Going through my photos while transitioning from Lightroom to ON1 Photo RAW has been a tedious task. This is offset by the little nuggets of gold that allow me to relive old memories through my photos. I captured this photo way back in 2008 on our first Mediterranean cruise. My wife and friends like cruising but, being a photographer, I prefer to stay on land to take advantage of the golden hours of sunrises and sunsets, which are nearly impossible on a boat. The great advantage of a cruise for me is that I have visited places that I never would have. That is the case with Malta.
The island of Malta is located south of Italy and north of Tunisia. It has a population of less than 500,000 and is a beautiful place to visit. We only spent a day there but I particularly loved traveling to the northern part of the island to visit the ancient city of Mdina. Built in the 8th century by Phoenician settlers, it was once the capital of Malta. Over the centuries, other areas of the island became more populated and the capital changed to Valetta. Today Mdina has a population of only 300 and property is handed down to descendants. Walking the streets and layaways of this walled city transports visitors to medieval times. The architecture is ancient with a Baroque look to it. Walking the alleys like this one was spiritually lifting when thinking of all of the history this city has experienced.