ACROSS THE MIDDLE SEA :: Cruising the Med

The Middle Sea, as the Mediterranean was referred to in a distant past, has been at the centre of world events from its birth 5.3 million years ago right down to the present. It has been a theatre of conflict and a crossroads for trade and commerce among nations. It saw the rise and fall of civilisations: The Egyptians, The Romans, The Phoenicians, The Carthaginians, the Greeks, Byzantium and the mighty Ottoman Turks. Its shores are home to Christians, Moslems and Jews. It played a central role in World War II and in the Cold War. My homeland Malta lies at the very centre of this historical body of water, right in the middle of the sea that’s in the middle of the land (‘medius’+‘terra’). It was inevitable that at some point I would hop on a vessel and set forth to explore this amazingly rich and diverse region. And so I did, accompanied by my wife Suzanne, in the spring of 2004. Ours wasn’t some seafaring adventure on board a swift clipper or an ancient galley, but a 14 day cruise on a luxurious Princess ship. And it didn’t start or end in Malta either, nor did it call at Grand Harbour on it’s itinerary from Rome to Venice. This wasn’t by accident, but a matter of choice...

More about this soon....