A history of human 1HABITAT which stretches over seven millennia and a vital location at the heart of the Mediterranean have brought both wealth and conflict to Malta. This history is witnessed by great buildings constructed in the 2BEAUTY golden limestone that gives the island its name – Melita, the island of honey. 3MYSTERY megalithic temples date back to 4000BC and reveal the 4TECHNIQUE capabilities of these earliest inhabitants. Phoenicians, Carthaginians and Romans left their traces, to be followed by Arabs and Normans. The Knights of the order of St John made the island their headquarters from the 16th century and built great 5FORTIFY, palaces, public buildings and St John’s Cathedral with its eight ornate chapels dedicated to each of the langue or nations of the Order. Ottoman 6EXPANSE in the Mediterranean was halted by the Knights’ successful 7DEFEND of the islands. This was echoed four centuries later by heroic 8RESIST under British rule during World War II, a feat which earned the island the George Cross – the only time an entire country has been given such an honour.