Mdina, the (not anymore) Silent City

Last Sunday my wife and I met a couple of friends who are on holiday in Malta. We decided to take them to the picturesque village of Maraxlokk for a nice treat of fresh seafood.

Albeit the weather was not totally on our side, we decided to have our coffee in another scenic area, and moved to Wied iz-Zurrieq. Needless saying that in addition to the not so good weather, we also had to deal with the rough road going to Zurrieq.

Having enjoyed Zurrieq, and taking advantage of the length of the day at this time of the year, we decided to take them to Mdina.

I chose to take the coastal road from Zurrieq to Mdina passing on the way through Siggiewi and Dingli. Needless saying that this road is perfect for off-roading buffs. Down from Dingli, I was coerced by bus driver to reverse through a side road because the two of us could not pass, as it goes without saying that a bus has higher rights according to the Highway Code.

Like the stereotype educated Maltese, I was explaining all I know about Maltese History, our Culture and Heritage. On our way to Mdina I was boasting about how ancient is our beloved old Capital City, that St. Paul when shipwrecked on the Island was greeted by the local feud of the time in the city of Medina, that it was reduced in size by the Arabs.... I also explained that the beauty of Mdina lies in its very streets, where every narrow passage has a story to say and gives you an eerie feeling and the well preserved diverse architecture from the different eras.

When we finally arrived I was luck to find parking near the Playground and avoiding wrecking my car further in the make-shift parking lot near the Roman Villa.

I always take tourists through the main door of Mdina, this time round I found the facade being restorated. Thank god we are taking care of our Heritage; I appreciate that the best time, meteorologically speaking coincides with the approach of the tourist season.

There we discovered that one of the two lions is dangerous while the other can jump on you if you get too close.

My national pride was far from hurt at the site of the main door being restorated, because I knew that the years’ long project of re-surfacing Mdina was finished. The new stone surface blended well with the architecture and amplified the atmosphere therin.

Past the Natural History Museum onto the main road to the Cathedral square I got the shock of my life. Cars were parked everywhere in all the roads.

The Cathedral Square is now a parking lot.

Is this how we are taking care of one of our greatest National Heritage?

Why do we care about doing restorations when the worst catalyst to limestone deterioration is car fumes?

Is this how we want Mdina to be remembered by tourists visiting us?

I kept a poker face and took a detour through some of the lesser known streets to capture a bit of that mythical eeriness of the ancient city, only to find more cars parked everywhere!

We then headed to the bastions to enjoy one of the best views in the Island. Apart from the obnoxious view of our glorious new ‘man-made-mountain’ of Maghtab, the rest of the scene was just magnificent. This time round the vista was further tarnished by some feast’s hideous bombs which in spite of our distance from the event, we could not speak comfortably when they were firing in succession.

Almost all shops were closed, and so where the museums, while hundreds or tourists where striding along the roads.

We ended our day out with a few drinks in a coffee shop on the bastions, where the service always leaves much to be desired, and is rendered by a bunch of ungraceful teenage kids, whose faces change every time I visit. At least this time round the establishment did not make us pay to use the toilet.