Valletta's Great Celebration

"Malta!  Never was there a more unlikely place upon which the fate of empires would hang. Through its history, Malta suffered pestilence and plague and pillaging monarchs, droughts and corsairs and broiling summers. Though scorned for the poverty of its culture, arable land and people, Malta was yet coveted for its perfect harbors and strategic location, which commanded the sea lanes between Africa and Sicily. It was this location, coupled with the rise of Ottoman power in the eastern sea, that granted the island an importance out of all proportion to its size. Malta!  A tiny and course island, a mere six leagues long by three wide, no bigger in that great sea than a grain of sand upon a beach, yet O - what a grain!  What fortunes turned upon it!"...From Volume VII, The Great Campaigns: Malta

The Great Seige of Malta. Never has there been a more important event in western history that so few people know about. It involved people on both sides who had great courage, strength and belief in their God. It was an event that pitted 4,000 Knights of St. John (otherwise known as the Knights of Malta), along with about 3,000 local Maltese soldiers, against the vast army of the Ottoman Empire, consisting of 40,000 soldiers, a giant fleet of hundreds ships, and thousands of cannons and guns, which would rain down hundreds of thousands of cannon balls during the eight month Seige on the Knighs' forts. 

Decendants of the Knights of Malta going to mass...

Statue dedicated to the Great Seige. 

Grand Master's Palace, built in the 17th Century...

Suleyman the Magnificent, the great sultan of the Ottoman Empire, wanted Malta as his stepping stone to Europe. If he controlled Malta, then he would control the Mediterranean and could easily continue on to Sicily, Italy and who knows how far. 

But through it all, the Knights fought against the overwhelming odds, led by their brilliant Grand Master La Valette, and because of some brilliant strategic manouvers, pure bravery and a few tricks they threw at the Turks, they survived the Seige and on September 8, 1565, the Turks left and gave up their fight to conquer Malta, never to return. 

Grand Master La Vallete's armor...

Ever since, on September 8th, especially in the area around the Grand Harbour, the capitol city of Valletta (named after the Grand Master) and The Three Cities, the Maltese people celebrate this great victory. This year was the 450th anniversary. 

There is a regatta in the Grand Harbour, where all the local rowing clubs have a big race. 

In the town of Senglea, across the Grand Harbour from Valletta, they celebrate it in a beautiful way, as they have a church and Virgin Mary dedicated to the victory. She is Our Lady of Victory. 

So on the evening of September 8th, we went over to Senglea to watch the procession. Again, we met some very nice locals, especially Charlie, who regaled us with stories about his experience in the war. 

Our Lady of Victory

Charlie...

The Great a siege of Malta was a huge event in history. If Suleyman would have succeeded, we may all be speaking Turkish right now. So it is not too suprising when you speak to a Maltese about the history of The Siege and comment on how the Knights fought off such overwhelming odds, they point to "Our Lady" as guiding the Knights of St John in the victory and have such love and devotion to her.