Monday 25 Sept – Go Go Gozo!

We spent a fair bit of today travelling, just to get to Gozo, the second-largest of the three islands that make up the Republic of Malta.  First, what has now become the customary walk to the bus terminal, then one and a half hours on a crowded bus to Cirkewwa, the western-most port of the island of Malta, then a thirty-minute ferry ride to the Gozo port of Mgarr, then a 45 minute bus journey to Victoria, the capital of Gozo, then a further fifteen minute bus ride to Xaghra, our first destination.  But it was worth it. 

Xaghra is the location of the Ggantija temples. Ggantija in the Maltese language means “giant”, because earlier inhabitants believed that the temples must have been built by giants – and they may have been right. The temples, dating back to between 3600BC and 3000BC, are the largest of the megalithic temples to be found on the Maltese islands. Some of the walls stand over six metres high and the two temples cover a distance of more than forty metres.  We wandered through the visitor centre, with displays putting the temples into historical and archaeological context, then were able to walk through most of the temple complex itself – some of the limestone megalith stones weigh up to fifty tonnes!  A short walk up the hill took us to the Ta’ Kola windmill, built in 1725 at the instigation of the Knights of St John to encourage flour milling and is one of the few left standing.

Then yet another bus ride back to the capital Victoria for lunch and exploration of the citadel, dating back to antiquity and appearing to grow out of the rocky outcrop that dominates the town.  The walls of the citadel have been totally restored and we could wander the through the narrow streets as we would have five or more centuries ago.  The beautiful Cathedral of the Assumption has a long history; the site was part of the pre-historic settlement of Gozo, then it was a Roman temple dedicated to Juno, then after the Christianisation of Malta and Gozo it was converted to a church and dedicated to the Virgin Mary; later a Byzantine church was probably built but it was destroyed when the island was under Arab rule; after the Arabs were kicked out it again became a Christian church (at the end of the 13^th century) and it was enlarged during the 15th and 16^th centuries.  After all that, it was damaged in the 1693 earthquake and it was decided to demolish it and start again, so the cathedral that we walked through today was consecrated in 1716.  It is very ornate, with three magnificent domes and a visit-worthy museum and picture gallery.

Next stop, still in the citadel, was the old prison that served as a gaol during the tenure of the Knights, from the early 1500s, and was particularly useful for locking up hot-tempered knights who wouldn’t toe the line.  Then a walk through the small but interesting natural history museum followed by a visit to the faithful recreation of a noble’s house from about the 17^th century, and then the trek back home: a negotiated taxi ride back to the ferry (and a cooling ice cream while we waited to board), the ferry ride back to Cirkewwa, then back on the bus for the one and a half hour ride back to Valletta.  While waiting for the bus we struck up a conversation with a lovely Australian woman, Jennie from Northbridge Sydney, and chatted all the way back.  Then the long walk home.  A long but thoroughly enjoyable day.

Tomorrow – we visit the last of our “must-sees” in the Valletta area.