Walk in Xaghra

Published on 05/02/2011

Aurore VERIÉ

Article published in Minigazette no. 52, June 2006
Des Amis de Malte Toulouse Midi Pyrénées

The Greeks have their Amazons, the Scandinavians have their Valkyries, and Xaghra has its Giantess, its White Lady and Calypso.

Have you seen the megalithic temples? Who could have quarried those 6-metre-high blocks at Cenc, in the south of Gozo, then dragged them to Xaghra and erected them! That was the work of a Giantess, of course! She built two temples, swinging the blocks with one hand, holding her baby with the other, all while munching handfuls of beans. Thus she built the temples of Ggantija.

Ggantija

That was 3,500 years before our era. But one day, nasty neighbours mocked her, and the Giantess, offended, left Gozo. And her temples are still there. The Guinness Book of Records ranks them, along with those of Skorba, among the oldest standing stone sites.

Not far from this site stands the Giantess's stool: a 5-metre-high monolith resting on a smaller stone; it is called the "Sansuna". And that is not all: here is the Stone Circle, 120 metres in circumference. What was it used for? Prayers? Sacrifices? Gatherings? And there is also the Santa Verna Temple, and yet more megaliths near the Ghysu Cave (Bronze Age).

Then let us head down towards the sea. Homer tells us in the Odyssey that a famous traveller of his time came to stop at this place, which he calls Ogygia, the heart of the Mediterranean. One cannot find a more central position. After overcoming terrible dangers, Ulysse landed at Gozo and spent happy days with the charming Calypso. The cave was lined with fragrant plants, the red sand was soft, the sea sparkled, a falcon soared. Ulysse and Calypso lived there happily. And no doubt had many children — does not the Xaghra orchestra "Ulied Calypso" — the children of Calypso — bear witness to that?

As we wander through Xaghra (pronounced Chara) we see a street so steeply sloped that it is called "Is-sellum", the ladder. Set into a wall: a niche, the mute's niche, Tal-Mutu. It commemorates the end of the plague epidemic of 1814; it was a deaf-mute who went from door to door collecting funds, clinking his iron cup. After his death, his cup was used with devotion by the local deaf-mute children.

Another niche on our path, that of Our Lady of the Angels; it commemorates the deliverance of a peasant family taken into slavery by the Turks for two years. And speaking of Turks, here is a legend: it comes from the time of the Great Siege in 1565. A young soldier, passing by a garden, spotted beautiful clusters of golden grapes. "I will pick some for the Great Chief Dragut." He pulls at the cluster but the gardener catches him and charges at him. So the young man pulls harder and carries off the entire vine shoot. He rushes to Dragut, who roars: "Do you not know that the vine is sacred and that the Quran forbids damaging it!" And Dragut ordered him to be burned alive on the spot with his vine shoot. The sacrificial stone is there; it is called "Dragut's Stone", il-Gebla ta'Dragut — or ta'Berghud, an ironic corruption meaning: the Flea.

Dragut

A few more steps further, and we will hear the refreshing murmur of a spring, in the Tal-Mixta Cave. This spring has the reputation of giving health and vigour to those who come to drink from it, both people and animals.

And here is the Razzett where contagious patients were confined; they were buried in reserved cemeteries — the Olive Cemetery for plague victims, and its neighbour used during the cholera epidemic in 1837.

Another page of History: a Roman villa discovered around 1910, comprising 19 large and well-decorated rooms. From the layout of the basement, it is deduced that one could take hot baths there. And finally, the Vendôme Battery installed by the Knights.

Vendôme Battery

Today, this site steeped in History, legends and ordeals is a peaceful place, enlivened by a crowd eager for serenity, curious about the past, happy to enjoy a few days of relaxation. The 3,000 Xaghrin live in safety without forgetting their past. Like the bird on their coat of arms, they make — calmly — their plans for the future. The motto is Librat et volat: It alights then takes flight.

Text published with the kind permission of Aurore VERIE