An Urban Myth Dispelled

One of the first things Edward did was to visit Citta Vecchia-the ancient capital of Malta-the pretty public gardens of St Antonio, with their shady orange walks and cool fountains filled with gold and silver fish, the cave of St Paul and the Catacombs so we followed suit. Edward travelled by hired horse and he was impressed with these as they were capital, easy, free and good tempered; they are chiefly barbs exported from Tunis. There are a number of horse carriages giving rides to tourists in Valletta and I must say their horses are still in exceptionally good condition. Edward was charged 3/- a day for his horse and he felt that was wonderfully cheap. By today's standards that was about A$10 which isn't bad. We travelled by bus and while I doubt if the buses are Tunisian, I suspect some of the drivers maybe. The fare was 1.5euro each way and Malta must be one of the few countries in the world where you can travel clear accross the nation for a price like that.

The Gate of Mdina

Citta Vecchia is now known by its original name of Mdina and is a walled city with fantastic views back to Valletta, about 15kms away. We got there early, just after 9am, and had the place to ourselves. Walking the narrow winding streets and looking out from the ramparts really takes you  back in time because the place is much as it was hundred's of years ago. We had a delightful morning tea at a cafe right on the ramparts overlooking the countryside. By 10 the tourists were starting to arrive so we walked accross to the adjoining town of Rabat where the Catacombs are located. They have been much excavated and studied since Edward was there and as Edward described consist of a maze of low, narrow passages cut in the solid rock, a short distance below the surface; they are said to be so extensive that ... a school master with his scholars once entered these mysterious excavations , and that not one of the party ever reappeared. Edward might be disappointed to learn that current interpretative signage quotes that story but claims that it's an urban myth, common to a number of catacomb sites around the world. They are fascinating, however, having been built over a long period of time, as a rather labour intesive method of burying the dead.

After Citta Vecchia, Edward rode down to the Gardens of St Antonio. They were first established by a French knight in the 17th century, who had his palace there. It then became a Grand Masters residence, then the British Governor's residence, which it was when Edward visited, and today it is the President's residence. The garden's have been open to the public, on and off, throughout that time. There are still groves of orange trees and fountains with gold fish, much as Edward described. Trish also spotted a tree planted by the Maltese Soroptomist Club for their 25th anniversary. Being a Soroptomist herself, she determined that she would try and make contact with the local branch for a coffee.

Trish and the Soroptomist tree