Following on from the O'Spit in Dublin, 2001; and the Y'All Spit in New Orleans, 2003; comes
	Why Malta?

We are planning the siege in Malta because:

• It's a Dunnett location
• It's not been done before (unlike Bruges, and Edinburgh for example)
• Cindy and I are reasonably familiar with Malta - we've been 3 times now
• It's a stable country and is part of the European Union
• It has a tourist industry that is well developed, and use to catering for conferences. And (as Cindy can testify) their Dentists are very good!
• You can fly direct to Malta in about 3 and a half hours from 15 airports in the UK and Ireland; and also from Germany, Italy, France, Cyprus, Istanbul, Israel, Egypt and many other countries.
• English is an official language, and is spoken by everyone.
• None of the Dunnett sites is more than 20 miles apart.
• The climate is mediterranean and the sea is never far away
• There's a lot more than Dunnett locations to Malta, so it's suitable for Dunnett Readers and the Dorothy Dunnett Non Readers' Association too!

The above are all enabling reasons - reasons why we can have the Siege in Malta. But the reason that we want to have the Siege there is that Malta is a beauitful. friendly country; a fantastic mix of European and African Culture - a Catholic country where the Maltest name for God is Allah. Where there's a statue of Queen Victoria in the main square, but the local cuisine is mediterranean; where the fortifications of the Knights of St John are everwhere, and so are the fortifications from World War two. Where the historic cities of Valletta, Burgu and the Gozo Citadel are pleasure to wander around, but so are the prehistoric sites of Ggantija, Mnajdra and the Tarxien Temples.

You can also get a decent cup of tea, a nice cup of coffee and ice cream to rival the best that Italy has to offer.

So, as long as someone in your family is a Dunnett reader (and you bring them along!) Cindy and I would like to welcome you to Malta in 2005 as a Sieger!

Created 17 April 2004.
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