Discover Gozo

Discovering Gozo – Meet Ghajnsielem

The village of Ghajnsielem is situated in the small island of Gozo, Malta’s sister-island. Malta is 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.

 Ghajnsielem has a population of around 3,000 and is the first Gozitan village that will greet you as soon as you leave Mgarr Harbour towards the Gozitan heartland. As soon as you enter Mgarr Harbour, while still aboard the ferry, you could not help but notice the welcoming landmarks of the harbour village of Ghajnsielem. Lourdes Chapel with its sharp steeple and underlying niche of Our Lady of Lourdes, Fort Chambray on the left-hand side dominating the high grounds and, on the distant background, the towering belfry of Ghajnsielem’s Parish Church. The people of Ghajnsielem are referred to as il-Ghajnsilmizi.

The name of the village is a composite of ‘Ghajn’ (spring of)  and ‘Is-sliem’ (peace). This name probably refers to a natural spring which used to supply water, and subsequently modified and reconstructed by Grand Master Raymond Perellos in 1700 when he built an arcade containing nine washing basins bestowed its name to the village.

A visit to Ghajnsielem should include Mgarr Harbour and fishing village. Ideally next comes Our Lady of Lourdes Chapel from where, especially at sunset, a beautiful view of Mgarr Harbour could be enjoyed. The 18th Century Fort Chambray, which was once unsuccessfully planned to be Gozo’s Valletta, is also worth noting especially its perimeter. Up there you can discover views of Gozo’s southern cliffs, Xatt l-Aħmar Bay and those of the Northern Comino Channel. The narrow winding road leading to peaceful bay of Xatt l-Ahmar could be traced from there, or else you could endeavour towards the village centre for a visit to the majestic Lombard-Gothic sanctuary dedicated to Our Lady of Loreto. In the vicinity there is also the old parish church and the mysterious “Pjazza tad-Dehra” (square of the apparition) where it is believed that Our Lady has spoken to a local shepherd Anglu Grech. The parish owes its origin to the story of this apparition. A visit to the old Franciscan convent and church of St. Anthony of Padua is also worthwhile. Apart from the tranquillity of the area surrounding the convent, one could not remain anything less than charmed by the views upon the Gozo Channel particularly early in the morning or late at sunset

Holy Week in Gozo

Hello! I’m honestly sorry you had to wait this long for my first proper post on the blog of the Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz. My only excuse is that Easter is considered the most important feast by the Catholic Church – and therefore in Gozo. There is so much to do, so much to see, that I simply did not find the time to write it all down for you. But late is still better than never, so here you are:

The somber festivities marking Holy Week start on the Friday preceding Good Friday, with a procession with the statue of id-Duluri – Our Lady of Sorrows – taking place in many villages of both, of Malta and Gozo.

Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday, a week before Easter, the congregation receives palm fronds or olive branches blessed with holy water by the priest celebrating mass. This ritual often takes place in a chapel in the vicinity of the parish church, and is followed by a procession from the chapel to the church.

Maundy Thursday

In the evening of Maundy Thursday, it is local custom to visit seven different churches to pay homage to the Altars of Repose. This tradition dates back hundreds of years and is said to originate in Rome where early pilgrims visited the seven pilgrim churches as penance.

There are also various places in Malta and Gozo with Last Supper exhibitions on public display. One very elaborate display can be found at the MUSEUM Centre in Nadur, where life-size figures (all created by Nadur artist James Azzopardi) of Jesus and the apostles are placed around an oblong table full of fruits mentioned in the bible. The picture below shows the scene in Banca Giuratale, on Independence Square in Victoria.

Good Friday

The processions on Good Friday draw a large audience of both, believers and tourists. Life-size scenes with statues are carried through the streets, depicting the stations of the cross.

Behind each statue/scene there is either a  brass band playing, a choir singing, or – more spectacularly, a group of hooded men carrying large wooden crosses or pulling heavy chains that are tied to their ankles, as an act of penance.

Other parishes’ Good Friday processions carry different “flavours”. For instance, in Xaghra the procession takes the form of a pageant, with participants wearing colourful costumes of the period, re-enacting the story of Christ’s Crucifixion.

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday, of course, is the feast which ends forty days of Lent and a week of somber mood. Church bells ring incessantly, and the morning sees another procession with a statue of the Risen Christ, accompanied by a brass band.

The Easter procession is followed by Mass, before the more mundane Easter celebrations begin.

Children receive the traditional Easter sweet, figolla, and other sweets. Easter lunch is of utmost importance, too, of course: even today, many people keep strictly to their fasting rituals during Lent, forfeiting sweets or disallowing themselves some other indulgence, as a form of penance, which ends on Easter Sunday!