Old limestone balcony
Traditional stone walls
Gharb - historic village, popular through the ages
Gharb
is the oldest village in Gozo and his home to the larger of the two charming
holiday homes offered exclusively by Gozo Luxury Properties.
There is evidence that people lived here as long ago as c.3,800 BC. The Phoenicians
used to plan their sea journeys west from here. Later, the Romans,
also, built a small settlement. When the Arabs settled they gave their
language to the Maltese – and the name Gharb is derived from Arabic
(the GH is silent, so it is pronounced “Arb”).
It
is no surprise that foreigners, in particular those from the UK, like this
place. There
are still signs of the old British occupation, which lasted nearly two hundred
years. The traditional red telephone and post boxes are still very
much in use – as well as the local police station’s blue lamp! Many
foreigners have come to settle here and many old farmhouses have been carefully
restored. There are several bars and a couple of restaurants within
walking distance.
The
village is surrounded by dry-stonewalled fields and the peace that is part
of an agricultural community. Like other villages it is
characterised by narrow streets of terraced stone housing of varying
age and style. The church dominates the central piazza. At
night, when the stars come out, the silence descends almost palpably.
Things to see
Many people have visited the nearby shrine of Ta Pinu, including the late Pope John Paul II. As at the much more famous Lourdes, this is where a local girl, one Karmni Grima, early in the 20th century, saw visions of the Virgin Mary.
Subsequently, there were many attested cases of healing. Strange to some, miraculous to others, it is definitely a place to visit, sit and be quiet.
Also nearby is the awesome natural spectacle of Dwejra (“dway-ra”) where there is the “Azure Window”.
When the mistral blows, the seas pounding the huge cliffs are magnificent. When it is calm the sea is sapphire and deep – the best scuba diving in the whole of the Med can be experienced.
You will also discover the strange natural phenomenon of the “Inland Sea” – a tunnel in the cliffs lets seawater into a large natural basin with towering rocky slopes on all sides.