Malta, part 2

Having landed in Malta after a sleepless night, our first night’s sleep at our hotel was particularly long and satisfying.

By nine in the morning of our second day we were outside on the main street where we waited for the bus to pick us up for a tour of the island. Our first stop was at a craft village where they manufactured a number of different craft items including filigree objects, mostly in silver, pottery, and very attractive decorative glass items.

Our next stop was in the town of Mosta which is proud of having the third largest unsupported dome in the world. We visited the church there which is very impressive from the outside.

and just as impressive inside. The church was the site of a miracle. During World War II, a Nazi plane passed over the church and dropped three bombs. Two bounced off the outside of the dome. The third came through the roof into the church when 300 people were present. The bomb did not explode and no one was hurt. For this reason, this church is a popular place for the people of Malta to pray. After all, if the church was capable of this miracle, then why not others?
In this picture, on the right hand side, just below the center, you can see where the dome was repaired.

Our next stop was Mdina, pronounced em-Dina. Mdina is a walled city and it is well preserved. Walking through Mdina was really lovely, and from one area there is a most beautiful view of the island.



The treat was seeing the dome of the church in Mosta from far in the distance, as we did here.
Of course, if one did not want to walk through the streets of Mdina, one could hire a friendly horse to help out.

or one could just start up a conversation with him.

From there we went to see the Blue Grotto. First we got on a boat.

Then, once on the water, we saw the caves.

Our boat darted into and out of the series of caves, but the most astounding part of the tour was when we saw the neon blue water.

The water actually looked as if it were lit from below. The water was very clear. Even at a depth of 10 meters, one could see the bottom of the sea.

After that, we had our last stop of the day. It was a fishing town called Marsaxlokk (pronounced Marsa-shlock). It was very picturesque, from the boats

to the fishermen themselves, fixing their nets.

It was a beautiful, full day!

Tomorrow: Gozo!