World Heritage Sites
80 There are three sites listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List which are popular tourist attractions. These are:
Valletta – Malta’s capital city
Founded in 1566 and named after Grandmaster Jean Parisot de Valette, who led the knights of the Order of St John of Jerusalem against the massive attack by the Turks in 1566, considering that it is one of the Europe’s smallest capital cities, Valletta is extremely rich in churches, palaces and monuments. In fact, the city is so small that all the main sights can easily be reached on foot.
Places worth special mention are St John’s Co-Cathedral, The Grand Master’s Palace, the Upper and Lower Barakka Gardens and the views of the harbours flanking the peninsula of Valletta. Valletta is essentially baroque in character with a symmetrical grid-like road system.
The 7 megalithic temples
The 7 megalithic temples date back to the period between 3600 BC and 2500 BC and are found on the islands of Malta and Gozo. The Ggantija temples are known to be the oldest, free-standing monuments in the world and are said to pre-date the Egyptian pyramids by at least 1,000 years. Other temples are the temples of Hagar Qim, Mnajdra and Tarxien, Ta’ Hagrat and Skorba.
The Hal Saflieni Temple
Like the megalithic temples, the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum also dates back to the period 3600 BC - 2400 BC. The Hypogeum is an underground complex which was cut out in the rocks and is split over three levels. Historians believe that the complex was used by the Neolithic people of the time as a burial place or as a sanctuary.