Rabat is a city in the centre of Malta, directly adjacent to the old city of Mdina. The history of the city dates back some 2,000 years, when it was part of the ancient Roman city of Melita. During the Arab rule over the island, the city was renamed Mdina, while the part outside the city walls was called Rabat, meaning suburb.
A Roman villa (Domus Romana) is located on the edge of the green areas between Medina and Rabat. Worth seeing is the mosaic of the atrium with a pair of doves sitting around a bowl in the centre.
Domus Romana
Through the Triq San Pawl from the Domus Romana to St Paul's Church.
Triq San Pawl
St Paul's Church was built in memory and honour of the apostle Paul and the bishop Publius, who was converted by him. According to legend, the apostle lived in the grotto named after him under the right aisle during his three-month stay on the island of Malta until he succeeded in converting the Roman governor Publius to Christianity. Today, there is a statue of the apostle in the grotto, and in another grotto, which apparently served as a prison, holes can be seen in the ceiling where prisoners were shackled. There are also frescoes from the 16th century.
Visit to the catacombs and the St Paul's Church Museum
Path next to the church
A nice lady shows Vreni how to get back to the bus station and walks a little way with us.
Through these romantic alleyways - I assume it's the Trip-Ir-Repubblika - we walk back to the bus station without any tourists, where the 202 bus takes us back to Ballutta Bay and the Hotel Marriott.
