We decided this trip would be a visit to Mosta and the famous Mosta Rotunda, the walled city of Mdina and to Golden bay beach.
As Malta is such a small island, it wasn't long before we had arrived in Mosta. We parked up and found that we were a little early as the Rotunda hadn't opened yet, so we went to a nearby cafe and enjoyed some breakfast. In Malta they like you to respect their dress code when visiting churches, so shoulders and knees covered is the way to go.
Mosta dome church (The Rotunda) is a pretty amazing site, it was built in the mid-19th century with the worlds largest unsupported dome. This was possible as it boasts walls which are up to 6m deep. The church is just as impressive on the outside as it is on the inside. There are six side chapels, marble floors and murals by Giuseppe Cali.
It was very awe-inspiring when entering. The design and structure is not just why it attracts visitors, but is known where miracles have happened. In 1942 during the second world war, the church was hit by a 200kg bomb while the church had a full congregation. The bomb failed to explode and also didn't land on anyone, everyone escaped unhurt. The church also managed to withstand two more bombs, which apparently just bounced off the dome without exploding!
The church today has on display a replica of the bomb that came through the dome and if you look up at the dome from the inside, you can see one tile that has not been fully restored, marking where the bomb came through.
If visiting, take your time to wander and appreciate the beauty of this church.
Our next stop was a short drive to the Mdina walled city. The Arabs built a 19m wall around Mdina, leaving the poorer people outside in the area that is now known as Rabat. Mdina was the capital of Malta until Valletta became the capital in 1571.
As you can imagine, Mdina was certainly not built for cars with its narrow winding streets, so we parked nearby and let loose on foot.
You can enter Mdina through a rather grand entrance called Greek's Gate or Mdina Gate. It is so named as a small group of Greek's settled in that corner of Mdina.
Mdina is full of interesting things to see with excellent views over Malta. The city has an aviation museum, Roman antiquities, dungeons, St Paul's Church and Grotto amongst numerous cafes and interesting architecture. As you can see from one of the pictures, there are good views from the wall. We enjoyed walking around this interesting walled city and would recommend it as a worth while visit.
Our car hire trip ended with a visit to one of Malta's few sandy beaches, Golden Bay.
Golden Bay was very busy (not surprising really as its one of very few sandy ones). It was large enough with plenty of water activities if you so wished. Golden Bay does have some history, it was where British naval forces trained during world war two, but as you could probably guess it is today full of sun worshippers.
We enjoyed some relaxation and we were very much entertained by a dog that belonged to an Italian couple. This dog was having the time of its life, jumping in and out of the water!
No comments:
Post a Comment