You have no idea for a holiday trip? I invite you to English Course in Gozo. Gozo is a beautiful isle of only 67 km² placed just next to Malta, in the Mediterranean sea. It is called by its inhabitants the green isle because of its flourishing landscape during the spring months. Especially compared to the neighbouring Isle Malta, Gozo is rather rural and remains its traditional agricultural character. This is basically due to Maltas ground that consists of lime and sand brick, subterranean water supplies and because Gozos population is less dense, so there is planty of space for agriculture. In fact more than 60% of the isle is used for agriculture. Altogether Gozo is populated by 31.000 habitants, the capital Victoria alone has 6.414 habitants. The remaining population lives in the 16 surrounding villages.
History
Before you sign up for English Course in Gozo, enjoy some history. It is most likely that in the 5th c. BC the isle was already inhabited by tribes which immigrated from Sicily. Those people constructed the Ggantija Temples , which is placed one of the oldest archipielagos, Plateau, in the south of the place Xaghara. After a Maltesian legend the temples were built by giants.Three mileniums after the Temples were build the Phoenician came to live on the isle and named the isle Goel. Centuries later the Greeks and Romans renamed it Gaulus, which remained the official name until the 14th cenury. Since then the isle is known by its contemporary name, Gozo. As one can guess, due to its geographical situation the isle has always been an atractive destination for invasions, some of which were all but pacific. The worse atack Gozo´s habitants had to suffer was in the jear 1551, when Ottomans not only invaded but ragaged the isle and enslaved almost all the people living there, in order to bring them to Libya and sell them there. In 1798 Gozo´s habitants declared their independence, naming the isle La Nazione Gozitana. Unfortunately Gozo´s independence would only last for 12 years. In 1800 the British empire claimed Gozo for themselves. It was not until the year 1987 that Gozo and its neighbouring isle have managed to regain parcial autonomy.
Victoria (Rabat)
Inicially the village´s name used to be Rabbath, a name given by the Phoenician. However, while in 1887 the name was replaced by Victoria, in honour of Queen Victoria. Through it´s small seize it is very easy to visit Victoria´s places of interest walking, It is not necessary to take any public transport. The atmosphere of Victoria has nothing to do with busy citylife, it is perfect for those who need a break and who want to enjoy their time stressfree and carefree, strolling through the village, along the Villa Rundle Garden in the centre of Victoria and having a drink in one of the several bars at the market place. The market place is called by the Vittorjani “it-Tokk and is placed in front of the Citadella, on the Pjazza Independenza, where daily the vegetable, fruit, meet and fish market takes place. Here a list of several important places that must be seen.
Basilica of San Ġorġ.
This baroque church, also called golden church, was build in the Middle Ages but a new marbel front was added by Pope Pius XII in the year 1818. The interior of the basilica hides valuable paintings and statues. The basilica is placed on the Pjazza San Gorg, southwards of the market place.
Citadella
The Citadella is the main attraction of the village and probably also the oldest one. It dates back to 1500 BC and was initially build in order to protect the place from Corsairs and Muslims. Nowadays the foundation remains the original one and most of the Citadella is reconstructed. It contains Gozo´s court, a museum and also the cathedral.
Cathedral of Santa Marija.
The Cathedral Santa Marija was designed and decorated by Lorenzo Gafà in the 17th century and is placed where a Roman temple used to be. This temple is said to be dedicated to Juno, the goddess of birth, marriage and welfare. On the ceiling of the church a most remarkable painting is placed; it is the Trompe-l’œil painting, that depicts the interior part of dome. Nonetheless, this dome has never been build.
Sights and interesting places of the Isle
Azure Window and Inland Sea
This is probably the most visited attraction of Gozo. It is a naturaly created arch of limestone, placed in the Dwejra Bay. As the water around the arch is azureblue and the arch reminds of a window, that is where the name cames from. Supposedly the arch was produced when two huge caves collapsed, millions of years ago. The arch is of considerable seize; 100m x 20m. There is also a similar arch near the place Gharb, on the north west coast of Gozo, called Wied il-Mielah Window.
Inland Sea
Close to th Dwejra Bay the Inland Sea Qawra is placed. This is a lagoon of seawater, linked to the Mediterranean Sea through an opening formed by a narrow natural arch. It is especially famous for divers.
Fungus Rock
Just in front of the Azure Window, also in the bay of Dwejra, the isle Fundus Rock is placed. This isle is not inhabited, it mostly consists of a 65m high limestone.
Salt Pans
Those salt pans that are placed between Qbajjar and the Xwenjni Bay, are in labour since the 18th century in order to produce salt. The procedure is the following: Sea water is lead into the flat basins, through the sunshine the water dries up and what remains is a layer of salt.
Beaches
Certainly there is no beach that can´t be described as precious on Gozo, even if not mentioned here. Some of the most famous beaches are Marsaforn, San Blas, Xlendi Bay, Ramla Bay and Calypo´s Cave. English Course in Gozo is the best idea in your live.
We also recomend English Course in London.
