It was Dorian's birthday on the 29th. He's been struggling with a cold since Christmas Day but felt well enough to go out and about. He wanted to see the church at Xewkija - the one that dominates the whole island. This church has the 3rd largest dome in the world after St Peter's in Rome and St Paul's in London. It's new, as churches go, having been built between 1951 - 1971, but was built on the same site as all the previous churches
I like the legend that goes with this church. The Apostle Paul was shipwrecked on Malta as he was being taken to Rome for his trial. He was on Malta for awhile and during his stay, the villagers of Xewkija heard him preach across the water, were converted to Christianity and immediately started to build a church.
The boys climbed up to the bell tower. The view was fantastic.
We then walked into Victoria and did some shopping. Lunch was at the sports bar where Dorian settled down for the remainder of the afternoon. We left him to enjoy his football and took the bus to Ramla Bay, the only sandy beach on the island, and home to Calypso Cave. The legend behind this hole in the cliff is that it features in Homer's, "Odyssey". Having never read it, we can't tell you any more.
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