Our island, due to its strategic importance has been conquered by a sequence of powers including the Phoenicians, Romans, Fatimids, Sicilians, Knights of St John, French and British.
It was in 1800, that Malta voluntarily became part of the British Empire. The British took over Malta, and transformed the island into a Naval base. It wasn't until 1964, after 100 years of British rule, that the islands were granted independence and eventually became a Republic in 1974. It's been 35 years now since the Britons left our country but so many things around us still bear traces of their influence on our country. The famous red telephone booths which can be spotted in certain old streets in Malta are one such example .
The red telephone box was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. It's not only a familiar sight on the streets of the United Kingdom and Malta, but also in Bermuda and Gibraltar - the latter two being also ex-British colonies. Sir Scott originally suggested mild steel colour for the kiosks but the British Post Office chose the colour red to make them easy to spot. Some of these phone booths in use today have been converted to internet kiosks.
