Valletta, Malta

April 7, 2023

Today we would continue our exploration of walled cities. In Valletta, Brian and I were party of an independent excursion that would visit the medieval city of Mdina, Marsaxlokk fishing village, and the Valletta (the capital of Malta and a UNESCO World Heritage site).

In our large van (which would turn out to have mechanical issues), we headed first to St. John’s Cathedral in Valletta. Today was Good Friday and the cathedral was holding a children’s Easter service with lively folk music and children reading scripture. Of course, everything was in the Maltese language so we didn’t understand a word of it. Outside the church (and all around town), there were numerous crosses and Holy Week decorations and inside the church there were frescoes and a vaulted ceiling.

One of the cathedral’s claims to fame is that, during World War II, bombs were dropped near the church. One of them went through the roof and into the sanctuary where 300 people were gathered. Amazingly, the bomb didn’t explode and was taken away to be detonated. This is a picture of the ceiling. The white square is where the bombed entered.

Our next stop was Mdina. The drive through town and out into the country was fascinating. I so enjoy looking at the architecture and art of all the cities and towns we have visited.

Up the hill we went. We were dropped off inside a parking area (after navigating a very narrow entryway) and together we walked into a city seemingly untouched by time if you could ignore all the tourists and school groups. Good Friday is a holiday and everyone was visiting. About 300 people still live in Mdina and the only cars allowed inside belong to those inhabitants and people who offer services to the city. You could hire a horse and cart like these to get around:

We were on foot and had to watch out for traffic.

Mdina is a maze of narrow streets, lovely golden limestone buildings and many, many churches. According to tradition, the Apostle St. Paul was shipwrecked here in 60 AD. The cathedral in town bears his name.

The Carmelite Priory in Mdina is still an active congregation. Again, it is beautiful inside.

The walls surrounding the city are were built very thickly for defensive purposes. This is Brian walking through one of the gates.

Throughout Mdina, I was fascinated by the number of interesting door knockers. There were so many different kinds.

This is a photo of the most photographed door in Mdina. I don’t know why, but my feeling is that guides tell you this and then you feel obliged to take a picture. A self-fulfilling legend if I’ve ever heard one.

Our visit to Mdina ended with us back where we were dropped off. We waited a long time for our van to return. Our guide told us we had gotten a new one. What she didn’t know was that it was much bigger and couldn’t access the narrow gate we had used earlier. We have to walk quite a way to reach the new and way more comfortable van. Some of the tour group was getting testy about the wasted time and was worrying about having not enough time for lunch when we visited the fishing village.

Marsaxlokk was very charming. We had been told that we had a half hour for lunch and that, because of the Good Friday crowds, we should get some takeaway from a restaurant. Brian and I headed out to do just that. Apparently after we were gone, more negotiation happened and we had a hour. In any event, we found a place with traditional stuffed Maltese sandwiches that were delicious and inexpensive. Brian tried the local beer while I had a Coke Zero.

After our lunch, we explored the seaside open market, picked up a few treats, and admired the cute boats.

We spent the extra half hour we didn’t realize we had sitting in the town square and people watching.

Heading back to the port, our final stop was the walled city of Valletta. Valletta is a lively, beautiful city. Again, since it was Good Friday, there were a lot of crowds. There was going to be a Good Friday processional out of the cathedral that evening, so local folks were heading into town to watch. The procession consists of men carrying life size statues depicting the Passion of Christ and takes hours. We would be back at the ship before the procession began.

It would have been fun to have had more time to explore Valletta. From beautiful buildings full of history to a lively street scene, there is much to do here.