The Last of Malta, Mdina, Modica

This sphere is floating and spinning on a jet of water; just some random artwork in St. Julian's Bay.

Etched underneath the sphere is a quote :

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children"

The view from the second hotel room. The ocean is one of my favorite places. It so beautiful and peaceful.

The last day in Malta we took a bus to the city Mdina. Little did I know that our visit ended up during a medieval festival. Best festival ever....

Mdina was a medieval fortress. It has walls and a "dry" mote around it.  

 The first thing we went into was the Mdina dungeons. Mdina was one of the site of the Inquisition and naturally there are a bunch of statues to point out all the lovely tortures.

 This guy is being slowly split in two by a slightly sharpened log between his legs. His arms are tied behind his back and up on a wall and there are weights on his feet.

 

I found this lady and baby to be the most interesting. During the time the Catholic church was becoming very popular, a monastery/hospital opened up in Mdina. Because people were so dreadfully poor, the monastery put in this little window. Inside there is a rotating plate that allowed parents to place unwanted infants on it and give them up to the church.

  

 The window allowed the parents to remain unknown to the people accepting the babies.

 These guys were all dressed up in costumes singing and playing drums, flutes, and bagpipes. They were amazing.

The view from the top of the city wall

 Unfortunately we missed a great deal of the days events because we didn't know they were going on. But at one point they had a giant living chess match. 

 

 More artwork in Malta

The ocean is so beautiful. It moves with its own constant rhythm.

Modica : 

 Modica looks like it is built into the side of a canyon or something. All of these houses are lining the sides of a hill. It is pretty and makes me question what would ever happen if an earthquake hit the place. I think it would just collapse inward.

Anyway, Modica is known for its chocolate. They don't use milk with they make it and they use cocoa butter. It is really quite delicious, I should have bought more.

The trip to