Top 10 Mediter­ranean facts

Corfu is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, west of Greek Peninsula. It was long controlled by Venice, which repulsed several Turkish sieges, before falling under British rule following the Napoleonic Wars. Corfu was eventually ceded by the British Empire and unified with the modern Greece in 1864.

Flower buds. The salted and pickled caper bud is often used in Mediterranean cuisine. Less often, the mature fruit of the caper shrub are also used, marketed as caper berries.

Greece. The Greek Civil War, was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek government army—backed by the UK and US — and the communist Democratic Army of Greece, backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania. It is estimated that 158,000 people were killed.

Maltese developed from Arabic in Sicily, and later in Malta, between the end of the ninth century and the end of the thirteenth century. Maltese is the only Semitic language written in the Latin script. Through the history, the Maltese language has been classified in various ways, with some claiming that the ancient Punic language (used in Carthage) was the base of the language, while others believed the language to be Berber, and under Fascist Italy, it was considered a dialect of Italian.

Stromboli. Mt Stromboli has been in almost one continuous eruption for the past 2000 years, which is the longest known in the world. The volcano explodes at intervals ranging from minutes to hours. This is known as Strombolian eruption type, also observed at other volcanoes worldwide.

In Zakynthos. The beach is named after the shipwreck of MV Panagiotis, a smuggler's ship. It ran aground in 1980, probably while carrying contraband cigarettes and being chased by the Greek Navy. According to a popular story, locals raided the cargo, and for the following four years no 'official' tobacco products were bought on the island.

Islam. Albania had been the only European country with a Muslim majority until the breakup of Yugoslavia.

Romanian. The Roman Empire withdrew from Dacia in AD 271-5, leaving it to the Goths. The history of the language between the 3rd century and the 10th century, when the area came under the influence of the Byzantine Empire, is unknown.

Spain. Punta de Tarifa, Spain is the southernmost point of the Iberian Peninsula and continental Europe. It is located in the province of Cádiz and the autonomous community of Andalusia on the Atlantic end of the Straits of Gibraltar. The coast of Morocco can be seen from this point.

Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily and before Cyprus). It is located in the Western Mediterranean, to the immediate south of the French island of Corsica.