By Vrinda Gupta, Managing Partner at Vazir Group, a leading home-grown UAE boutique advisory firm
Dubai, UAE – June, 2019: While the UAE is a vibrant destination for residents and travellers alike, sometimes it’s good to get away for a little adventure. For those looking for an escape to Mediterranean island life combined with stunning scenery, Malta offers a laid-back lifestyle, culture and a picturesque coastline to explore. A growing number of people are choosing Malta as a travel spot and second home destination. In fact, 2.6million visitors chose to travel to Malta last year, up 15% on the previous year.
Here are the top 10 facts to know about Malta:
1) An Amazing Coastline– Malta offers one of the most stunning coastlines in the world, with breath-taking views and hundreds of picture postcard tourist spots
2) High Life Expectancy – Due to the Mediterranean diet and climate, the relaxed way of life and access to free healthcare, Malta has one of the highest life expectancies in the world, with the average Maltese resident living to a ripe old age of 81
3) Small, But Historic– Malta is the 10th smallest country in the world, but has a rich culture. Malta was first inhabited around 8,000 years ago and is home to some of the world’s oldest buildings, the Megalithic Temples, which are older than the Egyptian Pyramids. These structures are considered to be prehistoric masterpieces, with UNESCO appointing seven of the temples as World Heritage Sites
4) Not Just One Island– The country of Malta is an archipelago located around 80km from Italy. It is made up of three main inhabited islands; Malta, Gozo and Comino. There are also many more smaller, uninhabited islands that are accessible by boat as picturesque sight-seeing destinations
5) Arab History– Arabs conquered Malta in the 9thCentury and colonised the islands until the late 11thCentury. They brought with them new irrigation techniques, including the noria waterwheel that transformed agriculture in the country. Famous for its citrus fruits such as oranges and lemons, these were not actually native to the island but rather they were introduced by the Arab settlers
6) Maltese Language– Arabic culture had a profound effect on Malta, and the Maltese Language is derived from Siculo-Arabic (an ancient version of Arabic). Historic locations in Malta also adopted their names from Arabic
7) World Class Diving– Malta is home to some of the world’s greatest dive sites, with hundreds of reefs, caves and ancient wrecks dotted around the crystal clear waters
8) Homer…Not That One– The father of literature, Homer, wrote about an island called Ogygia within his epic tale The Odyssey. The nymph Calypso detains the story’s hero Odysseus on the island for seven years, until Hermes rescues him. Some scholars say that Homer drew his inspiration for the island from Gozo, one of the three main Maltese islands
9) Malta is part of the EU– Malta has the benefit of being part of the EU and its currency is the Euro. According to immigration consultants, Vazir Group, Maltese citizens receive visa-free or visa-on-arrival travel to 182 destinations around the world
10) A Place of Culture– In 2018, Malta’s capital Valletta was named the European Capital of Culture. Today, visitors can continue to enjoy many of the artistic and heritage projects as part of that legacy
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