Quiet Day in Sliema
Trip Start
Sep 15, 2007
1
6
29
Trip End
Oct 17, 2007
Sliema,
Malta
Saturday, September 22, 2007
The run turned out to be a good way to improve my mood, I pushed myself more than I have so far since getting here and I am pretty sure I left my dreams and thoughts from this morning in my wake
Christina & I...
. Today, the 21st of September is the celebration of Malta's Independence from British rule, hence a public holiday. To be honest there was not a lot of difference in Sliema where I was, most of the tourist centric places like bars and eateries were business as usual however there were shops and businesses off the main drag that were closed. There are some celebratory events taking place over the weekend in Valletta and other cities so I was planning to catch some of them. I ended up having a great day. Christina had the day off work today and we organised for her to travel down to Sliema so that we could spend the afternoon together, grab something to eat for dinner and then meet up with Svetlana and her friends later tonight in Paceville. Christina and I walked up the coast, swam at a few choice spots and had dinner in the outside area of a restaurant overlooking the harbour towards Valletta. I really had a good day as did Christina and it was fun to share a day here in Malta with someone else. She is a really nice girl and I am sure that mum would approve, which is most important of course. Oh and she is from Holland, not sure if I had mentioned that.
Tomorrow my Uncle Leo and Aunty Julie are picking me up in the morning for a trip out to Mdina. This city is one of the oldest on the island and apparently has some of the most historical buildings in Malta
Kellma Sabiha!
. Plenty to see and it is meant to be very picturesque. In the middle ages Mdina was home to the Maltese aristocracy and was known as the noble city. It is once again a walled city and coming from Australia it is quiet alien to me to see cities that were built with defending its citizens the primary focus of their original designers. I mean we just don't have anything like that back home. Each day I unearth more and more stories involving the Maltese people and their resilience to incredible hardships they have had to endure over the centuries culminating in the entire population being awarded the George Cross medal for bravery during World War II. One particular story relevant to Mdina recalls when Napolean conquered Malta in the late 18th century before moving on towards North Africa, leaving behind 4000 French soldiers based in Mdina. After a time living under the yoke of French rule the common Maltese people rallied together in an uprising and claimed a huge victory in Mdina forcing the French army to Valletta where they were crushed by Malta's British allies a few months later. I realise that I have a tenuous link to my Maltese heritage as I have mentioned already however I still draw pride from hearing these stories and speaking to locals about them. It is a side of Malta I have only just begun to learn as a result of my parents being heavily involved in Maltese heritage groups back home and my brother Jeff writing an opera on the Great Siege for his musical thesis. I am really enjoying learning about Malta and its people, and it helps explain some of the qualities that are shared amongst present day Maltese...myself included!Mdina is in the middle of the main island of Malta so will be different to the harbour style cities I have visited so far, I am very much looking forward to it.
After Mdina we are then going to visit my cousin Christine. I have three cousins my age that I have always shared a close bond with. As I have mentioned before I am from a big Maltese family and most of them live in Australia. With so many brothers, aunties, uncles and cousins there are small pockets of us that have a closer friendship than with others. And naturally for me this was the cousins that were around my age. Jason, Sharon, Christine and I were all born within 12-15 months of each other and at various times over the years I got to spend some good moments with each of them. Christine's family returned to Malta to live some 25 years ago however and I have not seen her since. At the age of 18 she joined a cloistered convent, which is a convent where the nuns are unable to leave the convent grounds from the day they are initiated for the rest of their lives. It has always been something that I have found very difficult to understand and accept however it is a choice Christine made and I have a lot of respect for someone to make such a big decision. I cant begin to imagine what a life like that would be like however as I said, it is a life she has chosen freely and it is her way of being closer to God. Going to visit her tomorrow with her family will be a highlight that transcends this holiday. I got such a lift inside of me when Aunty Julie told me today that she spoke with Christine and she was so happy to hear I was going to visit her tomorrow. This is going to be a very emotional moment for me, I am not sure what to expect, but I only have positive thoughts about it and it is something I am going to savour.
