戈佐岛上的Cittadella城堡,马耳他 Cittadella on the island of Gozo, Malta (© Davide Seddio/Getty Images)

戈佐岛上的Cittadella城堡,马耳他 Cittadella on the island of Gozo, Malta (© Davide Seddio/Getty Images)

A celebration of Maltese culture

That mighty fortress at the top of the hill is called the Cittadella—it's a medieval fortified city at the geographical center of the island of Gozo. Gozo is the second-largest island in the Maltese archipelago (after the island of Malta itself), and despite all appearances it's the less densely populated of the two.

On both Gozo and Malta, today marks the start of a two-day celebration of Maltese culture called Mnarja (sometimes spelled Imnarja). The national festival dates from the 16th century and is dedicated to the feast day of Saints Peter and Paul. During Mnarja, centuries-old Maltese customs and traditions are on full display. The streets come alive with traditional folk songs called ghana, as well as dancing, and horse and donkey races, some of which feature jockeys riding behind in chariots. Malta's national dish, a rabbit stew called fenkata, is served at nearly all Mnarja events. During the festival's medieval origins this was the only time of year when ordinary Maltese people were allowed to eat rabbit, which was usually reserved for the knights that then ruled the islands. To wash down the rabbit stew? Maltese wine, of course. Saħħa! ('Cheers!')

马耳他文化庆典

山顶上那座雄伟的堡垒被称为Cittadella，它是一座中世纪的防御城市，位于戈佐岛的地理中心。戈佐岛是马耳他群岛中的第二大岛（仅次于马耳他岛本身），尽管从表面上看，它是两个岛屿中人口密度较小的一个。

在戈佐和马耳他，今天标志着为期两天的马耳他文化庆祝活动的开始，这一活动被称为Mnarja（有时拼写为Imnarja）。这个国家节日可以追溯到16世纪，是为了纪念圣徒彼得和保罗的节日。在姆纳贾期间，几个世纪以来的马耳他习俗和传统得到充分展示。街道上充满了被称为加纳的传统民歌，还有舞蹈、赛马和驴子赛跑，其中一些是骑师坐在战车后面。马耳他的国菜，一种名为芬卡塔的炖兔肉，几乎在所有的姆纳贾活动中都有供应。在节日起源于中世纪的时候，这是一年中唯一允许普通马耳他人吃兔子的时候，兔子通常是留给当时统治群岛的骑士的。把炖兔肉洗干净？当然是马耳他葡萄酒。萨尼亚！干杯