Mdina

It is, quite frankly, stunning. From the high and very solid looking fortified walls to the narrow, high walled 'Triq's or streets that spidered off some open squares and Palazzo's.

These facets reminded me of my day out to Toledo, taken many years ago as there are many similarities between the two; both were historical capitals superseded by a bigger, more affluent city; both are surrounded by large fortified walls that sit on high plateaus that dominate the surrounding area which is mainly central and inland; In modern measures the resident population is quite small and the main people seen within the walls are the tourists who duly arrive daily with hire cars and buses.

Yet they both, as cities, retain a lovely sense of historical dignity and a feeling of importance. Both contain large Roman Catholic Churches, Toledo’s more ornate and imposing, as befits the old capital of a once great and wealthy kingdom, indeed at the time one of the period’s world superpower. Mdina St Paul’s Cathedral was obviously a worthy attempt to impress and showed the wealth that it could put into its medieval faith, from the Knights of Malta in the 17^th Century when the Cathedral you see now was built over the earthquake damaged Norman church.

As you stroll through the streets you have a feeling that the places would not have changed much in 100’s of years, the denial of cars to such small streets makes you realise that without cars, such towns and cities retain their original feel. In parts of Mdina you could be walking the same street with the same buildings and view as the Grand Master would have done 400 years ago. This level of empathy is often unachievable in more developed cities and that is a shame, because in bigger cities you are often only able to achieve this empathy through visiting single buildings that have survived, such as the Pantheon in Rome for example, never totally in the whole of Rome, like you can in these smaller more preserved cities. Protected by their small size and an almost splendid isolation from the modern world.

So, little Mdina sat on top of the hillside preying over the hillside is a cool place. We entered through the Greek gate and you are immediately struck by the size and sense of claustrophobia as although the buildings may be two or three stories high, the width of the street, at some places, perhaps only 2 to 2.5 metres makes those three stories feel really enclosing and provides some wonderful lanes of shade. This shade is a haven for white, northern Europeans and again much like Toledo ideal for tourists as it provides the chance to walk around the city in the hottest of days without melting into a puddle of northern European arrogance and supposed superiority. Another shared characteristic with Toledo and I am sure, many other places in the Mediterranean, which makes visiting possible.

I still remember the endurance required to visit, Olympia, the home of the ancient Olympics in late July, where the temperature reached 50 degrees and the site was open to that blazing sunshine. The hottest day of my life but there were bonuses; It was an incredibly interesting site and the tour guide was, blonde, about 23 and drop dead gorgeous and I seem to remember quite a forward girl who had a penchant for leopard print bra’s and chatting to English men. Although she was delighted to point out during our journey the biggest tinning factory for tomatoes in Greece, which always sticks in my mind.

The typical Maltese balconies strike you as unique with the way that they are enclosed the balconies with windows and remind me of bay windows being attached half way up the front of houses, mainly made of wood and decorated by weathered paint and the majority of which seem to be painted green, red and even the odd purple wooden balcony. It gives the buildings a little more character which some buildings in Mdina do lack as apart from the balcony they do suffer a little from being a bit plain. Of course there are also some exceptionally ornate buildings that are attractive, balcony or not mainly due to the cornices, columns, etc. A great example is Valetta and the grandmasters palace which is a truly gorgeous building. Though Valetta is another story.