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Malta: Day 16: Biking around Ġgantija and Mġarr ix-Xini

Ġgantija, a 5,500-year-old temple complex on Gozo is believed to be the world’s second oldest man-made religious structure, after Göbekli Tepe in Turkey and with Nada we decided to visit them. The name is Maltese for "belonging to the giants". The legend says, that the structures were built by mythical beings. After the temples we visited the old mill and the Mġarr ix-Xini bay.

Previous days of our trip to Malta: Day 15, Day 14, Day 13, Day 12, Day 11, Day 10, Day 9, Day 8, Day 7, Day 6, Day 5, Day 4, Day 3, Day 2 and Day 1.

View to nearby hills just as we started ascending from our temporary home in Marsalforn

 

Our bikes took us to Xagħra

Ġgantija is a megalithic temple complex from the Neolithic. Built between 3600 and 3200 B.C, they fell into disuse around 2500 B.C. and were not fully revealed to the modern eye until the nineteenth century.

The name Ġgantija derives from the word "ġgant", Maltese for giant, as Gozitans used to believe the temples were built by a race of giants. Not so surprising when you see the size of the limestone blocks from which it is constructed. Some of these megaliths exceed five metres in length and weigh over fifty tons.

Hard-wearing coralline limestone is used for the construction of the outer walls (which is one of the reasons the buildings have survived so long) whilst softer, smoother, Globigerina limestone is reserved for inner furnishings such as doorways, altars, and decorative slabs. Each temple consists of a number of apses flanking a central corridor. There is evidence that internal walls would have been plastered and painted.

Ta' Kola Windmill in Xagħra, is one of the few surviving windmills on the Maltese Islands dating back to the Knights’ Period. Its origins go back to 1725 but it seems to have been built of poor quality stone and mortar and had to be reconstructed in the 1780s.

When the wind was right for the mill to operate, the miller would blow through a triton-shell (Maltese bronja) to let everyone know and villagers would bring their grain to be ground into flour. The heavy millstones can still be seen at the top of the mill linked to the central milling mechanism, around which, are the rooms where the miller lived and worked.

 

The windmill’s name Ta' Kola is connected with the last miller, Ġuzeppi Grech who was popularly known as Żeppu ta' Kola (Joseph the son of Nikola).

Basilica of the Nativity of Our Lady in Xagħra was constructed between 1815 and 1855, on the site of a smaller church which had been built in the 17th century. The dome was added in 1892.

View to Città Victoria

 

Riding around Gozo

Approaching Sanap Cliffs

 

Nada near the edge of white Sanap Cliffs

Our great mountain bikes

 

Riding along the steep cliffs

And the photographer name is? Yes, you are right, it's Nada.

Riding towards the sun

Tuš and Nada with 2 bikes on Gozo

Another awesome day in nature

Borġ l-Imramma Temple - a strange site, undoubtedly of the Temple Period (c. 4100-3000 BC), stands out near the middle of the Ta' Ċenċ plateau.

Some of the remains.

Mġarr Ix-Xini was apparently an occasional hiding place for the Knights galleys and was also used by the invading Turks to load captive Gozitans onto their ships in the worst-ever raid on the island in 1551.

Mġarr ix-Xini Bay

 

A little more difficult terrain

The clear waters, caves and the rich aquamarine life also make Mgarr ix-Xini one of the best places in Gozo for underwater photography.

Mġarr ix-Xini

Mġarr ix-Xini Tower is the largest of the coastal watchtowers that the Knights of Malta erected on the island of Gozo.

Moving on towards the Fort Chambray

Riding with a shadow

Pushing the bike is part of the game

Another great day on nice tracks

Rough coast

Time for a break

View to Comino and Malta

Bastioned Fort Chambray was built in the mid-18th century by the Order of Saint John. The fort was meant to be the citadel of a new city which was to replace the Cittadella as the island's capital, but this plan never materialized.

Crib on our way back home

Ride on Gozo #2

GeoCaches found (all received a visit by trackable items "Bryan 2014 Tag", TB6PQA1, "008 Groundspeak Volunteer Geocoin - sponsored by GC-KNECHT", TB20DYH, "Proving Trail Geocoin", TB2GZV8, "Travel Bug Dog Tag", TB6D3XP, "Key chain #2 Happy Face", TB6R4PD, "gran san bernardo", TB84C9J, "De reiziger", TB6R4VV and "FarmtagZ klompendans", TB6BAG2):
- Vestru, GC5MERE
- The priest's view, GC79FMH
- Gozo Cliffs, GC1F51J
- Dolmen of Ta' Cenc, GC2GQM0
- VV cache no 1, GC6CV2B
- Fort Chambray, GC6E43A