What does Malta matter? It’s the\u00a0question we’ve been asking ourselves as hundreds of eager poker players, three of whom qualified with partypoker, pack their shorts and t-shirts, and head to the tiny country situated in the Mediterranean Sea.<\/p>\n
And tiny is no exaggeration. The three Maltese islands\u00a0have an area of a\u00a0piddly\u00a0122 square miles \u2013 compared to Greater London’s 607 miles. Can somewhere so small have much to offer poker players and travellers alike?\u00a0So what does Malta matter?<\/p>\n
The 2013 World Happiness Report \u2013 yes there is such a thing \u2013 looked at dozens of factors, which we will not bore you with, to create a league table of a people’s happiness.\u00a0From the 156 countries studied, Togo ranked rock bottom with Malta in 48th place, pitting them against the likes of Guatemala and Poland.<\/p>\n
According to report, Brits, if you can believe it, are the 22nd happiest people in the world. We are, however, more glum than both the Irish (18) and the Americans (17). The Danes are said to be the happiest people on the planet, but, taking into account Denmark’s long, dark and desolate winters,we have no idea how.<\/p>\n
We haven’t quite lost the plot and are\u00a0actually quoting Popeye the Sailor Man. Why, you ask?<\/p>\n
In 1980, Walt Disney headed to the aptly named Anchor Bay and created a multi-coloured village to be used in the\u00a0filming of Popeye. The Popeye Village, once the late Robin Williams and the rest of the crew finished filming,\u00a0remained intact and is now used as a family day out hotspot.<\/p>\n
You’d think living in a place where a\u00a0Popeye Village exists would be a sole factor in increasing a nation’s happiness, wouldn’t you?<\/p>\n
One of the Malta’s three islands, Comino, is so tiny you can stuff it into your shirt pocket. Well maybe that’s a bit extreme,\u00a0but it’s only 1.4 square miles and, other than four permanent residents, is virtually uninhabited.<\/p>\n
Comino has a single 95-room hotel and is most famous for the white sandy bay and rich marine life of the picturesque Blue Lagoon.<\/p>\n
In addition to Disney filming Popeye in Malta, other blockbusters including Gladiator, Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, zombie thriller World War Z, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Troy were all, to some extent, used the serene setting.\u00a0In particular,\u00a0Troy’s production led it to\u00a0Comino and the Blue Lagoon.<\/p>\n
Malta is also the birthplace of Jon Cassar, who is the director of \u201c24″. Who knew Malta has so much claim to Hollywood fame?<\/p>\n
Anyone interested in architecture needs to head to Malta. The oldest free-standing structures in the world, it is claimed, call Malta home. These buildings, dated between 3,600BC and 700BC, also have what is almost certainly the coolest name ever given to a structure. Step forward and take a bow, The Megalithic Temples of Malta.<\/p>\n
With its numerous sites to behold, majestic landscape and Popeye’s legend\u00a0dotted about\u00a0the islands like a leopard’s coat, we think Malta matters. Even if its people are twice as sad as us, which is hard to comprehend keeping in mind\u00a0pleasant year round weather.<\/p>\n
Have you ever been to Malta? How did you find it? What did you discover? Let us know in the comments box below.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Get all the latest partypoker updates from your favourite social media outlets. You can Follow us on Twitter<\/a><\/strong> and Like us on Facebook.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What does Malta matter? It’s the\u00a0question we’ve been asking ourselves as hundreds of eager poker players, three of whom qualified with partypoker, pack their shorts and t-shirts, and head to the tiny country situated in the Mediterranean Sea. And tiny is no exaggeration. The three Maltese islands\u00a0have an area of a\u00a0piddly\u00a0122 square miles \u2013 compared<\/p>\nKeep up to date with the all-things partypoker!<\/strong><\/h3>\n