Yesterday, on our way out of Gozo, we stopped by the Ggantija (pronounced g-jan-tee-ya) Temples. The panoramic views around the temples are amazing in themselves.
The word 'Ggantija' means gigantic, and there is a legend that the temple complex was built by a female giant who carried stone blocks on her head from Ta' Cenc. When you actually see the size of the megaliths, you understand why it was assumed that no mere mortal could possibly have moved them. The outer walls of the temples are built with colossal horizontal and upright blocks, some of them weighing as much as 50 tons. The complex consists of two temples surrounded by a common outer wall and was built somewhere around 3600-3000 BC - predating the pyramids by about 1000 years. It is believed that the temples had something to do with fertility and were built by the first inhabitants of the island over the course of 100 or so years. Overall, it was quite the sight.
We then took the ferry back to Malta. Our taxi driver was talking about how Malta just recently joined the European Union and how good it has been for the country. They are currently receiving money and other support to upgrade the country's infrastructure. The most obvious benefit of this to the average tourist is the new roads. There is quite a difference between riding in a car on the new roads versus the old ones.
We arrived at the Hilton in St. Julian's at around 4 p.m. and had to wait for our room. While waiting, we made friends with the concierge and managed to book a day trip to Sicily where we will be able to go to Mt. Etna and another town. We also managed to figure out the public transportation system so that we can visit the fortified cities around Malta.
St. Julian's can accurately be described as the polar opposite of San Lawrenz. We went for a walk last night after dinner and felt like we were in Times Square during rush hour! Evidently, the area in which our hotel is located is also home to the most popular 'discoteques' in Malta. There were young hootchies everywhere! Even Randy was (supposedly) getting annoyed with them.
Today we are planning to work out in the health club here in the hotel and them possibly go to Valletta or Mdina. More to come later!!
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1 comment:
Hi!! Sounds like you are having a fabo time! Looking forward to seeing more of your pictures and hearing about it! Love you both!! Have fun on g-jan-tee-ya!
A.
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