Travel Tips

Our small islands may lack those particular creatures normally displayed in a zoo or in other countries, but it definitely holds quite a few interesting and intriguing surprises. One just needs to have more faith in what our country has to offer, more time and patience to explore what is yet unnoticed and undiscovered!

A new species of dragonfly has just been discovered in our country. This was firstly recorded by Arnold Sciberras, a local naturalist and his brothers.

The first sighting of this specie was a male specimen at the Danish village complex at Ghadira in 2005. There were two to three other sightings close by and one at Gozo by the same person and recently it was observed at two valleys and a healthy small population was found breeding for the first time in a public garden in the south of Malta last week. (Exact locations are not specifically given to protect the population).

The specie is called the Violet Dropwing Trithemis Annulata and males can easily be distinguished by their dark violet thorax and their perching position. There have been no newly recorded species of dragonflies since 1957 in the Maltese archipelago.

Our dragonfly list however is on the increase. The first Maltese records were in 1899 by R. Mclachlan when he recorded the first three species. Anthony Valletta in 1949 recorded 6 species and in 1957 the same author recorded another 2. Since then little was written and the last interesting write up was some useful observations were made for a dissertation by Godwin Degabriele in the early 1990's. Thanks to these records the local list is now of 14 species. New studies are being conducted in old collections and in the field to clarify many doubts and also with this as a side effect; the list is expected to increase.

Besides butterflies, dragonflies are the second most group of insects that fascinate people by their beautiful colours on the body and their phenomenal aerobatic skills in flight. Also the habit of flying in many different habitats over very long distances in warm weather makes them very conspicuous. More than this, these insects hold some of the largest species known to man. In fact the largest insect ever recorded was from a fossil dating more than 300 million years ago from France. The species of extinct dragonfly like Meganeura monyi had a wingspan of over 75cm (the size of that of a kestrel).
Today the largest species of dragonfly Tetracanthagyna plagiata lives in Borneo with a wingspan of 14 cm. The largest Damselfly (very similar to the latter but stay with closed wings during rest while dragonflies stay with them open) is Megaloprepus coerulatus from South America with a wing span of 17cm.

Today around 5,500-5,700 species and much more subspecies of dragonflies and damselflies (collectively known as Odonata) are known to occur. While most of them live in the tropics, still around 160 species occur in Europe and all of North Africa. The Maltese archipelago is a resident home for some species and also a bus stop for these insects.

Since we are located approximately in the centre of the Mediterranean, sometimes we are lucky enough to receive new species to our island's short list, that where migrating by. If the habitat holds the right requirements for the species to live in is present, then eventually the specimens that come may in due course settle and start a new population here.

Malta has been attracting film-makers for decades despite facing competition from other production hubs.
Following hot on the heels of Gladiator's and Troy's success, another blockbuster is scheduled to commence filming in Malta. The story of the multi-million-budget movie is based around Ancient Egypt. The film will be in pre-production in Malta for around six months as the set building will involve hundreds of several local craftsmen.
Movies filmed in Malta include:

Munich (2006). The film was shot in various places around Malta which stood in for Tel Aviv, Beirut, Cyprus, Athens, and Rome.

Da Vinci Code (2006). The production team on The Da Vinci Code travelled from Paris to the United Kingdom to Malta, stopping at some of the most fascinating and significant historical landmarks in Europe.

Troy. The 2004 blockbuster starring Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom brought the attention of the world to Malta. Much of the film was set at Fort Ricasoli as well as Mellieha. Some scenes were also filmed on Comino.

A Different Loyalty. The 2004 romantic thriller starring Sharon Stone was filmed at Fort St. Elmo, which doubles in the movie for the city of Beirut. Some of the movie was also shot on the Golden Sands Beach.

Alexander. This 2004 film directed by Oliver Stone and starring Colin Farrell, Anthony Hopkins, and Angelina Jolie includes scenes of Valletta's Grand Harbour, doubling for the ancient port city of Alexandria.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003). This Sean Connery movie was filmed at Xlendi on the island of Gozo; a submarine scene was filmed at the Mediterranean Film Studios.

The Count of Monte Cristo. This 2002 production transformed Valletta and Vittoriosa into Marseille.

Pinocchio (2002) This film included scenes shot at the Mediterranean Film Studios.

Swept Away. Madonna and Guy Ritchie's 2002 movie included scenes in both Comino and Malta. Vittoriosa doubles for an Italian port in part of the movie. Madonna goes snorkeling at the Blue Lagoon on Comino.

U-571 (2000) Starring Matthew McConnaughey, Bill Paxton, Jon Bon Jovi, and Harvey Keitel, this film used the tanks of the Mediterranean Film Studios. You'll also see a nighttime scene shot in the Grand Harbour of Valletta.

Gladiator. (2000) Russell Crowe was doing those gladiator scenes in a replica of the famous Roman structure built at Fort Ricasoli. A night scene was filmed outside Vittoriosa at Couvre Port.

White Squall (1996). The violent storm you see in this Jeff Bridges movie was filmed at the Mediterranean Film Studios.

Cutthroat Island. This 1995 pirate film starring Geena Davis and Matthew Modine was filmed on the waterfront of Vittoriosa in front of the Maritime Museum. Other scenes were shot in Mdina, Fort St. Elmo, and the Dingli Cliffs. The Mediterranean Film Studios also provided their water tanks for sea scenes.

Popeye. This 1980 production starring Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall not only built a set, they left it in place, later to become Popeye Village near Mellieha. The popular family attraction now includes a film about the making of the movie here.

Midnight Express (1978). Scenes were shot at Fort St. Elmo

Orca: Killer Whale (1976)

Cisk Lager wins World's Best Standard Lager title in the World Beer Awards .

Cisk Lager, brewed and bottled by Simonds Farsons Cisk plc since 1928, has continued to reap rewards for the company. Cisk Lager has been awarded the World's Best Standard Lager title by Beers of the World - an international consumer beer magazine, written by the world's leading beer writers.

The recently launched Cisk Excel also won the World's Best Low Carb Beer title in the same awards.

The World Beer Awards, held for the first time this year, are organised by Paragraph Publishing, publishers of Europe's leading beer and whisky magazines. An international panel of judges tasted their way through hundreds of entries from the United Kingdom, Europe, the United States, Australia and beyond, to find the winners of each style. These style winners then went head to head at a blind tasting event, where the UK's top brewers selected the best beers in each category.

The winners were announced at one of London's best known real ale pubs, The White Horse, Parson's Green in London.

Cisk Lager has won several awards in the past years. Among the most significant, Cisk Lager won the UK's Brewex Competition in 1980 when it was awarded gold medals in both the 'Lager' and the 'Best Overall' categories. In 1995, Cisk Lager received the top prize in the Australian International Beer Awards, while its sister brand Cisk Export won the Gold Medal at the World Beer Cup in Ohio, USA in 2002. While in 2005, Cisk Lager was awarded the prestigious second placing in the International Lager Competition category, Class 1, of The Brewing Industry International Awards 2005.