ENG -- Malta - Mdina and Rabat

After visiting Valletta, we thought it would be interesting to see the former capital of the island of Malta, from antiquity to the medieval period: Mdina. From Sliema, where we had the accommodation, you can go directly by bus 202, paying just 1.50 euros and about an hour of your time, while you can admire several villages and towns in the center of the island.

Before we walk into the old fortified fortress, our attention was caught by the old gate with which you can easily imagine that, once you entered, you came back hundreds of years ago.

And the feeling of returning over time will continue if you keep walking the narrow streets full of history. Mdina Fortress is also called "The Silent City", being inhabited only by a few hundred people, of whom we have not seen too many.

We continued our walk among the walls of the city, admiring the architecture of the buildings, the balconies and the colorful doors specific to Malta, which charmed us.

You can also visit the fortress using the horses drawn carriage, but the prices are quite high and the city is not very large, you can easily walk from one edge to the other.

The day we chose to visit Mdina was, for us, one of the 2 days (out of 8) where we seriously considered whether the holiday in Malta in December was a good idea or not. The strong wind and our spring clothes made us feel uncomfortable at 10-12 Celsius degrees. The good part was that we could "hide" from the wind on the narrow streets, in all the souvenir shops that got out of the way (the Maltese are proud of the products made on the island of silver or glass) and even in two cathedrals with architecture and decors which can not go unnoticed.

In order to get from Mdina to Rabat, we only had to get out on the gate of the fortress. There we continued walking along narrow streets, where we found plenty of reasons to stop to take a picture.

After visiting the Medieval Fortress of Mdina, we wanted to go back in time, to antiquity, and we went to St Paul's Catacombs. The ticket cost 5 Euro and gave us access to Christian, Jewish or pagan cemeteries. At the entrance to the archaeological complex we were informed by a poster that the ticket was valid only for the St Paul's Catacombs (in Rabat there were several catacombs that could be visited). When we thought we had finished visiting, we had a pleasant surprise: just cross the street was another area that sheltered other catacombs in the same complex.

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To read about our first impressions in Malta, you can click this link : Malta in December or you can read about or visit in Valletta.