Valletta Local Customs

MERHBA 'Merhba' means 'Welcome' This picture was taken from the overlook at the Upper Barrakka Gardens. You will also see 'Merhba' written on the signs upon entering the different towns in Malta. Maltese or Malti is a very unique language. About 70% of this language is related to Arabic,but unlike Arabic,it is written in Latin characters. The other 30% of this language reflects the various nationalities that at different times ruled the island,such as Italian,French,English,Spanish etc. The Maltese language consists of 29 letters(5 vowels and 24 consonants) An interesting fact is that Malti did not become a written language until the early 20th century.
If you are an English speaker, you will absolutely have no difficulty at all communicating in Malta because English along with Malti are the countries two official languages. Everyone speaks English very fluently here. Italian is also widely spoken due to Malta's close proximity to Sicily and also that Malta recieves Italian television programming. Also, Italian was the official language of the Knights of St. John.

There is a series of events that take place during an evening/night in Valletta, either at the end of September or the beginning of October.

Reconstruction of the eleven-gun battery at the former Saluting Battery, just below of the Upper Barracca Gardens in Valletta.

It takes place every day at noon.

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Valletta old city have the unique Maltese style of designing and build balconies. Here are few samples photos I took of nice balconies.

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While walking around in the narrow streets of the old city I notice those nice decorations for the festa in Valletta.

In some places in Valletta, the narrow streets are actually stairways ... very interesting and always highly photogenic.