Malta 3rd Mdina

A light lunch with a male gathering at Rabat.

Whoa!   History overload today.     ( and photos decided to misbehave!!)

Another blue sky day, at least until mid-afternoon.  We caught the local bus to Mdina, former capital and inland fortified town.  There was significant small- plot agriculture around this honey-hued hill-top town. Within the walls we walked down empty streets. Off-season is great. Decided to watch both the History of the Knights ( of St John)and the Mdina Experience.    The former was actually a series of graphic life-sized dioramas documenting the rise of the Knights from the Crusades 'till their demise after surrendering to Napoleon. Although the British helped expel the French after only 2 years, The Brits then dispersed the Order.

The Mdina Experience was a 3D movie on the various powers that wanted and occupied this strategic island entity in the middle of the Mediterranean.   Stone temples were built prior to 2500BC and ruins  exist today.  Thence followed...the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, the Romans for 600 years, Byzantines and other Arab forces until the 11th century when the Normans arrived. The Spanish from Aragon were next before the island was given to the homeless Knights in the 1500's. Three hundred years later, the capitulation to the French marked the beginning of 200 years of English rule until Independence in 1964.    No wonder there is a melange of different cultures evidenced throughout the island/s.

After wandering the city we sought out food in the neighbouring Rabat, also with an attractive streetscape. For under 3 euros we enjoyed 3 pastizzis, one with ricotta and two with yummy peas, and two glasses of sweet milky tea. The cafe was frequented by the locals and I tried to be sneaky and take a photo. It was a long but interesting return bus ride. We had taken the express in the morning but this one was the milk run. Fantastic to note the  extensive remains of a Roman aqueduct that runs along the front of many everyday residences. A drink in our favourite bar, The Hole in the Wall, before pasta at the unit.

Near our apt.

No safety on the street as one eyes off the concrete blocks being hoisted between the power cables!!

Maltese take-away.

Learning about the 300 year reign of The Grand Masters. 

Mdina, started by the Romans and altered many times since. 

Cooking pasta.

Main square of the inner city, Mdina.