Malta. Could you place this island on a map? Let me tell you, I couldn’t have told you anything about Malta before I visited. When my friend and I were brainstorming where to go and she brought up Malta, I said sure why not! What did I know about Malta, though? Ya, nothing except that the Azure Window had just collapsed there a few months prior.

Malta is a really unique island. It is such a melting pot in terms of its language, people and culture. So, here it is. I’m going to drop some knowledge on ya - the 5 things you didn’t know about Malta.

one.
LOCATION

Malta sits between Italy to the north and Libya to the south. It is located just below the Italian island, Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea. Its location definitely helps to explain its mixture of cultures.

two.
3 ISLANDS

I didn’t realize this before, but Malta is not just one island, there are actually 3 islands that make up this beautiful country. The main island is of course called Malta. There are two smaller islands called Gozo and Comino. The island of Malta is the most inhabited and developed. Gozo is a popular destination for people trying to go off the grid. Comino is only really inhabited by a few people.

three.
LANGUAGE

The national language of Malta is Maltese, while the official language is English. Maltese is a really interesting language. Because of Malta’s location, the language is a mixture of its surroundings. It is a combination of Italian, Sicilian and Arabic. It’s actually cool to see a lot of buildings with Arabic symbols used on their signs.

four.
365 CHURCHES

Malta is a Catholic country. The fun fact here is that there is literally a church for every day of the year. Even though this country isn’t that large, it contains that many churches. Crazy to think about!

five.
ROCKY BEACHES ARE COMMON

I had this thought that Malta would be my time to relax on sandy beaches since it was my last stop on my trip. I mean all I really knew about Malta was that it’s an island with a lot of sunshine. That directly translated to beach time in my head. I was definitely in for a shock when we set off to explore the beaches in the south. They are all rocky, no golden sand and people were laying on concrete to sunbathe. Even the Blue Lagoon on Comino was mostly rock and little sand.

I’ve heard the are some beaches in the north that are more traditional in the sandy beach sense, but still different than I imagined.

There you have it. Now you have a good basis of what and where the country of Malta is. Perfect timing for you to plan a trip here!

Yours Truly // Shannon

5 Things You Didn't Know About Malta