Malta

Aerial view of the Ggantija Temples (Giants Tower), c. 3600-2500 BC, Gozo, Malta, pictured on June 7, 2008, in the morning. The Republic of Malta consists of seven islands in the Mediterranean Sea of which Malta, Gozo and Comino have been inhabited since c.5, 200 BC. It has been ruled by Phoenicians (Malat is Punic for safe haven), Greeks, Romans, Fatimids, Sicilians, Knights of St John, French and the British, from whom it became independent in 1964. Nine of Malta's important historical monuments are UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including these Neolithic temples which are probably the site of a fertility cult, and are the earliest of a series of megalithic temples. They are amongst the world's oldest manmade religious structures, although according to legend they were built by a giantess. Picture by Manuel Cohen

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Archipelago Fertility Ga§awdex Ggantija Giantess Gozitan Gozo Layout Malte Maltesan Maltese Megalithic Neolithic Repubblika Temples Xaghra

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