Gozo is the beautiful little sister island of Malta. Whilst you’re here on holiday, don’t neglect the sister island and pay her a visit. Here are some surprising fun facts about Gozo.
The Ġgantija temples are of the oldest temples in the world!
“Ġgantija” means “Giants Tower”. This temple was constructed in 3,600 BC during the Neolithic period. Ancient graffiti of names on the rocks can also found since we always were rebels!
Gozo has big churches.
As Malta is famous for its churches so is Gozo. It has 46 churches. The largest church is St. John the Baptist in Xewikja built-in 1678. But more interesting is its dome with an internal diameter of 27 meters (89 ft). The dome is 75 meters (246 ft) high. Its calculated weight is 45,000 tons. The circumference is 85 meters (279 ft).
Which in simple English makes it the third-highest unsupported dome in the world! Never judge an island by its size.
Gozo has appeared in famous movies too!
Hollywood movies such as By The Sea which stars Angelina Jolie and her then-husband, Brad Pitt has filmed by the coast of Mgarr ix-xini. So was World War Z and Brideshead Revisited.
The most famous is naturally “Game of Thrones” where the Azure window appeared in the backdrop of the show during the marriage of Daenerys Targaryen to Khal Drogo, the leader of the Dothraki.
Both the Azure window and Daenerys’ marriage had unhappy endings! As sadly the Azure window collapsed into the sea during March 2017.
The Nadur Carnival
And finally in our list of facts about Gozo. The most famous carnival is the one in Rio, but Gozo holds their own festival in the small town of Nadur. It occurs during February. The event has its own floats, music, food dances and parties. If you happen to be on holiday during time make sure you go and join the fun! As we still do today!
BONUS: Pirates
If there was ever an island that felt the brunt of Piracy, it was poor sweet Gozo. Raided more times than one can count, stories of the “evil” Barbary Corsairs raids are endless.