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Weather & Time in Malta
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Mellieha was once an isolated 15th hamlet
perched on the ridge overlooking Ghadira Bay. It was abandoned for
a couple of centuries because of its vulnerability to pirate and
Saracen attack. Re-inhabited in the early 18th century, it has
since developed into a flourishing town though it retains a quaint
historic centre with narrow streets and stepped alleys. From the
terrace of the Parish Church, there is a panoramic view over Mellieha Bay and the surrounding countryside. Beneath the church
is the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin, a national shrine. A fresco
of the Madonna and Child is said to have been painted by St Luke.
This legend has made the troglodyte chapel into a popular place of
pilgrimage. The walls are lined with ex-voto offerings and
paintings - a testimony to the devotion of the people. Mellieha
today is a modern town noted for its large private villas and
houses which have been built on land overlooking the bay. While
the town has developed into a resort, it has managed to retain
some of its rural character.
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