Mdina

Today, we traveled by bus up to the ancient city of Mdina. Mdina (Arabic for “city”) is known as the “silent city” and is the former capital of Malta. Once inside the fortified walls of the city, it is easy to understand why it carries this name. Compared to Valletta, Mdina is incredibly slow and quiet. There is one main road that runs through the center of the city. Off this main road, there are many winding alleys. These alleys are created simply by space between buildings that typically share common walls and are winding as a way to prevent an arrow from traveling very far.

While in a shop in Mdina, I finally was able to put together the history that surrounds the Maltese falcon. The story goes like this: The marriage of the Catholic monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella of Castile led to the unification of Spain in 1479, and under their grandson, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Malta became part of the vast Spanish Empire. One of the greatest threats to Charles’ realm was the expanding Ottoman (Turkish) Empire of Süleyman the Magnificent in the east. Süleyman had driven the Knights of St. John from their island stronghold of Rhodes in 1522 and 1523. When the Knights begged Charles V to find them a new home, he offered them Malta along with the governorship of Tripoli, hoping that they might help contain the Turkish naval forces in the eastern Mediterranean. The nominal rent was to be two falcons a year – one for the emperor and one for the viceroy of Sicily. Hence, the Maltese falcon.

St. Paul’s Cathedral is located in the middle of Mdina and is considered to be the crown jewel. St. Paul was shipwrecked on Malta in 60 A.D. and ended up spending 3 years here during which time he converted the islanders to Christianity, making the Maltese one of the oldest Christian peoples in the world. This Cathedral was built to commemorate St. Paul’s contributions to this society, and although not nearly as lush and ornate as St. John’s Cathedral in Valletta, it is still quite breathtaking. The reason St. Paul’s Cathedral is not as ornate as St. John’s is because the Knights did not take part in its construction and decoration like they did in Valletta.

Mdina is a must-see for anyone visiting Malta. The architecture is beautiful and the city itself has an almost calming effect.

Tomorrow is sadly our last day here before we head back to the States. Our plan is to just go and lay by the pool all day and enjoy our final hours here. We hope to be able to come back here one day with the boys. Malta has been everything we had hoped and more.