I was always curious about ``The Maltese Falcon,'' and even before the ``Troy'' production came to town was determined to visit this Mediterranean island nation south of Sicily and east of Tunisia.
Instead of falcons, or Brad Pitt for that matter, I found the world's oldest temple ruins, a city Napoleon called the most heavily fortified in Europe, rainbow-colored fishing boats and the cave where legend says the nymph Calypso lulled Odysseus into tarrying for seven years in ``The Odyssey.''
The Maltese islands' ornate baroque palaces and churches resemble those in Italy, particularly in Valletta, the capital, on the biggest island, also named Malta.
A walled city of ocher-colored, richly adorned stone buildings from the late 1500s and 1600s and steep streets, Valletta at sunset is tinged literally with a rosy glow.
The country's language, an Arabic dialect, means the devoutly Catholic Maltese call God ``Alla.'' But the lipstick-red telephone booths, fish-and-chips shops and vintage orange buses are purely British, the legacy of a 150-year rule until the colony gained independence in 1964.
Arabs from North Africa indeed raised falcons (as well as leopards) on Malta during their two centuries of domination, which lasted until 1070. In fact, the Catholic order of crusading knights who ruled Malta for almost three centuries, until 1798, offered a live falcon as an annual tribute to Hapsburg Emperor Charles V, after he donated the islands to them in 1530.
In Malta's complicated history, the Knights of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem were based on the Greek island of Rhodes for more than two centuries, until expelled by the Turks. After an epic battle in which they defeated the Turks, who invaded Malta in 1565, the knights built Valletta as their impregnable fortress, naming the city after the Frenchman who led them in battle, Jean de La Vallette.
Today, the only falcons are stone statues that adorn building facades. But the stamp of the knights is everywhere in Valletta.
The sumptuous interior of St. John's Co-Cathedral features a floor with 375 marble mosaic slabs honoring deceased knights, richly carved and decorated stone chapels for knights of different countries and ornate ceiling frescoes. Built in the late 1500s, the church also boasts a Caravaggio masterpiece, ``The Beheading of St. John.''
The Grand Master's Palace contains an armory of weapons and armor used by the knights, plus striking tapestries of the New World.
Massive Fort Ricasoli, where the main set for the movie ``Troy'' was built, dates to 1670 and guards the south entrance of Valletta's Grand Harbour.
The city of Mdina, the country's ancient capital, is entered through a monumental ornamented stone gate. A nighttime stroll down its quiet, winding, narrow streets past stone palaces, lighted by lanterns, is a delight. One 17th century palace, the Xara Palace, was restored and today is a deluxe hotel and part of the exclusive Relais & Chateaux group, with antiques-filled suites adorned with original paintings by Maltese artists.
The ruins of a Roman villa lie just outside Mdina, which later was fortified by the Arabs. Due to its strategic location in the Mediterranean, Malta was colonized by Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, Normans, the knights of St. John, the French and finally the British.
Independent Malta became a member of the European Union on May 1.
A contrast to the aristocratic charms of Valletta and Mdina is the fishing village of Marsaxlokk, also on the big island of Malta. Here traditional boats painted neon yellow, blue, red and green - each with a painted eye to ward off evil spirits - bob in the harbor, facing pastel houses in pink, yellow and peach. On Sundays, a market selling tablecloths, fish, vegetables and clothing runs the length of the harbor.
Stone Age settlers from Sicily built rock tombs about 3,800 B.C. - and temples about two centuries later - on the smaller island of Gozo, which is greener and more rural than Malta. The Ggantija Temples are 1,000 years older than Egypt's earliest pyramids at Giza, and much older than Stonehenge. Today the ruins are located in an open green field surrounded by palm trees.
Ruined temples also can be found on the island of Malta. The three Tarxien Temples, for instance, date from the third and fourth millennia B.C., and are known for the details of their stone carvings.
A special site is the Hypogeum, a burial chamber and temple several stories underground, whose accidental discovery in 1902 provoked a sensation in the world of archaeology. Believed to be 5,000-6,000 years old, it was re-opened in late 2000, after being closed for nearly a decade for restoration.
But the Maltese islands aren't just for archaeology or medieval history buffs. The ultramarine Mediterranean Sea is never far away. Calypso's Cave offers a spectacular view overlooking rugged cliffs and the red sands of Ramla Bay, the biggest sandy beach on Gozo.
Another magnificent view on Gozo is the Azure Window, a dramatic rock formation with a window-shaped natural arch, with the alluring Mediterranean beyond.
