Ports

Abstract

Whenever I heard my grandfather start a sentence in this way, I knew that he would be recollecting some wartime adventure. He was a Chief Petty Officer with the Royal Navy during World War II. The ships on which he was assigned called in several ports around the world. This is one reason why ports fascinate me, and this is where I developed my interest in geography. He used to talk about visiting the port of Alexandria, Egypt, and how he experienced the hustle and bustle of the souks. As a child, I would daydream about the vibrant colours, the fragrant smells and the lively atmosphere that there would be. He talked about passing through the narrow Strait of Gibraltar while travelling to Portsmouth, crossing the Atlantic to reach the Caribbean Islands and recounting the time when he navigated through the Bermuda Triangle. I was curious albeit relieved as to why his ship did not go missing there. Such and similar experiences were possible because of Malta’s geo-strategic location, which led the archipelago to serve as a hub for the British Navy for one and a half centuries.