|
If you are interested in the antiquity of Malta,
THIS IS THE INSIDE TRACK
EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED
In these days before an important international conference of
The Mediterranean Institute of Ancient Civilizations,
the island will be teeming with fascinating guests.
Any one of them could be dropping by to say Hello.
The best-organized,
best-run program
you have ever enjoyed
Insider knowledge
Escort
stays with you 24-hours
Personal visits with local folks and friends
Expert
presentations
Like-minded companions,
highly educated and
lively
Single rooms available,
or book on guaranteed share basis
Includes the
Hypogeum!
Tickets are pre-purchased to assure your entry to this
matchless UNESCO World Heritage Site
$2498.00
per person, based on sharing twin
single room supplement $500.00
Set in the
beautifully landscaped gardens of a 19th century restored villa, this
elegant hotel offers superior service and amenities, making it one of the
leading five-star hotels on the Island. Spend a day being pampered and
nurtured in the Athenaeum Spa, with over 50 different treatments to relax
the mind and body, or choose to lounge by the outdoor pool while enjoying a
light lunch at the open air terrace restaurant. Across the road from the
Presidential Palace and botanical gardens, this centrally located hotel is
also in close proximity to the capital city, Valletta and the ancient walled
city, Mdina. With warm and welcoming staff to greet you and excellent
restaurants to dine in, your visit, whether for work or play, will be met by
unrivalled tranquility.
A
stone’s throw away from the bright, blue, Mediterranean Sea sits the
recently renovated four star Hotel Calypso. Perfectly positioned on the
north shore of Gozo in the fishing harbour of Marsalforn, Calypso blends
effortlessly within this picturesque seaside resort. Whether it’s a diving
holiday you’re after or a base for your days on the beach or walks in the
countryside, Hotel Calypso offers the perfect cocktail of comfortable
surroundings, breathtaking views and friendly service.
|
ITINERARY
02 November 2010 - Tuesday - last day to leave North
America for overnight flight to Europe and connection to Malta.
(Flights not included.)
DAY 01, 03 NOV D
You will be met at the airport on arrival and transferred to your
hotel for check-in. The Corinthia Palace is a lovely old-world
style spa hotel located near several embassies and the residence of
the President. You will have time to refresh and settle in before
we collect at 6:00 PM for an official “Welcome”, followed by dinner
at the hotel. In the evening, those who are not too tired may enjoy
a stroll in the quiet residential neighborhood.
DAY
02, 04 NOV
B, L, D
Breakfast at the hotel is served from 7:AM. At 9:00 AM we will
depart from the lobby with transport to the capital city of
Valletta. Built by the Hospitaller Knights of St. John in the 16th
century, massive fortifications are part of a defense system that
rings this gem of baroque architecture. We’ll stop at the Sacred
Hospital of the knights, still one of the longest unsupported halls
in Europe, and attend a multi-media presentation “The Malta
Experience”, to put the many layers of Malta’s history in
perspective. Continuing around the outer ring of Valletta, we will
then ride through the countryside to the southern coast, stopping at
Malta’s Blue Grotto for a scenic ride into small caves and an
opportunity to look at the stratigraphy of the island’s limestone
composition. Nearby are the temples of Hagar Qim and Mnajdra where
we will stop for lunch and the first encounter with these
magnificent megalithic structures that predate the pyramids.
Ample time will be provided for exploring both sites, and personal
consultation with an authority on the temple culture. We
return to our hotel in time for a rest or a swim before the day’s
activities continue with an expert lecture on the three great
religions of the Mediterranean by Prof. Charles Dalli, author of
“Malta The Medieval Millennium”. Dinner will be in a favorite
restaurant of the locals, where we will have a chance to sample the
national dish: rabbit cooked in wine and garlic. (Alternate dishes
will be available.)
DAY 03, 05 NOV
B, D
We return to Valletta this morning, this time to enter the city via
its Main Gate. We will walk high above the defensive dry ditch, past
street vendors with their carts loaded in fragrant pastries and into
the city. A short walk past the ruined opera house and down historic
Republic Street, our destination is the National Museum of
Archaeology. Housed in the 16th century lodgings of the Knights of
Provence, the museum protects carved stones removed from the
temples, exquisite pottery and sculptures, and mysterious artifacts
of the prehistoric culture. Lunch and the balance of the day are on
your own for exploring this rich city. The guide will be on hand for
the morning to assist those who desire to remain escorted. A time &
place to meet for return to the hotel will be fixed. Those who wish
to remain longer will be instructed on the use of the local public
bus system or taxi service. Valletta is a small and very easily
managed “city”, best experienced (and in some places only navigable)
on foot. Participants will be given maps marked with locations for
attractions such as the Grand Master’s Palace, the Palace Amoury,
the Cathedral of St. John and St. Paul Shipwreck Church, the Museum
of Fine Art, World War II Museum and War Rooms. After a rest,
we depart the hotel together for an intimate evening in a private
home. A sampling of local wines will be followed by an enlightening
presentation on the Phoenicians, ancient Canaanites and people of
the purple dye, by Dr. Anthony Frendo, Head of the University of
Malta’s Department of Oriental Studies. Dinner with our host and
hostess will be a special highlight.
DAY 04, 06 NOV
B, L, D
The early morning is free to sleep in, bask in the sun a bit, walk
in the nearby St. Anton Gardens attached to the President’s Palace,
or enjoy provided transport to Marsaxlokk fishing village and open
air market (hand-made tablecloths, foods, souvenir items) and the
Craft’s Village of glass blowers and other handicrafts. Late morning
check-out, bags will be loaded onto the coach and we will drive up
along the northern coast, stopping for lunch near St. Paul’s Bay.
Continuing via Mellieha, we stop to visit a very ancient shrine
built around a natural spring believed to have healing powers. At
the tip of the island -- Cirkewwa and the car Ferry to Gozo. We will
board on foot, bags loaded into a trolly for pick-up on the other
side. The crossing of about 25 minutes can be enjoyed on deck or in
one of the comfortable passenger lounges. On arrival in Gozo, we
will be met by a new coach and make a (hopefully uncrowded) late
afternoon visit to the Ggantija Temples. Listed in the Guinness Book
of World Records as the oldest buildings on earth, these impressive
twin temples were long held by the locals to have been built by
giants. We then continue for check-in at The Calypso Hotel, named
for the nymph who is reputed to have enchanted and kept Ulysses
captive for seven years on this very island: Homer’s Ogygea. Dinner
at the hotel.
DAY 05, 07 NOV
B, L
A full day of excursion on the island of Gozo will include Calypso’s
Cave and the Citadel, a walled medieval town with its own small
archaeology museum and folklore museum. In the olden days, the local
folks worked the fields by day and retreated behind the walls of the
city to sleep, hopefully protected from slave raids that decimated
little Gozo. We also visit the TaPinu Sanctuary and the wild
landscape and natural formations of Dwejra: the Azure Window stone
bridge, the tiny lagoon of the Inland Sea, and Fungus Rock where a
native medicinal plant was so highly valued by the Knights, that to
be caught stealing it meant certain death. After return to the
hotel, dinner and the evening are free for you to enjoy this idyllic
and romantic corner of the world. The area of our hotel is called
Marsalforn and comes with a story of a girl in a bakery and a
cutthroat pirate. Perhaps you’ll learn it in one of the charming
local seaside restaurants just outside the hotel.
DAY 06, 08 NOV
B, L
A leisurely departure from Gozo this morning and we return to Malta
the way we came. After dropping bags at the Corinthia Palace, we’ll
continue to the ancient capital of Malta: Mdina. Once again, maps
and meeting instructions will be provided for those who would like
to explore on their own, rejoining for lunch in this fascinating
medieval city of curving streets and ancestral palaces. Roman ruins
lie beneath its pavements and there are Punic remains below that.
Was there once a megalithic temple on this site? A Roman Domus
museum lies just outside the walls of the city , and our guide will
be available to take those who wish on a walking tour into
surrounding Rabat to visit the grotto where St. Paul lived for three
months, as well as 4th century Christian catacombs. Then we’ll
continue by coach to visit a working olive grove for a private
demonstration of this ancient industry which is so vitally a part of
the Mediterranean. Returning to the hotel for check-in after a long
day, the evening and dinner are on your own.
DAY 07, 09 NOV
B, L, D
As a climax to an amazing week, our visits this morning include the
Tarxien Temple site and the incomparable Hal Saflieni Hypogeum. Only
ten visitors per hour are permitted inside this underground mortuary
temple complex. More than 5,000 years old and carved from solid
stone to replicate features of the temples, this “architecture in
the negative” provides a lasting impression and moving experience
for many people. We then proceed to the area of the island first
settled by the Knights before the time of The Great Siege. A simple
lunch will be provided, followed by time on your own to visit as you
wish the Maritime Museum, the Inquisitor’s Palace, Ft. St Angelo (or
perhaps the casino.) Return to the hotel and time to refresh before
we gather for evening transport back to Mdina for a gala “Farewell”
dinner. If Mdina is charming by day, it is magical at night. This
will be one to remember.
DAY 08 , 10 NOV
B
Our program concludes with a transfer to the airport for departure,
unless you have arranged to extend your stay on your own.
ARCHAEOACOUSTICS CONFERENCE begins the following day.
This
program is presented as a "stand-alone" event. You do not need
to be taking part in the conference to participate. However,
for those who do plan to attend this important multi-disciplinary
conference as an observer or presenter, priority confirmation will
be given to participants of the Legacy Tour.
Registration for the conference will be offered from the conference
website after 01 May 2010. The night of 10-11 November will be
automatically added to you booking if you are registered for the
conference. Your arrangements will be cross-referenced so that
you do not need to change rooms. More detail with
confirmation materials, mailed on receipt of deposit.
Deposit of $250.00 per person is required to confirm your
participation. This amount is fully refundable in the event of
cancellation up until the final payments date of 15 September 2010.
Refunds for cancellation after that time will be handled on a case
by case basis, determined by what we are able to recover from our
suppliers. Usually, for cancellations made more than one
week before departure, penalties are minimal.
Space is limited. Book early. Send your check to:
The OTS Foundation, P.O. Box 17166, Sarasota, FL 34276 USA.
All
participants will be requested to sign a filming and photography
release form.
The OTS Foundation is happy to provide free information
and
advice for participants enrolled in our programs.
For brochures, please contact the Embassy of Malta
2017 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008 - (202)
462-3611
|
