A statue (2012) of Grand Master Jean de Valette (1495-1568) stands beside the Church of St. Catherine in Valletta, Malta. De Valette led the Order of St. John of Jerusalem during the Great Siege of 1565 and founded Valletta, which bears his name. #GrandMasterJeandeValette #Valletta #Malta #DeValette

The Office of the Prime Minister of Malta currently occupies the historic Auberge de Castille (1741 in Valletta. #Malta #AubergedeCastille #Valletta

Colorful enclosed balconies protrude from the buildings along Archbishop Street in Valletta, Malta. #ArchbishopStreet #Valletta #Malta

Part of Triq Sant' Orsla in Valletta, Malta, is a stairway.

The Barrakka Lift at Valletta, Malta, covers the 58 meters from the Grand Harbour to the Upper Barrakka Gardens in 23 seconds. It's also possible to use the attached stairway. #BarrakkaLift #Valletta #Malta #GrandHarbour #UpperBarrakkaGardens

The 27-km North Sea Canal from Amsterdam reaches the sea at the Zeesluis IJmuiden, the world's largest sea lock. To prevent flooding the flow of groundwater is controlled by the largest pumping station in Europe. #NorthSeaCanal #Amsterdam #ZeesluisIJmuiden

Rolling slide gates operating on a rail system control water levels in the Zeesluis IJmuiden on the North Sea Canal, the Netherlands. #rollingslidegates #ZeesluisIJmuiden #NorthSeaCanal #Netherlands

The Zeesluis IJmuiden, the largest sea lock in the world, provides access to the North Sea from the Port of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. #ZeesluisIJmuiden #NorthSea #Amsterdam #Netherlands

Senglea is one of the three historic cities on the southeast side of Grand Harbor opposite Valletta, Malta. This fortified city resisted the Ottoman invasion of 1565. #Senglea #GrandHarbor #Valletta #Malta

Fort St. Angelo in Birgu (Città Vittoriosa) opposite Valletta was the headquarters of the Order of St. John during the Great Siege of Malta in 1565. #FortStAngelo #Birgu #CittaVittoriosa #Valletta #Malta