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In our opinion Mellieha Bay and the
surrounding area is the best holiday resort on Malta. It is
in the North of the island and has a superb sandy beach which
gently leads into the water. Buses regularly travel to
Valletta and if you have a car, everywhere is less than a
gentle hour's drive away.
Forget the bustle of St Paul's Bay, the
area in and around Mellieha is tranquil and peaceful. How
long it will stay like that is anyone's guess, but the flats
and hotels are being built as I write this article. In ten
years another beautiful part of the Mediterranean will have
been concreted over. Get to Mellieha soon and enjoy a
beautiful part of Malta. |
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Built into the cliffs around
Mellieha Bay are rock houses (see picture on the right). They are inhabited, at least they were at the time
of our visit to Malta.
The town of Mellieha is more
civilised though and has lots of bars, cafes and
restaurants. Some are better than others but we can
honestly say we never found one which didn't serve
at least good food.
There are the normal tourist
shops in the town, and a couple of small supermarkets
which stock everything you will need. The town even
boasts its own butcher who stocks excellent,
traditional Maltese Sausage. Click here
for details of the cuisine of Malta. |
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Perched high up on Mellieha is
the local parish church Our Lady of Victory (see left). One of
the clocks on the frontage of the church tells the
time of day, the other tell the date (click the picture on the right to
enlarge it).
If you can get inside the church
there is a monumental painting by Giuseppe Cali
entitled the Shipwreck of St Paul. |
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Just below the parish church is another church, the Shrine of
Our Lady of Mellieha. The picture on the right shows
the altar and the undated icon of the Madonna behind
it. Legend has it that St Luke painted this icon.
Towards the back of the church is an area devoted to
the written letters and mementoes of hopefuls and
those giving thanks for miracles performed by Our
lady of Mellieha. Some are trivial but some are very
touching. Many are written in Maltese but some are
in English. |
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nearby the church is the Mellieha cemetry. We
saw several examples of cemeteries around Malta and
they give an insight into Malta family life. All the
memorials show well preserved photographs of the
departed, some of the photos being fifty years or so
old. Entire families are buried in communal
sections of the cemetery, most with flowers. |
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