Il Rabat Swadex

Description

Il Rabat Swadex: Ir-Rabat is a village just outside Mdina, Malta. The name of the village is derived from the Arabic word for suburb, as it was the suburb of the old capital Mdina. Half of the present-day village core also formed part of the Roman city of Melita, before the latter was resized during the Fatimid occupation. Rabat is home to the famous Catacombs of St. Paul and of St. Agatha. These catacombs were used in Roman times to bury the dead as, according to Roman culture, it was unhygienic to bury the dead in the city Mdina and parts of Rabat were built on top of an ancient Roman city.