Gozo - One of the Islands of Malta (and a day trip to Valletta on the island of Malta) May 21 - 26, 2019


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May 26th 2019
Published: June 18th 2019
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Now time to explore the island of Gozo before going to the island of Malta. Just don’t be confused, both islands are part of the country of Malta. Malta is made up of 4 islands and we will get to two of them on this trip.

Malta has a very long history and has seen its fill of struggles due to its strategic location in the Mediterranean. On our first full day in Gozo we got a lot of sightseeing in as we hopped on a bus first thing in the morning. We road into Victoria and caught another bus to get out to visit the Ggantija Temples and the Ta Kola Windmill in the village of Xaghra. These temples date back to 3,600 BC and are located in a wonderful area of the island with spectacular views of the southern part of Gozo due to its higher elevation. The temples were made from local limestone blocks that were easy to carve and fortunately some decorations still remain on some of the stones. Fortunately they were able to use a painting done in 1827 that had details of the altar to aid in its reconstruction. It is believed that the people that built these temples were pre-bronze age immigrants from Sicily. There are two temples standing next to each other. The belief is that the outer wall of one of the temples could have been 16 meters high (52 feet). Some of the megaliths still here are 6 meters by 4 meters (19.5 x 13 ft) and weigh 57 tons. Just thinking about how these stones were put in to place is hard to imagine.

In the same village as where the temples are located there is one of the few surviving windmills on the Maltese islands. We saw numerous windmills on our travels through the Netherlands, but as we had bought a ticket which included numerous Heritage sites and the windmill was included we decided to stop. We were glad we did as we were able to go up to the top of the mill to see the inner workings. What struck us was how the grinding stone was so high up near the blades which make sense when you think about it as they did not need a long shaft to connect the turning blades to the stone. The windmills in this area had originally been built of poor quality stone in 1725, but had to be rebuilt in the 1780's. There had been numerous mills in the area but they had been abandoned during the war years due to a lack of fuel for them. Fortunately the Miller that ran this one fixed up the others to get them in working order again. The mill changed hands numerous times over the years but the last Miller ran it until the 1980's and he continued residence here until his death in 1987.

The Miller and his family lived upstairs and he had workshops on the ground floor which he used for the maintenance of the mill as well as provided him a way to earn some income during the times when the mill was not functioning due to the lack of wind by sharpening tools or fixing farm implements for others.

There was information about the importance of bread to the Maltese diet with it making up about 70% of their caloric intake. During the war Malta was under numerous air attacks which prevented the delivery of food supplies to the islands. With the importance of wheat and barley to their diet, the local farmers
Can You Imagine Walking Under This Working EquipmentCan You Imagine Walking Under This Working EquipmentCan You Imagine Walking Under This Working Equipment

in the US? Yes, we had to walk under it!
were very hesitate to sell their grain to the government. The government understood the importance of getting the grain and enlisted the help of the Church. With the help of the Bishop of Gozo, the amount of grain that was supplied to the government was higher than average and helped extend the supply of food for another few weeks which got them through until Operation Pedestal Convoy that took place on August 13, 1942. This successfully got shipment of much needed food supplies to the islands of Malta.

We also learned that the local baker would give specific timeslots to the families for the baking of their bread. The families would supply their own ground wheat and barley, come to the baker at the time for them to make the bread, mark it with their own unique markings and then the baker would bake the bread. Most times the families would also have to provide the fuel to heat the oven.

After finishing at both Heritage sites we walked into the town to find a place for lunch before catching the bus back into Victoria. We had more time in the day so walked through the old section
Just Like Anywhere in the WorldJust Like Anywhere in the WorldJust Like Anywhere in the World

Men at the fence watching the construction project
of town in Victoria filled with winding alleyways, limestone buildings with wonderful balconies full of plants and interesting door knockers for me to see! We were fortunate to stumble on a wonderful shop, Kathleen’s Boutique that sells beautiful handmade wool and cotton sweaters. I succumbed and bought one for myself and we had a wonderful visit with both Kathleen and her son. The sweaters are beautiful and very reasonably priced. We treated ourselves to a gelato as definitely missed those in Tunisia. Quite a busy but enjoyable first full day in Malta on the island of Gozo.

One of the main attractions in Victoria is the Cittadella (the fortress). It was not only a fortress, but over the years it housed many of the people of the island therefore contained the needs of a community including residence, churches, courts of law and the prison. It holds 5 museums, all part of Heritage Malta so we knew it was going to be a full day. We caught an early bus into Victoria and it looked like we were the only tourists at that time as the bus was full with the "regulars" that looked like they were heading up to market. We arrived before the Cittadella opened giving us time to stop at a cafe for a coffee. It was great to get started in the Cittadella before all the bus groups arrived (which they definitely did later in the morning). We made it to the Museum of Archeology, the prison, wandered through the Gran Castello historic house, the Gozo Cathedral and a very interesting place, the grain silos. These are not what you would normally think of as silos. The 3 silos were created in order to store grain as it was a critical part of the plan in case of a siege in order to have enough food for the people. During the British occupation (last part of 1800) the storage of grain was not necessary so they were converted to water tanks so there would be a fresh water supply. In 1877 a tunnel was created to connect the 3 silos together in order to pipe fresh water in from a nearby spring. To make the silos water tight they lined the porous stone with a lime based sealant. Surprisingly these were used as water tanks until 2004. During WWII people would also live in rooms dug off of the connecting tunnel and use them as shelters from the bombing. It was said that some refused to do so though as the water tanks were still located overhead and there was a fear of flooding if the silos were hit. What needs to be done during war is not always the most practical, but is born of necessity.

The prison was located here in the Citadel and from what we read they were quite civilized in their care of the inmates insisting on showers on a regular basis and instead of having inmates cooking, had cooks come in to be sure they had a proper diet. Much better than we have heard about in other fortresses.

After hitting most of the museums contained within the Citadel we noticed a sign talking about a temporary exhibit about an archeological find so decided to check it out. It is being conducted by the University of Malta and involves very technical diving as they have found 2 shipwrecks, but they are very deep. It has been determined from the numerous objects they have already recovered that they cover a span of time from the 7th C. BC to the 13th C. AD. With the technical diving necessary and the amount of materials already recovered it will take years to be able to uncover all of the information they can glean from these artifacts. Quite an interesting exhibit.

As much as we loved our time in Tunisia there were a few things we couldn’t buy their easily so checked out a couple of grocery stores in town before heading back to the marina. One thing we have both missed is good cheese and we found a great selection here.

As the transportation hub here on Gozo is in Victoria we hopped a bus again the next morning as our plan was go visit the Rotunda Church in Xewkija. It is a Church that you can see for miles – in fact in one of the photos that I posted of views from the Ggantija Temples you can see a very large domed church in the far distance – that is the Rotunda Church. First we made it to the Vodafone store so we could get a sim card for one of our phones in order to have data. It cost 20 euro for 6 GB of data.
Back in the Land of A Variety of Door KnockersBack in the Land of A Variety of Door KnockersBack in the Land of A Variety of Door Knockers

these had similar features but still different
We do have a google phone as well, but we are finding that with numerous places not having great wi-fi we wanted to check out a local provider (and best of all in Malta we could do it in English!) With our sim card all set up we got on the bus to the Rotunda Church. We really didn’t know too much about it but knew it was “big” as you can see it for miles. Once we got there we found out that the church had originally been built in 1665, but when you entered you found that it was quite plan without the normal architectural style of that period. They decided in 1951 that the church was too small for its needs so they started work on an enlarged one. They build it on the same site as the old one using 8 ferroconcrete pillars covered in limestone to support the huge dome which weighs 45,000 tons! The height of the dome is 75 meters (246 ft) and the external diameter is 28 meters (almost 92 ft). It took a full 20 years to complete with lots of community volunteer work along with the professionals. We were told that there were two pieces from the old church that still remain within the church itself, the old baptismal font and the 17th C. marble altar. With foresight some of the old church was carefully taken apart piece by piece and then re-assembled in a small area behind the altar which was open to the public to see. It was quite the contrast from the look of the current church. They had an elevator that you could pay a few euros to go up and get views of the surroundings which we did. The woman that told us about the church was an elderly woman and I mentioned that it must have been something to see the transformation of the church. She indeed remembers it and when I asked her what people thought about the new church, all she told us was that now the church is much too big for the community. Unfortunately many have moved away and there are not many moving into the area. How ironic that this gigantic structure now does not have the congregation to support it.

As it didn’t take as long as we thought to tour the Rotunda Church we checked out what else we could see and as we were somewhat on overload with temples and churches we decided on something very different. We hopped on a bus to the west coast of Gozo to the inland sea at Dwejra. If nothing else these bus trips get us to different areas of the island. One of the main attractions here had been what was called the Azure Window, a natural arch in the sea cliffs, but in March 2017 it collapsed into the sea. Still without this feature, the coastline here is magnificent with high cliffs, sea caves and a tunnel that connects the inland sea to the open sea. For 4 euros per person you can take a 15 minute ride in a small boat through the tunnel to the open sea. We figured for that price, why not?? It was quite a pleasant change from the type of the sightseeing we have been doing full of museums, churches and lots of history to learn. The color of the water is that picture postcard turquoise blue reminding us of the color we first saw when we crossed the Gulf Stream at the first stages of our travels. There wasn’t much
The Garages Are in Front of the HomesThe Garages Are in Front of the HomesThe Garages Are in Front of the Homes

this one bigger than many we have seen!
else at this location but a few holiday cabins that people could rent, various fast food trucks, souvenir vendors and wonderful scenery. As we had some time to wait for the bus back into Victoria we enjoyed walking around on the cliffs and take in the views. We noticed that there was one area that was set up so that people could even go swimming down in one of the “cracks’ in the seawall and they all seemed to be having fun.

In reading about Valletta on Malta it sounded like there was quite a bit to see so decided that we would take the ferry over to Malta as this would accomplish a couple of things – 1) give us a chance to see the northern part of Malta as we would have to take a bus to Valletta from where the ferry landed in the north, 2)get one or two places that we planned on visiting off the list as we are never quite sure how long we would be anchoring out as we are always keeping an eye on the weather for moving and 3) we would hopefully be able to look over the anchorage and
Thought to be the Oldest in Malta Dating from 3600 BCThought to be the Oldest in Malta Dating from 3600 BCThought to be the Oldest in Malta Dating from 3600 BC

the Gganntija Temples Stand 6 Meters High
get a look at where we would be heading.

We caught the 8:15AM ferry and then an hour and twenty minute bus ride to Valletta which worked out well. From the bus stop we walked up into town and one of the first places we came across was the Upper Barrakka Gardens that overlook the Grand Harbour giving us a great overview and an idea of how well fortified this area was with forts located on the numerous points surrounding it. The gardens themselves were created back in the late 16th C. to give the Knights of St. John a place to relax. It was a perfect location to get a start in Valletta. By then it was time for a coffee and getting the maps out again to figure out the specifics of where we were going to head today. We decided to first walk around the “edges” to look out over the water and try to get a look at the anchorage area that had been recommended to us by our friends on SY Lucky Potato. This took us on a wander up and down the various side streets in Valletta giving us a better feel for the place When we finally were able to see the anchorage area we could spot other friends we met in Monastir on SV Grateful so we knew we had the right place. Looks like it will work out well and we have already been told that there are plenty of chandleries near there, grocery stores and the bus stop for our public transportation needs.

Now that that was done we could move on to two of the sites covered by our Malta Heritage tickets, the Grand Master’s Palace which we could tour as well as the Armory. We weren’t sure if we really wanted to see the armory but decided we would take a look. Well, it turned out to be quite fascinating and informative about the history of the development of the various designs of armor and the changes that have been made over the centuries. They had a very large and varied collection from other countries as well telling the transition of styles and the reasons for the changes. You could also view the intricate designs on the armor – in some cases almost every inch of it was highly decorated.

The Grand Master’s Palace was
Artwork From 1827  Aided in the ReconstructionArtwork From 1827  Aided in the ReconstructionArtwork From 1827 Aided in the Reconstruction

of the altar at Ggantija Temples
built in the 16th C. and then from Malta’s independence until 2015 it housed the Parliament. It now is the official residence of the Maltese President so some rooms were not open to the public. The ones that we did see showed the grandeur of the place with wonderful friezes and some of the rooms that are still used today by the President for formal occasions. I realize that I have mentioned the Knights of St. John but did not provide any explanation. The Order of Saint John ruled Malta from 1530 to 1798 and were originally given Malta to rule by the Spanish Emperor Charles V after the loss of Rhodes. The Order of St. John decided to settle in Malta permanently and constructed the capital of Valletta. We learned much more about them when we visited other sites in Valletta which I’ll cover in another blog entry.

Before leaving Gozo to head to the island of Malta with the boat, we did stop in at the Customs office once more to see if we could get a stamp in our passport. The person there finally called the police and they came over to explain that we didn’t
The Temple Was Well Situated to ProvideThe Temple Was Well Situated to ProvideThe Temple Was Well Situated to Provide

wonderful views of Gozo (note church in bottom photo)
need a stamp as we were leaving by boat, not by plane. We tried to politely explain that eventually we would be leaving by plane and that we needed to have the stamp, he wasn’t convinced and told us to check with the officials in Valletta so that will now be on our list of things to do when there.

We arrived in Gozo on May 21st and finally left on May 27th. It was a pleasant stay but knew it was time to start moving on as we have plans this season to cover quite bit of distance if the weather cooperates with us. A nice first stop after our time in Tunisia – the season is starting well.


Additional photos below
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The Rotunda Church in Xewkija Seen For MilesThe Rotunda Church in Xewkija Seen For Miles
The Rotunda Church in Xewkija Seen For Miles

a 17th C church enlarged between 1951-1971
The Interior of the Rotunda Church is Quite AstereThe Interior of the Rotunda Church is Quite Astere
The Interior of the Rotunda Church is Quite Astere

but a few pieces were kept of the old (in write borders)
Part of the Original Rotunda Church was DismantledPart of the Original Rotunda Church was Dismantled
Part of the Original Rotunda Church was Dismantled

and then put up again when the new was finished
From The Rotunda Church Dome From The Rotunda Church Dome
From The Rotunda Church Dome

you can see many are using solar energy!


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