The Knights Of Malta — Attraction in Mdina

I better start by saying it was a wet day and the woman and I (we) were a bit chilly. Our first trip to Malta and just over jet lag. Not being historians and not researching any of the history of Malta we knew nothing! We are in our 50s. The outside of The Knights of Malta with the red-costumed door person gave us the instant impression of an exhibition probably consisting of rooms of suits of armour, shields and maybe a couple of people dressed as knights re-enacting some legendary event! How wrong can you be!!! The short film concisely informed us of much of Malta's history with most the focus upon The Knights of Malta - who were REAL! Not the fabled Arthurian Knights of the round table! Within the film do not expect the best acting or even realistic battle scenes! That aside, we found it so interesting that when the film finished we wanted to know a lot more. I use the word loosely but we were almost inspired to find out more which we did with the rest of the exhibition. Armed with our own audio we walked down corridors stopping when the lights illuminated upon an exhibit and told more of the history which we soaked up like sponges until we reached the end!

I think if I was a kid writing about the attraction I would probably be disappointed. No moving parts, no Hollywood gore, no dragons, no princess, not even an ogre, no jousting, not even a live Knight! Yet as a couple of ill-informed 50 year olds coming out of the rain - mind blowing! From this point on wherever we visited on the island The Knights of St Johns' influence could be clearly seen through our now informed eyes - Thankyou 'The...

This was a very educational experience to learn about the history of Mdina and the huge involvement that the knights played in its development. It covers the background of how the crusader knights first arrived as well as alll the advancements and medical skills they brought to Malta. There's explanations about the crusaders who arrived here all shown in a 3d cinema show with audio available in 17 different languages. After the show there is an audio tour through dungeons with models depicting various different scenes. The price is €6 or €5 if you have a valid student card. Also if you buy the block deal with the Mdina experience then you can gain a further discount and pay around €10 each for both. If you visit Malta this is somewhere that you should definitely not miss out on - you gain understanding of all the historical landmarks and architecture not just in Mdina but also Valletta, teaching about the various forts and the reasons for their existence. The entire event at the knights experience lasts around 45 minutes, the 3D video is approximately 20 minutes long, followed by a 25 minute route through the dungeons / catacombs. This place is child friendly even child encouraged with some of the staff members dressed in medieval attire. The staff are very friendly and helpful as well as knowledgeable and will answer any questions you have of the area. I hope that you enjoy your stay as...

Well there is some time I can never get back... I should have taken the hint from all the other people that politely said thanks but no thanks, but we went in regardless. When you go in they give you a audio set and some 3D glasses.

You then go into a tiny theatre for the 3D video which is the first part of the tour. To say the video has seen better days would be a gift, the video was terrible, the 3D element didn't help and added nothing to the content; it actually brought what good there was down. But, if you knew nothing about the history of Malta you would have learned something...

You are then taken into winding corridors with frequent small displays of models and scenes where pretty much everything you just heard in the video is repeated. Often the audio did not even relate to the display you were standing at.

We gave up half way through and just powered through the remaining corridors til we got to the entrance. Kids might enjoy this, but it is otherwise something you can definately skip, save the ticket price for...