On the largest of the three small islands which compose the Maltese nation, is a city called Rabat. It is an interesting and ancient place. It’s where the grotto or cave system where the Apostle Paul is said to have lived after his ship bound for Rome crash landed here in 60 A.D. (Acts 28)
The church is called St. Paul’s Church, not to be confused with St. Paul’s Cathedral which is nearby in a sub-city called Mdina. The lights are kept off, and the whole place is dedicated to meditative prayer and reflection. In the twenty minutes I stayed inside, there were fewer than five other visitors.
The exterior has the trappings of an old world circus tent. Ceramic saints line the sidewalks, and it looks like something from an episode of Boardwalk Empire.
Below, there is a number of secret and blocked walkways, passages too narrow to navigate safely, and dark staircases, often leading up into what is now the floor of the church overhead. Seattle has a city underneath of it, perhaps Rabat was it’s founder’s inspiration.
At the end of the day I could see the grand rose and cream dome of the cathedral, but I wasn’t able to go inside. Malta is a bit like the city of Rome in that it feels both historically and culturally inexhaustible. I am as lost as a pastry lover with access to a case with thousands of unique and delicate sweet breads, who has only on plate on which to heap his chosen delights.
I know, poor me.
albaniacalling 