Rabat — The Quiet Town at Mdina's Gates
“Where Maklowicz starts the day with pastizzi and ends it with rabbit stewed in wine”
Maklowicz's third episode begins in Rabat: "We arrived on the morning ferry from Gozo to Malta." Rabat and Mdina are really one town split in two — Rabat is the "common" part, Mdina the aristocratic one.
Pastizzi at Crystal Palace
Maklowicz visits a pastizzeria here — a place serving pastizzi (filo pastry with ricotta or peas). For €0.50 you get a hot, crispy pastry straight from the oven. "For fifty cents you're in paradise" — he says. Crystal Palace in Rabat has been operating since 1956.
Catacombs
Beneath Rabat stretches a labyrinth of early Christian catacombs dating from the 2nd-5th century. St Paul's Catacombs are the most extensive — over 2,000 m² of underground corridors with tombs, agape tables (funeral feasts) and frescoes.
Rabat's Cuisine
In the evening Maklowicz dines on fenek — rabbit stewed in wine and garlic. This is Malta's national dish, whose history dates back to a peasant revolt against knights who forbade them from hunting rabbits.
Getting there: Bus 51 or 52 from Valletta, about 30 minutes. Tickets €1.50.