Malta: the perfect destination for spirituality and relaxation
At Travel406 we love to travel for a variety of reasons, so we offer a range of spiritual holidays and relaxing non-spiritual breaks. This means that all of our clients have the opportunity to experience exactly the sort of holiday that they will enjoy.
Sometimes, however, it is possible to combine the two and one such destination is Malta, the wonderful Southern European island country that has so much to offer visitors!
St. Paul’s Cathedral, Valletta. Malta.
Malta and the birth of Christianity
Much like Turkey (the destination in our last blog) the Christian history of Malta dates back to the very origins of the religion, 2000 years ago and the most famous visitor to the island was also St Paul.
In AD 60, Paul was being transported to Rome to face trial as a political agitator when he was shipwrecked in a major storm.
Miraculously the 270 passengers on his ship all survived. They swam ashore to a small piece of land which is now called St Paul’s Island and has a statue to commemorate the event.
This islet was a part Malta which is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles XXVIII:
“And later we learned that the island was called Malta
And the people who lived there showed us great kindness
And they made a fire and called us all to warm ourselves”
St Paul’s Island off the north east coast of Malta.
The story continues that the warmth of the fire attracted a snake which bit St Paul, and at first the islanders thought this was a sign that he wasn’t to be trusted. However, when he experienced no ill effects, they changed their view and believed that he must be a good and blessed person. This story helped to encourage the spread of Christianity on the Island.
During the winter months Paul could not leave Malta so he took refuge in a cave which is now known as St Paul’s Grotto and is located in Rabat.
St. Pauls Grotto in Rabat, Malta
During this time he was invited to the home of Publius who was the chief Roman official in Malta (Paul was a Roman citizen as we mentioned in our last blog)
During the visit, Paul cured Publius’ father of a serious illness which led him to convert Christianity. Publius became the first Bishop of Malta and the Cathedral of Mdina was built at the location on his home.
The interior of the Cathedral of Saint Paul, Mdina, Malta
Archaeologists have established that the roman colony of Malta was one of the first to convert to Christianity, giving added credence to this story.
Retail therapy!
As well as the amazing spiritual legacy of Malta, it is the perfect place to relax, unwind and also to shop! We really can’t recommend it enough!
Valletta has a great selection of shops
Our tour is to the capital of the island, Valletta where there is a great selection of shops, bars restaurants and places to visit.
Republic Street and Merchant Street are the most notable shopping destinations in Valletta but the city also offers a wide choice of markets and malls.
Malta is famed for a number of crafts including baskets, knitwear and lace.
Typical long stone staircase in Valletta
Looking forward to travelling again soon…
We hope to be able to restart our programme of tours to all destinations including Malta in the New Year.
In the meantime – keep an eye on our tour page for updates.
Or contact us if you have any questions.
