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Iż-Żejtun
Żejtun (Iż-Żejtun ) is a city in the South Eastern Region of Malta, with a population of 11,218 in the end of 2016. Żejtun is traditionally known as Città Beland, a title conferred by the grandmaster of the Order of the Knights of Malta, Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim in 1797. Before that, the village was known as Casale Santa Caterina, named after its patron saint and parish titular.

The old urban cores, called Bisqallin and Ħal Bisbut, largely retain their narrow medieval streets and ancient boundaries. Since at least the 19th century, the name Żejtun, or Casale Zeitoun, has referred to the settlement which developed around these two core villages. Together with a number of small hamlets in the vicinity, the bulk of the conurbation forms the city of Żejtun, administered by the Żejtun Local Council. Over successive centuries, Żejtun lost a number of villages and hamlets that used to form part of its territory, which originally covered most of the south eastern part of Malta. The city experienced extensive urbanisation over the 1970s and 1980s, with the completion of numerous infrastructural and urban projects designed to relieve housing pressure in the neighbouring Three Cities area leading to a significant increase of the town's population. The town and its surrounding satellite villages are said to typify the basic Maltese conception of village life.

Żejtun is a major centre on the islands, with a significant contribution to the islands' history, arts and commerce. One of the country's principal industrial estates, Bulebel, can be found on the city's borders. Żejtun contains a number of important heritage sites, such as St Catherine's Parish Church, St Catherine's Old Church – known as St Gregory's, numerous votive chapels, and the remains of a Roman villa. The parish of Żejtun is one of the oldest on the islands and already existed in 1436. The original parish church was built in the 12th century, and rebuilt in 1492. The current mayor is Doris Abela. The archpriest is Fr Nicholas Pace.

The etymology of Żejtun has been studied over the ages. It takes its name from the Sicilian Arabic for olive – zaytun (الزيتون) – one of the ancient agronomic industries on Malta. This was confirmed by Ciantar, who stated that "...the town was very pleasant, due to the great quantity of olive groves, from whence it got and still retains the name Zeitun, which means olive; there is also the tradition that olive oil in abundant quantity used to be made here." While the Sicilian Arabic word zaytun refers to the fruit of the tree, the olive tree itself is called zabbūğ or zanbūğ. The Arabic origin of the town's name was again recorded in the first Maltese language dictionary as "Żejtun, in the eastern part of the island of Malta, there is a large, rich and thriving town with this name, which incorporates another area called Bisqallin, and the village of Bisbut. In the Saracen era, there must have been olive groves here, for the area to retain its true name."

In his commentary on Maltese history, Gio. Francesco Abela claimed that the eastern half of Malta, from the old city to the coast was often divided into two further halves. To the east, all the land was called Zeitun, while to the other side - that is, from Marsamxett to all the old territory of the Birkirkara parish - the land was called Araar. Abela claims to have seen this notation in plans drawn by Girolamo Cassar, and that these two contrade were covered with the two respective trees.

The name Żejtun was used to refer to the general south eastern region of Malta. In 1372, for example, King Frederick of Sicily granted fiefs in contrata de lu Zeituni, and again in 1373 in contrata de Lu Zayduni. The use of the name Żejtun for the urban core and town, as used today, does not go back further than the mid-17th century. In population censuses taken by the Order, reference is always made to the parish or chapel of St. Catherine. The name Żejtun began to refer to the town, instead of a district or contrada, by the 1650s.

Over the centuries, the region of Żejtun included a number of smaller settlements and villages. Casale Santa Caterina, Ħal Bisbut, Ħal Ġwann, and Bisqallin were used interchangeably to refer to both specific areas, or to the whole settlement. The name Bisqallin, which is the name of the lower part of the city, is traditionally linked with the arrival of Sicilian settlers, however this claim is contested by modern historians who link it with the diminutive form for Ħal Baskal or Baskal iż-Żgħir. Over time, the name was also corrupted into the Italian Casal Pasqualino.

Żejtun shares its name with a number of settlements and areas in Greece, North Africa and the Near East. Today, Bisqallin (Biskallin) is known as ir-raħal t'isfel, the 'lower village', while Ħal Bisbut is referred to as ir-raħal ta' fuq, the 'upper village.' The historic motto of the city of Żejtun is Palladis clara munera, indicating the town's position on a hill gifted it with clear and commanding views over the south eastern part of Malta. The motto according to the Żejtun Local Council is Frott iż-Żebbuġ Ismi, meaning that the city derives its name from the fruit of the olive tree.

 
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Country - Malta
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Malta, officially the Republic of Malta (Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies 80 km south of Sicily (Italy), 284 km east of Tunisia, and 333 km north of Libya. The official languages are Maltese and English, and 66% of the current Maltese population is at least conversational in the Italian language.

Malta has been inhabited since approximately 5900 BC. Its location in the centre of the Mediterranean has historically given it great strategic importance as a naval base, with a succession of powers having contested and ruled the islands, including the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Normans, Aragonese, Knights of St. John, French, and British, amongst others.
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