London Whitecross Street at Night - The Hospitallers
Whitecross Street bordering the City of London and Old Street Islington and formally under the jurisdiction of the Knights Hospitallers the early Medieval Roman Catholic Military Order, headquartered in the Kingdom of Jerusalem until 1291. Their Battle order reads like a history of Europe and the Middle East. The Sovereign Military Hospitaller order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, founded 1099. Whitecross Street, named after a white stone cross, white stone crosses often represented the jurisdiction of the Knights Hospitallers.
At one point the Hospitallers controlled Malta and still have a presence there in Valletta. Having officially returned after their banishment by the French in 1798.The Knights are also famous for their defeat of a massive Ottoman army during the 'Great Siege' of Malta 1565. The knights numbered around 600 with 6000 foot soldiers. Voltaire said " Nothing better than the Siege of Malta. The knights were the toast of Europe having exposed the vulnerability of the Ottomans. The Ottomans were around 48,000 strong. The siege lasted 4 months.
Most of what constitutes an underground city below Malta and was used as a main base for the allies during WWII, was built by the Knights during the Great Siege. The islands eventually rebelled against the French and became a British protectorate, The Treaty of Amiens 1802 returned the islands to the Order but the British remained in Control, the Treaty of Paris 1814 made Malta a British colony. The Order has permanent observer status at the United Nations General Assembly since 1994. The Order also took part in the colonisation of the Americas in 1651 and acquired four islands in the Caribbean. it has many offices and ambassadorial roles throughout the world including offices in Geneva Switzerland and the Vatican.
By Night
