Portal:Malta

The Knights Hospitaller (also known as the Sovereign Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta, Knights of Malta, Knights of Rhodes, and Chevaliers of Malta) is an organization that began as an Amalfitan hospital founded in Jerusalem in 1080 to provide care for poor and sick pilgrims to the Holy Land. After the conquest of Jerusalem in 1099 during the First Crusade it became a Catholic military order under its own charter, and was charged with the care and defense of pilgrims to the Holy Land. Following the loss of Christian territory in the Holy Land, the Order operated from Rhodes, over which it was sovereign, and later from Malta where it administered a vassal state under the Spanish viceroy of Sicily. Although this state came to an end with the ejection of the Order from Malta by Napoleon, the Order as such survived.

The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta (abbreviated SMOM) is considered to be the main successor to this tradition. The Order of the Dames of Malta is the female auxiliary to the Knights. (more...)

Żejtun (also called Iż-Żejtun) is a medium sized town in the south of Malta, which has 11,425 inhabitants. Żejtun possesses the title of Città Beland, which was conferred by Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim, the Grandmaster of Knights of Malta in 1797. Żejtun takes its name from Arabic az-zaytun [الزيتون] “the olive”, which was one of the main productive industries in Malta. In Medieval times the whole district around Żejtun, that is, in the southern end of Malta, was known as le Terre di Santa Caterina, ('the lands of Saint Catherine' in Italian, which was the official language in the period). Various new villages were formed from parts of the Parish of Żejtun, such as Ghaxaq and Marsaxlokk, each now being considered as a separate parish.(more...)

A luzzu (pronounced loot-su in Maltese) is a traditional type of fishing boat from the Maltese islands. Traditionally, they are brightly painted in shades of yellow, red, green and blue, and the bow is normally pointed with a pair of eyes. These eyes may be the modern survival of an ancient Phoenician custom (also practiced by the ancient Greeks); they are sometimes (and probably inaccurately) referred to as the Eye of Horus or of Osiris.

• ...that the Maltese Cross refers to an eight pointed cross left by the Knights of Malta?

• Ġgantija
• Ħaġar Qim
• Hypogeum of Ħal-Saflieni
• Mnajdra
• Megalithic Temples of Malta
• Valletta