Show dagi r 5 M ALTA 1 1 I 1 I 1 k 1311 I 1 1 I 1 I 1 ar VA 11 olt V 03 A i ila A ON q 2 W ari S v r 14 A street in valetta prepared Pr pr bythe by tho nation National ot gi society Wash Inkton D C Q service 1 western gateway to the mediterranean and malta the mid mediterranean sentinel both british owned have been brought into the news spotlight because of the italo ethiopian political situation the fortified rock of gibraltar long the symbol of strength rears its lofty summit above the north bank of the 14 mile alde strait of gibraltar it Is known to every school child yet there Is at its base a city named for the rock that Is perhaps known to but few f ew gibraltar Gir altar Is a british city if the traveler coD confines fines his observations to british soldiers who are everywhere british bobbles bobbies who appear as it if they had just emerged from a london police station british flags that top the masts of municipal and government buildings and british warships and commercial vessels that outnumber all others anchored in the harbor but a glance at the street crowds and the cites buildings reveals a strange mixture most alost gibraltar buildings are spanish to in design its narrow darrow streets are crowded with bustling throngs from many parts of 0 the world Scotch men in kilts brush past turbaned moors from the other side of the strait spaniards from madrid malaga and cadiz mingle with stu sturdy ady greeks ruddy skinned hindus and egyptians jostle levantine jews in gabardines ga berdines and dusky senegal ne de groeb rub elbows with chinese from canton and weaving in and out of the human mass are hundreds of foreign el n seamen from boats that come to gibraltar for fuel trade and repairs town climbs the rock the town begins at the shore ot of the broad bay and rises feet up the north side of the rock long lights flights of steps lead to tile the upper portion of the town making wheeled heeled traffic impossible pos able on many streets the M mediterranean edl or south side of the rock Is almost a sheer cliff fishermen have built boeer ho weier eer small villages la in the few recesses which are reached by narrow paths between spain and the british territory Is a narrow strip 0 of land called the neutral zone where travelers get the best land view of the rock the giant mass of 0 stone was one of the Il dillars liars of hercules of ancient times the rocks highest point Is more than thad twice the height of the washington monument or about feet higher than the worlds tallest building since the moors first occupied gibraltar cea centuries tur les ago its face has frequently undergone treatment A fortified castle dating back to moorish occupation still stands in one of its recesses sharply contrasting with the more modern british ramparts tunnels have been bored paths dynamited and in places its rough countenance has been given n an application of cement upon which rainwater Is caught cang lit and drained into reservoirs of the town in natural caves in the rock live the famous gibraltar monkeys probably the only monkeys in europe that were not brought there by men in modern times the animals are protected by law and are fed by the british army the city toon took its name dame from the ro rock ck which was called mount blount abala or apes hill 1111 I 1 in ancient times it was once owned by the phoenicians Phoenicia ns and fell in turn to the carthaginians romans and to in the eighth century the moorish eb chief lef tarik ibn ze feyad ad landed on the rods rock and called it gibe or mountain of tarik of which gibraltar is a corruption the aurs murs had held gibraltar for bix centuries when hen in ID libi the spanish 14 it but 24 years later the moslems pehsi aslon it be became caitie spanish gillory teri ti llory uvula in 1102 1 if the eltive held ilse wit sir i all ill a djey d ft a sann iann 0 ii abild 1 ielli likic isiace lie arlt ish have had frequent wars over gib baltars ral tars possession one spanish lasted four years 1779 1783 malta a strong base for more than a century malta has sheltered powerful british warships warsh I 1 Ps guarding sea lanes to mediterranean ports and in more recent years to india australia and the far east via the suez canal now it Is a strong aerial base as well malta deserves attention however for other than military or strategic reasons on the little island an ancient race still lives and speaks an otherwise extinct tongue recently great britain suspended maltas constitution to combat a movement to turn malta to the italian language in preference to english or the islanders Islander sown own unique speech planted by fate at a strategic point on one of the worlds great marine highways this drab piece of land less than a hundred square miles in area has been called to gil fill an important role in the history of the world malta and its satellite islands were once linked to africa and europe by a land bridge with the sinking of this link the islands were left standing like sentinels between the eastern and western basins of the mediterranean 58 miles biles from sicily and ISO miles from africa near the nar narrowest roest part of the sea now malta guards the direct route from gibraltar to great britaina Brit ains eastern empire perfect harbors make it an ideal naval base lately it has become a hub of commercial as well as military air traffic in the region besides the main island the group comprises gozo comino the rhe islet of cominotto and filfly a rock used by the british for naval target practice malta has been called the stepchild as well as the stepping stone of the mediterranean since the dawn of its recorded history many nationalities have ruled it beginning with the phoenicians Phoenicia ns and running a range which includes greeks carthaginians cart h agin idas romans rion inns arabs normans french and british maltese a race alone but though always under a foreign forel agn lag flag the maltese retained their racial identity handsome good humored and sturdy they are be believed ildved to be remnants of the great mediterranean race which peopled the shores of this 3 storied sea long before the rise of greece and rome home their jhc thc lr present speech Is derived from the lao language lappage page of the phoenicians Phoenicia ns whose ships more than years ago floated in maltas harbors as do the british men of war today among tile the upper classes and the younger ae generation ne ration it is being replaced by english and italian weaving a pattern of mystery over the island are deep parallel lines in the solid rock believed to be the tracks of ancient cart wheels some plunge beneath an arm of the sea and reappear on the other side testimony to the comings and goings of a people who dwelt here before the laud land assumed ats present shape neolithic temples also bave been found christianity was brought to malta in 58 A D by a castaway on OD its shores the apostle paul fifteen centuries later this island thrust out toward the east and africa won the name of tile the shield of christendom when the vallant valiant knights lits ot of malta beat back the turkish hordes bordes in memory of the victory the grand master founded valetta a city built by gentlemen fur for g gentlemen gentlemen ent lemen the it nights knights their power declining eventually were expelled hy by napoleon bonaparte who entered tb harbor lik in 1708 1798 on his big way to egypt A revolt against the french garris tyl combined with voth the assistance assis taice irp of the british heet fleet under lord nelson resulted in surrender of the islands in september rm ant aind slurp that time they have arril undre lullau rule |