A very enjoyable travel story that we worked on, in Valletta, the enchanting ancient capital of Malta – and also the European Capital of Culture 2018 – for ‘Morning Calm’ (Korean Air’s in-flight Magazine).

What a revelation, on our Malta walks, to find so much nature, and tranquility, particularly after having recently read that the tiny Mediterranean island is equated with the word: ‘cementation’ –  and, in some areas, quite justifiably so. Where we live, for example, we are surrounded by deconstruction, reconstruction, new construction, behemoth cranes, and all the constant racket (and dust!) one can expect from the aforementioned.

On my frequent meanderings around the streets of this small Mediterranean island, I regularly come across sites, such as these. Beautifully decaying doors and facades – portals to another place in time. Often, starkly juxtaposed by the surrounding modern, steel and glass (which, it appears, is the de rigueur architecture of Malta, sprouting up all over), one could easily walk right past these exquisite, woefully neglected, facades without even noticing them.

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