Mdina, the Silent City

Again, high winds on Malta, which means we decide to do some exploring of Mdina, the old capital of Malta in the centre of the island. The city has has a mixed history. Settled by prehistoric people, then a Phoenician city, conquered by Rome in the Punic Wars, part of the Arab empire till taken by the Normans in the 1100s, passed through the Angevins, the Hohenstauffens, the Spanish, briefly held by Napoleon and then under the British since the early 1800s.

During the rule of the Knights of St John, when Valletta was built, Mdina was the preferred city of the nobles and the Church, leaving Valletta to the Knights. The city itself takes up only a small area, enclosed by massive limestone walls. Inside, it is almost car free as many of the streets are too narrow for even the smallest vehicle. Most of the buildings are either palaces, churches, or municipal buildings, so they are gracious and elegant, featuring carved facades, ornate doorways and internal gardens. These days it has a population of about 300.

It was wonderful to wander around Mdina – except that the wind was cold today and I froze!  Luckily, there were some great indoor sites. We bought tickets to the Cathedral, which included the Cathedral Museum. We have been to a few cathedral museums, and we thought, hmmmm, but it was actually really interesting. We spent ages looking at the coin collection, which was huge. Whoever put it together was also a history buff and each group of coins, arranged chronologically, was accompanied with information that told the story of Malta from the Phoenicians, through the Romans, the Goths, the Byzantines, the Normans and the Knights. The museum also featured a collection of Albrecht Durer prints which were fantastic. Who would have thought that we would see these in Malta? 

There were a few rooms in the museum that you’d have to classify as ecclesiastical bric-a-brac.	…not sure which is holding up what here…

We finally found somewhere out of the wind to have lunch, huddled in one of the elegant squares, before we ventured to the more modern town of Rabat, which translates as “suburb” and is adjacent to Mdina. 

We visited a labyrinth of connected tunnels, grottos and catacombs there which had been used by Phoenicians, Christians, Byzantines, and Maltese for thousands of years.  It included prehistoric catacombs, the Grotto of St Paul where he hid from the Romans after his shipwreck on Malta (he was eventually sent to Rome and beheaded), and tunnels built during World War II, where 2000 inhabitants took shelter from the German bombs.  Some of the catacombs still held shards of quite recognisable bones – surely not from 2,000 years ago?

A great day out. We returned to Valletta to find that the wind had died down, the sky was its normal blue, not a murky brown colour, and it is once again a pleasure to wander the streets. There is even a group of young artists having a pastels class on the steps outside our apartment, presumably drawing our little laneway and our washing!

We are going out for our last evening meal here tonight, at Ambrosia, recommended by Lonely Planet (but not nearly as good as Rubino’s last night).  Mike had an entree of Gozo asparagus with grated peccorino and breadcrumbs (really nice), followed by rabbit slow cooked with dates, and I have lamb with coriander and cumin – both good, but not quite as good, despite being a restaurant favoured by the stars (apparently, Russell Crowe et al have eaten here, but not tonight).

On our way home, it is so still and beautiful, that we walk home via the waterfront, looking out over the Grand Harbour with the lights from the Three Villages reflecting in the water. The outer walls behind us are  lit up, and there are fireworks way off in the distance. A perfect evening.