MALTA: Rabat, the Suburb of Mdina

Just when you thought the Malta trip was done and over with, here we are again, picking up from where we last left off...outside Mdina, the former capital city.  (Bugibba to the north is always our starting point.)

Just outside the walled city of Mdina is the bus stop and the horse-n-buggy hitching post.

Instead of turning left to walk into Mdina, this day we turned right to walk into Rabat.

The bus stop...and the wall...separate the two cities.  That's how close they are.

In fact, Rabat is derived from the Arabic word for suburb.

One difference between the two cities is population size:  300 vs. 12,000.

So as we walked past the landmarks to find the main street in, we were prepared to see a lot.

We had been told that the Feast of St. Joseph was on Sunday, when the city would be celebrating.

Crowds don't work for us, so we made the decision to visit the preceding Friday,

little knowing it was when the city was prepping for the big day.

Everywhere we walked around city center, banners were flying...

and workers were setting up the props, attaching light bulbs, and having fun.

How many men does it take to change a light bulb???

While we watched, we suddenly saw we were standing in front of a church.

And because it was open, yes, we walked right in...little knowing it would close 20 min. later.

It's the Santa Marija ta'Gesu (ta' Giezu) church:  Our Lady of Jesus.

It, too, was being prepped for the Feast of St. Joseph!

Everything that could be covered in red velvet...was.

And as we were politely shooed out, a gentleman said THIS was the church 

from which the procession of St. Joseph would commence on Sunday.

Lucky for us that we could see it before they closed the doors.

As we continued walking through town, we paid tribute to all the saints:

Abraham, Moses, Isaac, Jeremiah, David, Jacob, Joseph, Isaiah....

and untold angels, plus assorted others.

Talk about a feast and calling everyone to take part!

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At this point in the late morning, we visited St. Paul's Grotto and the Catacombs,

for which Rabat is known.  But that's another post.

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It was time for our koffie break, which we took in the main square,

opposite the Collegiate Church of St. Paul, consecrated in 1726.

Sadly, it was not open.

But it didn't matter, because there was so much else to see while walking around.

Malta is a Roman Catholic country, so there are RC churches everywhere.

And enough wabi-sabi to last a lifetime (not that she is, mind you).

How is it that walking around makes us hungry for carbonara!  HA!

And for the beers the locals love (all those 150 years of Bristish Empire influence)!

And for the Maltese bragioli we grew to love!

Impressions.  Impressions.  Impressions.

Did we mention that we OFTEN saw men together like this in Malta...but never women.

Hmmmmm.

I suppose these were getting ready for Sunday's Feast.

Good for them to remember the flowers.

And then, as we headed back to the bus stop, another wee church beckoned,

Santa Maria ta' Doni (Ta' Duna):  St. Mary Duna, from the 17th century.

It's actually a chapel and doesn't appear to be used for services?

But there he was...St. Joseph with baby Jesus on the altar.

And there he was again as we left the city.

He's the patron saint of Rabat.

Happy Feast of St. Joseph!