Mdina & Rabat
Trip Start
Sep 15, 2007
1
7
29
Trip End
Oct 17, 2007
Mdina,
Malta
Sunday, September 23, 2007
There are two features that are common amongst all the towns we passed through and really symbolic of the Maltese culture
Cathedral in Rabat
. The first was each had a town square with various stores and delicatessen style food shops around its perimeter. The men of the village would often be found converging in the town square to discuss whatever was the hot topic of the day, woman would be wandering through the stores getting the odd thing here and there for dinner and chatting amongst themselves, whilst the children would intermingle always seeming to be in more of rush than their parents. The second was a church, normally dedicated to a particular saint. And when I say church, I really mean magnificent and lavish buildings that all seem to be rich in history and religious significance. Every church I have seen so far has me scrambling for the camera and then continually getting amazed with the baroque style images adorning the walls and ceilings. In one church today I just sat on a pew and looked around at the pictures trying to decipher the stories from the bible they are depicting and/or just marvelling at the detail that goes into them. The Catholic faith plays a significant role in Maltese culture, it is demonstrated everywhere with the vast majority of adults wearing religious symbol jewellery. As we passed churches in the car my cousin Lillian would point and go "The church of St Nicholas", "The church of St Paul" etc.Mdina and its surrounding areas had several historical sites dating back to Jesus' time and often even prior to that and I got to see them all which was great. Mdina itself is pretty special, in olden times it was known as the Noble City due to the Maltese nobility and aristocracy that used to live here however these days it is actually referred to as the Silent City and it is very quickly evident why that is the case. It was just that, silent. These days a Mdina address is highly sort after and reserved for the wealthy. Due to there being a static number of residences available within the city walls anytime one of them is up for sale there are no shortage of people willing to pay handsomely for the privilege of living there, and the house prices would match such a situation
Rabat Town Square
. It really is a step back in time and ideal for anyone wanting to live the quiet live in an ancient city in the Mediterranean. This was the first time I truly felt that I could be walking the streets of a town hundreds of years away from the hustle and bustle of the 21st century. Cars owned by the residence are only allowed within the city and even then there are various restrictions on where you can drive, the fact a lot of the streets are too narrow for vehicles also provides a physical restriction. St Paul's cathedral stands as the jewel in the crown of Mdina and it was a beautiful church indeed, there was also a church museum and along with the walk through of the Mdina dungeons I was able to get a decent insight into the rich history of the city. Mdina is really beautiful and I know I keep saying it of a lot of places I am seeing in Malta but that is just how it is!The town of Rabat outside the walls of Mdina is more like a traditional Maltese town. The main attraction here is St Paul's Grotto which is said to be the cave where the saint lived during his time on Malta as depicted in the bible following his shipwreck on these shores around 60AD. However there were several other sites worth mentioning, notably the ruins of a ancient Roman villa that was discovered by accident in the 20th century no the outskirts of the town whilst the local council was digging the preparations for a new road
Rabat Town Square
. The archaeological teams moved in and over the next few decades they would uncover an amazing array of artefacts dating back to the 1st century BC. Entire marble statues, kitchen utensils and mosaic tiles were uncovered from the wealthy Roman family that lived here all in amazing condition. The Maltese government had gotten this particular tourist attraction right when they built a replica of the villa next to the site and then filled it with the items they uncovered from the nearby dig site. You can walk through the villa and then out the back is where the dig site sits and you can see the remains that are being dug up for yourself. Two other sites I visited were ancient catacombs that were discovered as a sprawling series of caves and tunnels beneath the city, burial grounds of the place's inhabitants thousands of years ago and a limestone quarry site that depicts more recent history of Malta and explains the various stages of the limestone industry that provided Malta with the beautiful stones used to build the vast majority of the country's buildings over the last few centuries. All in all a fantastic day's exploring the wonders of Malta!I was dropped off at my hotel for a brief time to freshen up and then my uncle and aunty picked me up to take me to see their daughter, my cousin, Christine in the convent. This visit was in the back of my mind all day and I did not know what to expect
The Catacombs
. I was definitely looking forward to it and I would get emotional inside when I thought of seeing Christine for the first time in 27 years. Her convent is situated on the south edge of Valletta in an old part of the city away from the hustle and bustle of the tourist activity you encounter in the city's centre. Like all buildings in Valletta it is an old building and covers an entire block. You cannot help but get a sense of the history of the place when you walk through the huge thick timber doors. We entered a small room with twin windows facing each other on either side and sat down at one of them, much like the counter of a corner store. Christine soon entered on the other side and I was filled with a sense of joy to finally see her. She wore a traditional habit and was positively glowing as spoke our first words to each other and almost 3 decades, I was the same, I could not stop smiling! For all the difficulty I and others in my family have had with Christine's decision, as alien as it is to our lives in Sydney I have to see she was one of the happiest people I have met in a long time. The next 2 hours seemed to race by as we talked about when we were young and what memories we have of that time. I had hundreds of questions on her life and what she did from day to day and how it was in the convent. There were 14 nuns that lived there ranging from 88 years old to the newest member of their family, a young 17 year old girl who had joined just 2 weeks ago. She was actually on the other side of the room with her family whilst we were there and as Christine explained she was finding it difficult in the initial period adjusting to her new chosen life
The Catacombs
. Whereas Christine's family are only able to visit her once a month the new nun's family were able to visit her as often as they wanted initially, and they had been there every day so far. I realised how hard it must be for the families of the women that choose the cloistered life. Whilst initially Christine was doing all the talking as I asked my questions she then enquired about my life to this point and I found myself really opening up to her about things that have had happened in the past. I have to say I had an amazing experience talking with Christine, it is the first time I have spoken with a priest or nun that I know and trust so well. It was a very moving experience and my understanding and acceptance of her life had been taken to new levels.When our time (2 hours) was drawing to a close Christine told her family to take me down to the chapel so we can get a photo together! I was over the moon when told down at the chapel that I could actually embrace Christine and exchange kisses on either cheek. This blew me away as I did not think such things were allowed. I have included some photos of Christine and I from the chapel. Finally Christine told me that since I am a visiting relative I am allowed to see her as often as I want during certain hours over the next few weeks. I am definitely going to see her again and I am already looking forward to it.
A fantastic day was capped off with dinner at Porotmaso complex in Paceville
The Catacombs
. This sits in the Hilton hotel surrounds and is definitely a snapshot of the rich and famous. There is a series of restaurants that overlook a private mariner where about 30 huge cruiser style boats are moored. The whole place is very swish and the restaurants were very nice. Cousin Michael and his wife Josette joined us and when I returned to my motel around midnight I was exhausted. What a massive day! I was very grateful for my Maltese family to take the time to do this but they were extremely accommodating and seemed proud to show a few highlights of their country to me over the course of the day. As I nodded off to sleep I realised that I had been here for 1 week today, an amazing time I have had so far, however I think that meeting and talking with Christine for those 2 hours this evening were a personal highlight for sure. 
