10 THINGS YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

ABOUT MALTA

1. Malta was known as 'Melita' by theancient Greeks and Romans. This means 'the island of honey'.

2.The Pharaoh Hound is the National Dog of Malta. In Maltese, the breed is knownas Kelb tal-Fenek

3. The University of Malta is the oldestuniversity in the Commonwealth outside of Great Britain.

4. Malta puts on 75 villages feasts tohonour local patron saints between June and September. The feast, or festain Maltese, is a fabulous event with fireworks, bands and a religiousprocession.

5.The Knights of St. John of Jerusalem were given control of Malta in1530 by Charles V of Spain.

6. Grand Master, Jean Parisot de laValette, who gave Malta’s capital its name (Valletta) actually laid the firststone to the city in 1566.

7. The earliest evidence of humansettlement in Malta dates back over 7,400 years and the Megalithic temples arethe oldest free-standing stone structures in the world.

8. The highest point on theisland of Malta is at Ta’ Dmejrek, some 253 metres above sea level.

9. The dome of the Mosta Dome, famouslysurviving a fallen bomb during WWII, is the third largest in Europe.

10. Maltese, or Malti, is an officially recognised EU language. Malta has been a Member State since 2004.