MALTA (8)

RABAT

It is understandable that most visitors will miss Rabat and visit the ancient city of Mdina instead.

With no fortifications left, the town of Rabat is much larger in area and population than Mdina. Here you will find schools and colleges and there is also a variety of shops – all the normal things you would see in a town. But don’t be surprised to see that Rabat definitely has a character of its own. If you want to explore this town, it’s best to do it on foot.

We made good use of our time in Rabat – a visit to the Domus Rumana (a Roman Villa), the Catacombs and by just walking through the beautiful streets. We were also lucky to be here on one of the feast days of Malta, namely the Feast of St Peter and St Paul. With the streets beautifully decorated, there was a joyful atmosphere.

Let’s go to our first sighting of the day.

DOMUS RUMANA (ROMAN VILLA):

The house was built in the 2^nd century BC and is believed to have belonged to a wealthy merchant. The site was discovered in 1881 and contains incredibly fine mosaic polychrome pavements and some original architectural elements.

A number of rooms were built to protect the mosaics and an upper hall was added to provide exhibition space. We were fascinated with the Roman antiquities on display.

There were quite a few statues in the museum, which are said to date from the middle of the 1^st century AD. This meant it was about a century after the original construction of the house.

At least two of these show members of the family of Emperor Claudius. The best preserved is that of Emperor Claudius himself, followed by that of his daughter Claudia Antonia and that of a young boy with a bulla around his neck (probably depicting the young Nero, Claudius’ adopted son and successor in 54 AD) .

There is also an area outside (still part of the museum) which houses many more Roman artefacts. I can understand why they say that the remains of this villa were among Malta’s most important Roman heritage.

I saw two Roman antiquities that I found fascinating and interesting … a clay pot put together (must be a satisfying job to be able to do this) and a baby rattle. I’ve thought a lot about that rattle – I can only imagine when a baby in Roman times hit himself or herself on the head with that rattle – it could have had serious consequences, don’t you think.

Our last (and probably the main attraction) was the mosaics. Apparently it is rated among the best and oldest in the western Mediterranean and compares well with those of Sicily and Pompeii.

We found this museum truly amazing to visit. It sometimes felt like we were retracing ancient steps. If you visit Mdina, don’t miss the Roman Villa in Rabat.

As we walked through the streets of Rabat, we noticed all the colourful flags and decorations at the church. When we asked the locals about this, they informed us that they celebrate the Feast of St Peter and St Paul (celebrated on June 29). It was beautiful to see Rabat in such a festive mood.

The 16^th century cross-shaped parish Church of St Paul is ranked among the country’s most impressive structures. It dates from 1575 but was largely rebuilt in the late 17^th century.

As we strolled the streets of Rabat, we ran into a couple of gentlemen sitting outside. There were a few small cages with birds, as well as one with a mouse. They probably saw us looking at them curiously and called us closer. After a conversation in half English and half Maltese, we concluded that they gather here every day to chat (while having a few drinks) and at the same time bring their pets out to enjoy the sunshine . Well, at least that’s what we understood.

THE CATACOMBS:

Our final stop in Rabat included a visit to the vast network of catacombs. The most extensive, St Paul’s Catacombs, is a maze of tunnels, niches and rock tombs that were used until the 4^th century AD. St Agatha’s Catacombs are dedicated under the church to the saint who fled from Catania to Malta in 249 AD.

We visited the St Paul’s Catacombs but it was so dark we literally had to feel our way down (maybe it would be a good idea to bring a flashlight when visiting here).

The underground cemeteries are honeycombed under Rabat and as deep as 7m (23ft) underground. Family graves are cut into the rock walls, there are also stone canopies, benches and early communion tables used by the early Christians.

We took many pictures, but some of these are just dark spots, while others are completely out of focus. Here are two pictures just to give you an idea of ​​what to expect.

We always like to end a day of exploring on a positive note (and above ground), so we left the dark catacombs of Rabat and took a short drive to Ta’Qali.

TA’QALI CRAFTS VILLAGE:

Just a short distance from Rabat (and Mdina) is the craft village of Ta’Qali. Located on the former World War II airfield, it is Malta’s largest local craft market.

We took many photos here – of the craftsmen who were busy with glassblowing, ceramics and wrought ironwork as well as the big Malta Aviation Museum which is nearby.

However, to our regret, we lost these photos somewhere along the line – disastrous! This means, dear blogger friends, that you will have to go there yourself to see all these beautiful products as well as the Aviation Museum.

We end this post with two stock pile photos from the internet of the beautiful and famous coloured Mdina glassware.

Oh, and let me not forget! It was here in Rabat that we had our first taste of Pastizzi, the traditional savoury pastry of Malta (usually filled with either ricotta cheese or curried peas). The first Pastizzi we tasted was filled with ricotta – delicious!

In our next post about our visits to Malta we go to the beach. We will show you the beautiful town of Mellieha Bay where we stayed on our second visit. This is where you will find Malta’s largest beach – a whopping 600m long (which is huge for such a small island)! See you on the beach 🏖🏖.

We have done these trips in 2011 & 2013