Visit to the Ggantija Temples in Xaghra

Monday March 12 was another beautiful day.  It seems the clouds from the first few days of our visit to Malta have blown away, and we have been having blue skies.  Monday's high was 19C, though it starts to cool down at about 4:30 p.m.

After breakfast, we walked down to Independence Square before heading to the bus terminal.

Outside of our Guest House- lovely red Maltese balcony
The breakfast room

Our Guest House is on Republic Street where Independence Square is also located.  There is a plaque in the sidewalk indicating that Republic Street was formerly known as Racecourse Street and is still used for horse races during the feasts of the patron saints of Victoria!
Republic Street formerly known as Racecourse Street
One of the two Opera Houses in Victoria- also on Republic Street -Teatru Astra
We took a bus to the nearby town of Xaghra (pronounced shaa-ra) and were dropped off very close to the Ggantija temples.  This UNESCO World Heritage site (since 1980) is a megalithic structure made up of two temples, constructed around 5600 years ago.  It is considered to be the oldest free-standing man-made structure in the world.  The Ggantija temples are older than the pyramids of Egypt.  They fell into disuse around 2500 B.C. and were not fully revealed until the 19th century. Due to the size of the stone blocks from which Ggantija is built, popular folklore attributed the construction of the temples to a race of giants that supposedly inhabited Gozo, hence its name, which is derived from the Maltese word for giant (ggant).

The entrance to the temples is through a modern Interpretation Centre which opened in 2013.
Outside of entrance 
Interpretation Centre just beside entrance

The Interpretation Centre details the Neolithic world on Gozo and contains some of the artifacts from the Temples and other neolithic sites.
Piece of pottery found in the front terrace wall at Ggantija in 1954- dates back to around 3100-2400 B.C.
From the Xaghra Circle- burial site near the Temples
Human figurines found on the floor at the Xaghra Circle
Limestone head found at the back of one of the rooms of the Ggantija South Temple
After going through the Interpretive Centre, we walked down a path towards the Temples.
Stone wall and lots of greenery en route
Part of back of Temples
View of nearby town and huge church - Basilica of the National Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of Ta' Pinu located near the village of Garb  (we think we have identified the correct church-- it dominates the landscape)

There are spectacular views of the countryside from the Temples.  We continued our walk.
North cave- discovered in 1949.  May have been a rock cut tomb, but during the period from 3000-2500 BC it might have served as the Ggantija Temples' rubbish pit.

We then reached the main entrance to the North Temple-- a large horizontal slab.

Entrance to the North Temple
At the entrance
A closer look
Graffiti from the 19th century-- note 1840 date.  New graffiti is banned.
An internal room
Lots of interesting looking limestone
A salamander in the ruins
Huge stones, no one knows exactly how they were transported 
It was very interesting contemplating these long gone civilizations and how their structures are still standing today.

We then went to visit the Ta' Kola Windmill.  The windmill was built in 1725 (and then rebuilt in the 1780s) at the instigation of the Knights of St. John, who built many such windmills to encourage the production of flour  (this is one of the few left standings.  The name Ta' Kola is associated with the last miller, Guzeppi Grech, who was popularly known as Zeppu ta' Kola (Joseph the son of Nikola).

Ta' Kola Windmill
Picture of the Zeppu Kola, the last miller of the Ta' Kola Windmill who died in 1987
The last miller-- spent time in Australia and then returned to run the mill
Tools that Zeppu Kola made
The upper floor has been turned into a Folklore museum which shows life in Gozo.

Living room
The kitchen area
We then walked into the town centre, passing some lovely old buildings.

1903 building
We stopped for a coffee at a café in the Pjazza Vittorja (Victoria Square) in front of the 19th century Church of Our Lady of Victoria.

We caught the 2:30 bus back to Victoria and decided to check out the inside of the Basilica of St. George.
Outside of the Basilica


Beautiful decorated interior painting of the dome and ceiling by Gian Battista Conti of Rome
Alterpiece painting (very dark) of St. George and the Dragon by Mattia Preti
We stopped for a bowl of vegetable soup and a sandwich at Grapes Wine Bar in the Pjazza San Gorg (St. George's Square) with a view of the Basilica.


Vegetable soup (Alain wouldn't let me post his picture)
After our late lunch, we headed back to the Cittadella to explore some more.  There are only a few craft shops, but one had lovely Gozo lace.

City Gate Lace Workshop inside the Cittadella


Choosing a Gozo lace collar-- the real thing with a certificate
My choice-- will look great with black
We wandered up to another small museum which we could visit with our 30 day ticket.  The Museum of Nature.  It is housed within a cluster of three different units thought to have been erected in the 17th century.  At some stage during the early 19th century the properties were amalgamated and turned into one of the earliest known inns on Gozo.  During WWII, it housed several families taking refuge from Malta.
Bird room
Loggerhead Turtle donated in 2004
We then headed back to the Guest House and decided to take a walk in the other direction on Republic Street.  We passed the second Opera House and a small garden.

1863 -Theatre Aurora
Villa Rundle Garden was planted by and named after the British General Leslie Rundle around 1915.
Villa Rundle Garden
We had a short rest and then headed out for dinner at around 8:00 p.m.  We decided to return to Maldonado Bistro as we had such a good meal on Sunday night.  Our Guest House had recommended a steakhouse, but Alain and I didn't feel like steak.


We ate in a different room at Maldonado Bistro- very intimate
Homemade tortellini with seafood
Spaghetti rabbit with peas
Alain with our dessert-oranges with mulled wine sorbet
We headed back to the Guest House.  We are very happy we are staying in Victoria--- it is a hub in the middle of Gozo and other towns are just a short bus drive away.  The two women who own the Guest House have been very helpful.

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