Malta, island at the edge

A glimpse at the great fortress cities of Valletta and Mdina

A view of Valletta’s port, a hub for cruise ships. (© Harrison Blackman, 2022)

“Don’t go to Malta,” a friend told me. “Maybe a weekend,” he revised. “But not, dear God, for a month.”

I was living in Cyprus, eager to visit another nearby corner of the world. Though I was intrigued by the bafflingly low prices of budget airline RyanAir, I was confused about my intent—to fly from one Mediterranean island to another just felt a little capricious.

But I had a friend who had friends in Malta, and I felt like that was reason enough to go. For a weekend, at least.