Our landlady told us of the strikes on Afghanistan this morning at breakfast. With a joint British and American effort, it made the thought of flying BA a little unsettling.
Undaunted, we headed out of town on a compass heading and found our way to Mdina, the “silent city”. It is one of the best examples of a medieval walled city that is still inhabited.
In the heart of the old city is St Paul’s Cathedral, a “Maltese Baroque” cathedral.
Undaunted, we headed out of town on a compass heading and found our way to Mdina, the “silent city”. It is one of the best examples of a medieval walled city that is still inhabited.
In the heart of the old city is St Paul’s Cathedral, a “Maltese Baroque” cathedral.
The site on which the cathedral was built was said to be the site of the house of Publius, the chief man of the island. Publius was said to lay sick with fever when visited by St Paul who healed him. He later became the first Bishop of Malta. 
Further down the street was St Agatha’s Chapel. St Agatha is said to have fled to Malta from Sicily in 249 AD following persecution by the Emperor Decius for refusing to marry Quintianus, the governor of Catania. Upon returning to Catania in 251 AD, she was imprisoned. Quintianus ordered her left breast to be cut off and then she was burnt to death over hot stones.
We found our way our of Mdina and onto country roads. With signs pointing to the Cart Ruts, we decided to make a short detour and take a look. Known as cart tracks, they are parallel ruts, V shaped and about 6-20 inches wide, running through hard rock. They uniformly measure about 54 inches apart- the width of the axle on the modern Maltese country cart. Some experts believe that they are evidence of an elaborate transport and communication system.
Further down the street was St Agatha’s Chapel. St Agatha is said to have fled to Malta from Sicily in 249 AD following persecution by the Emperor Decius for refusing to marry Quintianus, the governor of Catania. Upon returning to Catania in 251 AD, she was imprisoned. Quintianus ordered her left breast to be cut off and then she was burnt to death over hot stones.
We found our way our of Mdina and onto country roads. With signs pointing to the Cart Ruts, we decided to make a short detour and take a look. Known as cart tracks, they are parallel ruts, V shaped and about 6-20 inches wide, running through hard rock. They uniformly measure about 54 inches apart- the width of the axle on the modern Maltese country cart. Some experts believe that they are evidence of an elaborate transport and communication system.
From there, we headed to Hagar Qim megalithic temples. The name, Hagar Qim, means “standing stones”. It’s believed that they date back 7000 years. The most famous stone is 20 feet long.
We stopped for lunch in a traditional fishing village, Marsaxlokk and had a wonderful lunch of freshly caught lumpaki. The harbor was filled with the traditional Maltese fishing boat, the luzzu, which still has the “eye of Osiris” on its bow. The Turkish fleet moored here during the Great Siege of 1565 and Napoleon landed here during the French invasion of 1798.
Back in Sliema, we returned the car and settled in for a pitcher of margaritas and a plate of spicy pork at Marianna’s.
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