GENERALISATIONS can be inaccurate and harmful. I recently announced to various friends that this year’s Haji Family Holiday would be in Malta and I was confronted with various reactions, from bewilderment to a feeling of ‘letting the side down’.
In relation to the latter, my immediate dismissal focussed on how expensive hotels have become for families in Cyprus. How can anyone afford a bed and breakfast for four with the ridiculous price tag of €280 per day?
As for the bewildered folk, some of their responses dwelled on the mundane, such as there was nowhere to go shopping in Malta and a startling bolt from the blue – that Malta was in fact how Cyprus was 30 years ago. Visions of one state TV channel came to mind but despite all the barrage of scepticism, I kept an open mind and flew Emirates to Valetta.
On arrival, Malta was completely different from the sceptics’ impressions. Landscape-wise, the island has very little in common with Cyprus – with the exception of various fortresses built by the Crusaders. Here, they are known as the Knights of Malta, who also spent some time in Cyprus. We do share a British colonial past and the Phoenicians and Greeks were also here as well. The Ottomans also tried to conquer Malta on many occasions but never succeeded – no surprise, really as the whole island was made up of huge fortresses. It’s also evident that many less sceptical folk from Cyprus are making the same bold move as us by holidaying here. Cypriots are by no means the main tourists here but our numbers are rising.
Temperature-wise it was a great relief when the taxi driver announced 39C as the hottest day of the year. Is that all, I responded. So it was significantly cooler. Going back to the shopping issue, perhaps some people expect Kolonaki or Oxford Street but realistically, there were shops everywhere.
Our hotel in St Julian’s Bay was located next to a shopping centre, which had very brand name imaginable. It was also just a stone’s throw away from the beach. The sea was clean but the beach relatively small. Much of the coastline is not famed for its sandy beaches, with the exception of the astounding Blue Lagoon, which has to be seen to be believed.
Music always fascinates me on my travels throughout the globe and Malta is no exception. I spent one morning hanging out in Valetta with Manwel T, a digital dub remixer/producer. Manwel had a radio show on Radio Malta for 17 years and after it was abruptly taken off air he focused more on production and specifically remixing via the net.
“For me,” he says rather humbly, “the internet has let me work with all kinds of people, like Zion Train, Dubmattix and Alpha & Omega. Now we work with a PC and all our ideas, to make a recipe, a remix.”
Manwel’s work travels far and wide in the world via his net label DubKey, which to date has released three online releases.
All the songs are distributed free as digital downloads so pass by dubkey.com and share the treasures. Manwel is adamant that dub in its more traditional sound system analogue mixing desk fame will never die but the opportunity and access new technology offers to everyone is limitless. He has even done a remix for hip-hop legends Public Enemy.
Getting back to those comparative touristy issues, service and the food here at the Intercontinental Hotel has been top notch. The bus service… hmmm, now that did remind me of Cyprus over thirty years ago. In fact it took me back even further to when my dad drove his bus across Mesaoria, from Lefkoniko to Famagusta in the late 1950s.
The orange buses are surprisingly cheap, about 56 cents, but some of them so feel very dated and quite dangerous. It was, however, an adventure stepping on one and being relatively long-legged, I chose the back seat. We will probably return to Malta at some point, as it was the kind of place where the local people make you want to visit again and again. Next year, though, the family holiday may be the Caribbean.
