The Silent City

Perched on a hill in the central-west part of Malta is the small walled town of Mdina. Its history goes back thousands of years to the first inhabitants of the island. In Roman times it used to be much bigger, encompassing most of the neighbouring town of Rabat. However, during the Arab conquest, it was reduced to its present size. Mdina is a place of winding narrow streets and small picturesque squares.

The main square is dominated by the Baroque cathedral dedicated to St Paul and was built by the architect Lorenzo Gafa after the previous Gothic structure was destroyed in an earthquake in 1693.

The houses that survived the earthquake date back to the medieval period. However, rubbing shoulders with them are the ‘newer’ palaces and houses built in the Baroque style.

Thankfully, change has been slow in coming to Mdina and it is much the same as it was hundreds of years ago.

There is much I could tell you about its history, but that would make my post too long. Instead I will try to let the photos speak for themselves. This is an enchanting place which has captured my imagination, whose old buildings hold countless secrets for those willing to stop and listen.

Its walls throb with history; the very air thick with ghosts and memories of the past. Perhaps it is just my imagination but in this ancient place I never walk alone, the spirits of my ancestors surround me, whispering of bygone days, of lovers lost and battles won; of shuttered windows and high palace walls; of cloistered nuns and armoured knights; of chapels and churches, dungeons and banqueting halls; of tragedy and death and the beauty of life… I close my eyes. The noise of their whispering fills the air: a clash of swords, the clanking sound of heavy armour, the rustling swish of a faldetta, a piercing scream, an agonized moan, the insistent booming of church bells...
Perhaps I should be afraid. Perhaps they are trying to lure me to their world with their tales of the past but I think they are friendly ghosts, lost in time, unwilling to leave their enchanted city of silence and mystery.