The Knights of St. John of Jerusalem were Hospitaler Knights. That is to say, their raison d'etre was to build hospitals, to provide field hospitals during warfare, and to save lives. Their history is a really long one, since it lasts for about 900 years or so....they are still around. If you were to receive first aid instruction from the St. John's Ambulance, you have had dealings with them. They are most famous for stopping Suleiman the Magnificent in his tracks at the Great Seige of Malta in 1565. If they had not done that, then Europe would have followed North Africa into Islam. There is still a Grand Master, and the flag of the crusades still flies over Fort St. Angelo, where it was first placed by Jean De LaValette in 1540. (not the Knight's flag...their symbol is inscribed over the entrance to the castle.) Their history is not so grand later on though....Napoleon kicked them out and they went to Rome, where they have quarters in the Eternal City. I note that they still have offices in the walls of Valetta though! The other flag, the one to the right is the flag of the Maltese Republic. It has a cross on it, but it is NOT a Maltese Cross...it is a picture of the "George Cross", a British medal given to the whole country for their bravery during WWII. And thats a whole 'nother story!
That picture is of the Fort St. Angelo from inside the Grand Harbour, looking North on a beautiful February afternoon! If you look down near the base of the castle, you can see the cannons being used as bollards to tie boats up. In the back, you can see the entrance to the Grand Harbour, to the left you can't quite see Fort St. Elmo, and to the right is Fort Ricasolli. They did parts of the movie "Gladiator" and "Troy" at Fort Ricasolli. They built those forts to last, but they are crumbling fast!
3 comments:
Looks really beautiful.
oops, I mean, the flag to the left in that picture is the Maltese flag, the flag to the right is the crusader's flag.
The Maltese people are unrepentantly anti-muslim. Their history has been an unrelenting one of Moslem pirates swooping down on them, stealing their sons and daughters for slavery, as well as any spare cash they have lying around...and they have long memories. Actually, as a Turkish falafel seller just up the road told me, they like HIM, they just don't trust his kinsmen when they arrive in groups...like armies, gangs, bands of pirates, refugees or even tourists. These are Barbary Pirates after all! It apparently still goes on, though of course NOT officially sanctioned by the governments of the day! They have no tolerance for any of the old lines, like Infatada, fatwa, or whatever religious excuse the bad guys use to take over their fishing boats!
Now I like those Maltese even more...
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