Congratulations, you’ve arrived in Rabat!
The name ‘Rabat’ [rab-uht] is derived from the arabic word for ‘suburb’, as it was the suburb of the old capital Mdina. The population of Rabat is almost 12,000 people, all of whom are very proud of their village, so don’t say a word against it. Rabat is quite a unique village as it distinctively blends its history with today’s culture. In this one-day itinerary, we want to offer the opportunity to you to experience Rabat in a different manner; from the eyes of it’s villagers.
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WE’RE DEFINING THESE NOW
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In this page you could find the categories of the places you will be visiting. Yes, the words are in maltese but they are going to be used throughout this itinerary instead of the icons, so it’s just the shape of the letters that you have to remember! If you’re willing you can even try to pronounce the word with the help of the phonetic notations near each one.
/ikel/
IKEL
bars and restaurants
/kneyyes/
KNEJJES churches
/toroɁ/
TOROQ streets
/attratsyauniyi:t/
ATTRAZZJONIJIET places of interest
/layn/
don’t ask what they mean later ...
L-GĦAJN washer’s spring /vedu:ti/
VEDUTI
views
/jonna/
ĠONNA green areas
/hwi:net/
ĦWIENET shops
/karotsin/
KAROZZIN horse drawn carriage
/trasport/
TRASPORT
transport (bus terminals)
This itinerary starts at 09:00 sharp
DON’T BE LAZY, WAKE UP EARLY AND GET TO KNOW THE AMAZING VILLAGERS.
L-GĦODWA T-TAJBA /lo:dwa ttayba/
good morning
9:00 AM
IKEL Crystal Palace, commonly known as “Serkin” with the villagers is famously known for freshly baked cheesecakes (pastizzi) and tea / coffee in a glass. This traditional little bar which dates back for over 100 years is now renowned for its unrestricted opening hours. Its customers, conspicuously male, either rush in for a quick tea or coffee and a cheesecake or spend the morning there discussing local affairs. Some of them may be interested in sharing some experiences with you. Why don’t you ask them how Rabat was effected during the second world war? Something we got to know is that the parking area opposite the bar used to be a field, and in 1972, when a small earthquake hit the island people got out of their houses carrying all their money and televisions thinking that another earthquake was going to happen. Go on, don’t be too shy to ask!
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this photo goes back to the 1960s
THE FRUIT & VEGETABLE MARKET, OPPOSITE SERKIN
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9:30 AM
ČWIENET If you walk further up the street, just round the corner you will find 2 typical shops; the gilder and the shoemaker. As you walk into the gilder’s shop you can admire several masterpieces which are all made by hand. In this shop, which has been open for
almost 9 years, the gilder creates unique and tailor-made maltese clocks according to the clients specifications. On the other side of the street you will see a particular shop in which a skilled hardworking man, repairs every type of shoe. 12
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ĦWIENET In contrast to the gilder’s neat environment, the shoemaker’s shop could be seen as an ordered confusion. If you wish to take a picture of the shoemaker’s shop, make sure you ask him for permission.
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ÄŚWIENET
As you continue your journey into St. Paul’s street, you will come across a 150 year old ironmonger shop. The current owner is the fourth generation in his family business, having his great grand father as the first ironmonger in Rabat. He still owns a vintage scale complete with its original measurments, although he now uses metric weights. He will be willing to tell you all about the streets opposite his shop, if you ask him.
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9:45 AM
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10:00 AM
TOROQ Now, you should find yourself in Bir l-Iljun street. Walking through this alley, you are now in the oldest part of Rabat, which during ancient times was part of the old capital city, Mdina. As you can see, this part of the village consists only of narrow winding streets. These were intentionally built this way make it difficult for the enemy to follow the maltese. In these streets you can easily notice the versatility in each wooden door and balcony, all beautifully built many years ago.
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10:30 AM
TOROQ After exploring several streets you are now in Victory (Reb침a) street which could be easily referred to as perhaps one of the streets with a significant story behind it. In this street the maltese people endured a battle against the Turks in which the latter surrendered to the maltese in this area. Looking in the other direction you will surely not
miss one of the busiest roads in Rabat. An interesting fact about this particular road is that before it was built for cars, it used to be a ditch owned by a farmer who till a few years ago was still living down the road. Now cross the road from the pedestrian lights to explore another part of the village.
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10:45 AM
“In this small square you are in, there used to be several coffee shops during the World War II, and all of them managed to carry on with their business even during those difficult times.� a villager quickly mentioned ...
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TOROQ This square was much smaller than it is today. The area of the civic centre which is found on one side of it, was once occupied by slums. The road on the right, which now leads to St. Paul’s church was narrower; it was just enough for a horse-drawn cart to pass. Go along, walk down this road and you can buy some traditional nougat from a specialised confectionery.
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11:00 AM
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ATTRAZZJONIJIET
As you continue to walk on the pavement, you will come across CafÊ Wignacourt. Inside you’ll find the Wignacourt Museum which is housed in a baroque palace and presents a wealth of historical material. This building was completed in 1749 and is on three levels; the underground level consists of a labyrinth of Punic, Roman
11:10 AM
and Christian Hypogea with interesting architectural features as well as a complex of World War II shelters with two main corridors and fifty rooms. The ground floor level consists of a corridor with on one side a number of rooms used as offices and minor collections, which include an Austin 28 Ranelagh Limousine. A curious
fact about this magnificent car is that in order to be placed in this museum the stones of the building had to be removed one by one and put back once the car was in place. The main floor has an impressive picture gallery with works by Mattia Preti, Antoine Favray, Francesco Zahra and other Maltese as well as European Artists.
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L-IKLA T-TAJBA
enjoy your lunch
/likla ttayba/
12:40 PM
IKEL After visiting the Wignacourt Museum you can now enjoy a delicious lunch from CafĂŠ Wignacourt. 36
“St.Paul’s Catacombs are a typical complex of interconnected, underground Roman cenetaries that were in use up to the fourth century AD” Heritage Malta
ATTRAZZJONIJIET
2:00 PM
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A HAND-M LACE STORE ĦWIENET This shop goes back to the days when a lot of drapes used to be woven by hand on the upper floor. Today, it still sells traditional lace and hand-woven clothes amongst other goods which feature prominently the Maltese Cross.
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2:45 PM
MADE
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3:15 PM
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L-GČAJN The washers’ spring was very popular with villagers during the 1900s. Women used to go to the spring to wash their clothes and since the water was always fresh, many filled their buckets for drinking. The spring was also popular with children who used to go to the spring to wash themselves.
nowadays, the spring was restored to its’ original condition.
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ATTRAZZJONIJIET The mosaic pavements in the Domus Romana rank amongst the finest and oldest mosaic compositions from the western Mediterranean. They were discovered in 1881 just outside Mdina, in the remains of a rich and sumptuously decorated town house of the Roman period.
You better go in now as this museum closes at 5:00 and by the way, don’t touch any of the exhibited remains!
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3:40 PM
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4:15 PM
KAROZZIN You can now enjoy a 30 minute tour either on the traditional horse-drawn carriage or on a unique sightseeing train.
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Ä ONNA Howard Gardens is one of the largest gardens in Malta and it is named after the island’s first Prime Minister. It is the best spot to relax after a day of sightseeing. It also offers a nice view of the Mdina bastions as well as the newly inaugurated Mdina ditch. 53
4:45 PM
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Now you have some time to admire the streets which will lead you to one of the many churches that characterise the village of Rabat.
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6:00 PM
KNEJJES St.Joseph Parish Church admire the artistic architecture and paintings which decorate the interior of this church.
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looks
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IL-LEJLA T-TAJBA
enjoy your supper
/ileila ttayba/
6:30 PM
IKEL By visiting Palazzo Xara you’re getting the best of two worlds; a casual local band club combined with a stunning atmosphere which you can enjoy while having a mouth-watering dish.
If you’re lucky you’ll be able to meet some locals who usually socialise at the club while enjoying a pint of beer.
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8:00 PM
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6:30
We believe that the locals welcomed you in Rabat and we hope you had a good time exploring this lively village. This itinerary was especially designed as a memory of this journey. We guess you will be keeping it, right?!