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Gozo, which in Maltese is
called Għawdex (pronounced: Awdesh), is a derivation of other older
names such as Gaulos. The Maltese Islands are situated in the centre of the Mediterranean - 93 km south of Italy and 290 km north of North Africa. Gozo lies about 5 km in the North West of Malta and the distance between Ċirkewwa in Malta and Mgarr Harbour in Gozo, involves a 25 minute ferry crossing. It therefore enjoys warm summers and mild winters and this makes it the ideal holiday destination at any time of the year. Gharb is probably one of
the oldest Gozitan villages, where various archaeological excavations
exposed the remains of Neolithic and Bronze Age settlements in the area. |
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More information about Gozo www.gozo.gov.mt - the Website of the Ministry for Gozo |
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It has an area of 67 square kms, is 14 kms long and 7 kms wide. With a
coastline of 43 km, it is the second largest island of the Maltese
Archipelago that, together with the smaller isle of Comino and the main
island of Malta form the Republic of Malta. Gozo is popularly called The
Island of Calypso, that is a nickname originating from the Greek
mythological location of Ogygia referred to in Homer's Odyssey. In this
epic poem, the fabled island was controlled by the nymph Calypso, who had
detained the Greek hero Odysseus for seven long years as prisoner of love.
The
Phoenicians were early settlers, but the name Gharb is purely Arabic,
denoting the establishment of an early but organised community during Arab
domination between 870 and 1090 AD. However, names of early Christian
devotion such as St. Demetrius and St.Publius, indicate that pre-Arab
Roman and Byzantine settlements existed before this westerly village took
its present name.