Like I said yesterday, Max had a school holiday on Friday 14th December and off we went to Miġra l-Ferħa. Miġra l-Ferħa literally means ‘The run of welcome’ or ‘The run for joy’. It was the first time in my life that I visited the place and I had to consult google maps to find the place on the map and a farmer close by before I managed to find the place. I felt excited as I had been wanting to go there for years and years.
This is Miġra l-Ferħa and there is a sweet legend about the place. It goes like this.
Malta was under Arab rule between 870 – 1091. At the time most of the Iberian Peninsula and southern Italy including Sicily were also under the Arabs. Having conquered Sicily in the 1090’s, the Norman Count Roger proceeded to invade Malta and expel the Arabs. In the 17th century a legend developed indicating this Miġra l-Ferħa as the landing place of Roger’s army and hence the name as the Maltese are said to have rushed to the place to welcome the ‘liberators’. We read this even in history books when I was a boy. But it is impossible to land an army, however small it is, in a narrow ravine like this.
The possible truth is that at the time, after so many years, few people, if any, had not converted to Islam as there were harsh laws against those who stood by their Christian religion. Moreover the population of Malta at the time was very sparse, maybe a few thousands. The new Christian conquers were very cruel with those who didn’t turn to Christianity , so probably the people changed again their religion to accommodate their rulers. Christianity has been our religion since those days.
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Happy New Year Dione
Happy New Year my friend , thanks for your continued support and friendship
Thanks for you so nice wishes.