in English , and laws are in English and Maltese. There are also private English-speaking schools, which offer a high level of education. The University is open to children of Permanent Residents as also to fee-paying students from other countries and nationalities. Health care and hospitalization are considered to be in the European Premier League. There are also a number of private hospitals offering a high quality medical service.
While Malta has a high standard of living, comparable to other European countries of the Mediterranean region, the cost of living is generally lower than in Europe. It is therefore possible to live a comfortable life with lesser expenses. Crime is very low and people are very hospitable. Exceptions, however, do occur. Enjoy!!!