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E + 23 : Lepanto - A Strategic Dilemma
Lepanto is today called Nafpaktos - the AFAET just outside the medieval harbor Today is Lepanto Day. Our destination is the Bay of...
hbanziger
Aug 3, 20214 min read
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E + 21 : Where are the Corfiot Italians?
The Old Town of Corfu on Kerkyra as seen from the old Venetian Fortress In Calabria and Apulia, people proudly mention that there are...
hbanziger
Jul 31, 20214 min read
278 views
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E + 20 : The End of Dreadnoughts
Technologies often change our lives more than we can imagine. At the beginning of World War I, all major navies believed they would...
hbanziger
Jul 31, 20214 min read
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E + 18 : The Aesthetics of Old Fortifications
The East Coast of Apulia is rather barren - but still protected by Saracen Watch Towers After a day of sailing, swimming and canoeing we...
hbanziger
Jul 29, 20214 min read
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E + 9 : Norman Day in the Calabrian Hills
With the new Drone we get Photos as never before! Amendolea's Church & the super dry Fiumare Amendolea It is Norman day today. We plan...
hbanziger
Jul 20, 20215 min read
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E - 34 : Why Maltese also Speak English
A few weeks ago, I talked about Malta being the only nation in the European Union where people speak a Semitic language. It would be an...
hbanziger
Jun 9, 20215 min read
57 views
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E - 45 : The Mamluk - A Slave Warrior State
In my previous blogs I talked about the Fatimid, the Ottoman, and the Spanish Empire, covered Arab dynasties and wrote about the Mongols....
hbanziger
May 29, 20215 min read
171 views
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E - 50 : Jean Parisot de Valette - the Man and the Legend
There are few people who have a capital named after them. President Washington comes to my mind as does Jean Parisot de Valette. When...
hbanziger
May 24, 20216 min read
347 views
1 comment


E - 54 : Predecessors of Navy Seals
Was working on a Blog on Jean-Parisot de Valette, the Grand Master of the Knights of St John during the siege of Malta in 1565, when I...
hbanziger
May 20, 20213 min read
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E - 72 : Did Charcoal fund Alexander?
In my previous blog I was writing about the silver mines of Laurion which made Athens wealthy and powerful. The mines were in operation...
hbanziger
May 2, 20214 min read
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E - 79 : The Power of Public Opinion - How Greece won its Independence
The other day, I came across a beautiful article in the Wall Street Journal "How Poetry won Independence for Greece". At the occasion of...
hbanziger
Apr 25, 20214 min read
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E - 87 : Why did Hannibal walk to Italy?
Now that all my 2017 and 2018 Blogs have been transferred to this site, it is time to switch on the automated notification mail again....
hbanziger
Apr 16, 20214 min read
85 views
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E - 108 : Spartacus - A Hollywood Fairytale
Kirk Douglas as Spartacus (111 - 71 BC) - one of my favourite movies as a child Do you remember the 1960 movie “Spartacus” with Kirk...
hbanziger
Mar 26, 20214 min read
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E - 111 : Cephalonia - A Name That Lives in Infamy
Cephalonia is today well known for its spectacular beaches on its West Coast On our way to Ithaca during the last week of sailing, we...
hbanziger
Mar 22, 20213 min read
66 views
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E - 125 : Corfu, Topographic Maps, War Academy and the ICRC
Corfu in 1716 during the last Ottoman Siege Working on the last week of our summer sailing made me think of Corfu and how this island,...
hbanziger
Mar 8, 20214 min read
83 views
1 comment

E - 126 : Thanks to Malta No Oil for the Axis
HMS Eagle sinking after being torpedoed during "Operation Pedestal", August 1942 We talked about the strategic importance of the...
hbanziger
Mar 7, 20216 min read
46 views
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E - 150 : Thunder over La Valletta
View on La Valetta from the bay between Senglea (left) and Birgu (right). The Knights Head Quarter, the San Angelo Fort is prominently...
hbanziger
Feb 12, 20215 min read
55 views
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E - 151 : Remembering 1943
Canadian Troops on the Way to Sicily in their Landing Craft on 10 July 1943, the same Day of the Year we start our Sailing in Malta...
hbanziger
Feb 10, 20215 min read
60 views
2 comments


E - 155b : Barbarossa vs Star-shaped Cities 0:1
Otranto with its reinforced walls after the Turks conquered it in 1480 I know, I know. The title is fictitious. The Turkish Admiral lived...
hbanziger
Feb 7, 20214 min read
31 views
1 comment


E - 164 : Muslim Crescent on Peter's Mosque?
Title Page of the Video "Why did the Ottomans not conquer Italy?" Speculating about alternative outcomes in history is a bit esoteric but...
hbanziger
Jan 28, 20215 min read
72 views
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