MALTA: President Mary McAleese made history yesterday when she became the first Irish head of state to pay an official visit to Malta.
The grand ceremonials, a legacy of British occupation, began with the army band, in striped trousers and white tunics, marching into St George's Square, which houses the 16th century baroque palace built by the grand master of the Knights of Malta. A vast monument, it is now home to presidential offices and parliament.
A similar honour guard formed ranks ahead of the arrival of President Edward Fenech-Adami and Mary Fenech-Adami, cabinet ministers, Archbishop Joseph Mercieca and the diplomatic corps.
The appearance of President McAleese in a vintage Austin Princess was heralded by a gallop of mounted police in spiked silver helmets, setting camera shutters clicking in the throng of tourists and Maltese gathered in the square.
Following brief official talks, Mr Fenech-Adami spoke of the "affinity between the two peoples which goes back many, many years" and is explained by their respective histories, their European culture and Christianity as well as "excellent bilateral relations".
Mrs McAleese said they were both "island people with a strong and independent streak and a unique identity". She spoke of the "common visions of the future of Europe" which both countries can build on and praised Mr Fenech-Adami as the "champion of European accession" in May 2004 during Ireland's presidency.
Mrs McAleese later placed a floral wreath in the colours of Ireland on the cenotaph, a tall slim cross fashioned in stone. Hundreds of Maltese died in the Axis onslaught on the island and while serving in the British armed forces during the second World War.
Steadfast Malta was honoured by Britain's King George VI with the award of the George Cross. Maltese regard this feat as a repeat of their successful stand against Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in 1565. "We poured boiling oil on them," remarked one Maltese proudly.
After a torrential interlude, the President and her party were taken to the medieval hilltop town of Mdina, the old capital of Malta founded by the Phoenicians and transformed by the Romans, Byzantines and Arabs into a formidable fortress.
Hand-in-hand with her husband, Mrs McAleese strolled through the narrow alleyways of the old city to Palazzo Falson, built in the 13th century by an admiral of the Spanish navy. Now renovated as a museum, the palace is filled with treasures: silver, elegant inlaid Maltese furniture, paintings and weaponry.
Tourists stepped aside and stared as the party made its way into St Paul's Cathedral, where the entire floor consists of beautifully worked slabs of marble, with semi-precious stone covering the tombs of Maltese monsignors.
In the evening, the McAleeses attended a concert and state banquet.