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THE NATIONAL OROGRAPHIC MAGAZINK 



Photograph by S. L. Cassar 

 MANY OF Till-: THOROUGHFARES OF VALLETTA, MALTA'S 

 PRINCIPAL CITY, CONSIST OF FLIGHTS OF STAIRS. 

 THIS IS Till'. STRADA SANTA LUCIA 



Perched high upon a peninsula a mile and a half long and a half 

 mile wide. Valletta looks down on the Grand Harbor on the east 

 and mi the Marsamuscetto llarlmr to the west. 



the visits of the Phoenician traders, about 

 B. C. 1500. On the Gigantia at Gozo is 

 an inscription in Phoenician lettering, the 

 usual script in the Mediterranean until 

 the advent of Greek or Latin characters. 

 The ships oi Tarshish found Malta a 

 valuable port of call, and in this fact lay 

 Malta's fate. In common with all islands, 

 it-- whole prosperity has depended on the 

 good-will of the ruling sea power, from 

 the days of Tyre to the very present 

 hour. Greeks, Carthaginians. Romans. 

 Vandals, Arabs, Normans, Spaniards. 



Turks — all in succes- 

 sion held power in 

 Malta by reason of 

 their fleets. 



It is doubtful if the 

 Punic domination af- 

 fected the character- 

 istics of the Maltese 

 race, as this was 

 probably only a rul- 

 ing and trading caste, 

 few in number. It is 

 likely that during this 

 time or in early Ro- 

 man days the custom 

 of burial in hillside 

 caves was adopted. 

 Thousands of these 

 tomb caves exist. In 

 the m is generally 

 found an urn full of 

 broken human bones, 

 with a flat plate placed 

 over the mouth and a 

 clay lamp on the plate. 

 Bottles of food and 

 water were also 

 placed in the tomb. 

 Beautiful glass ves- 

 sels of iridescent blue, 

 purple, and green are 

 also frequently found 

 in these graves. 



The capital of Malta 

 was situated far from 

 the coast — about six 

 miles — on the highest 

 land, the present No- 

 tabile. Here, outside 

 the city walls, were 

 excavated the cata- 

 combs which extend 

 to a considerable dis- 

 tance. The fact that the sign of the 

 seven-branch candlestick is carved over 

 some of the entrances would suggest a 

 Jewish ownership, but this is open to 

 doubt, as the jews have rarely thrived 

 in Malta. 



WHERE ST. PAUL WAS SHIPWRECKED 



At Xotabile was the seat of the Roman 

 governor. His residence has been re- 

 cently excavated and many interesting 

 relics found. In A. D. 60 St. Paul was 

 shipwrecked in the bay now known by 



