Għasri () is a village and an

administrative unit Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

, in the western part of the island of

Gozo Gozo ( ), known in classical antiquity, antiquity as Gaulos, is an island in the Malta#The Maltese archipelago, Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After the Malta Island, island of Malta ...

, with a population of 525 people (as of March 2014). By population, it is the smallest village in Gozo after

San Lawrenz San Lawrenz is an administrative unit of Malta, on the island of Gozo. Its name is derived from Lawrence of Rome who is the patron saint for the locality. It has a population of 748, as of March 2014. The Dwejra nature reserve is administrative ...

, and the third-smallest in the Maltese Islands, after

Bidnija Bidnija is a rural hamlet between Mosta, St. Paul's Bay and Mġarr. It is located in the northern region of Malta and is home to roughly 308 people as of 2008, the second least populated habitable zone on the Maltese islands after Mdina (306 peo ...

and

Mdina Mdina ( ; ), also known by its Italian epithets ("Old City") and ("Notable City"), is a fortifications of Mdina, fortified city in the Western Region, Malta, Western Region of Malta which served as the island's former capital, from antiquity ...

. Għasri, however, has a relatively large area. The village lies between the hills of

Żebbuġ Żebbuġ ( ), also known by its title Città Rohan, is a city in the Western Region of Malta. It is one of the oldest towns in the country, and its population is 11,074 as of June 2021. History and origins The parish church is dedicated to P ...

and Għammar. The name has

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

origins and refers to the period of the day in between the afternoon and the evening.

Giordan Lighthouse __NOTOC__ The Giordan, Ġordan ( Maltese: ''Il-Fanal ta' Ġurdan'') is an active lighthouse on the Maltese island of Gozo. It is located on Ġurdan hill above the village of Għasri on the northern coast of the island. History An earlier lighth ...

on Ġurdan hill dominates Għasri. Inaugurated in 1853, the famous lighthouse rises 180 metres above sea level. Its beam can be seen up to 50 kilometres away. Upon the hill around the lighthouse there are 360-degree views of Gozo that lure many hikers to ascend the steep path to the hilltop. Gurdan Lighthouse

From the Village Square, a road leads to the fabulous valley of Wied il-Għasri. On the way, there are a number of typical farmhouses, most of them available for short or long lets, as well as an old

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

dedicated to the Patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Wied il-Għasri area is a marvelous country walk or cycling site especially in winter and spring. The valley ends in the sea, between high cliffs with a secluded inlet where visitors can swim, snorkel and dive -- the sea around Wied il-Għasri is popular among divers. In Għasri valley one can find saltpans. The village church, designed by a local priest, Dun Ġużepp Diacono, was built early in the twentieth century. Its foundation stone was laid on 6 September 1903, and it was dedicated to the Corpus Christi, otherwise known as Christ the Saviour in the Eucharist on 9 January 1916. The village was established as a parish by Bishop Giovanni Maria Camilleri on 16 December 1921.

Access and roads

Għasri is reached by forking right on the Victoria-

Għarb Għarb () is an administrative unit of Malta, located at the westernmost point of the island of Gozo, with a population of 1,549 people (as of 2021). Etymology The name ''Għarb'' (غرب) comes from the Arabic word for "West," referring to ...

road just after the Aqueduct.

Main roads in Għasri

*Pjazza Salvatur (Corpus Christi Square) *Triq il-Fanal (Lighthouse Street) *Triq il-Wilġa (Daleland Street) *Triq iż-Żebbuġ (Zebbug Road) *Triq Salvu Gambin (S. Gambin Street) *Triq Dun Karm Caruana (Fr.Carmelo Caruana Street)

Other streets

*Daħla Ta' Għammar (Għammar Street) *Sqaq il-Knisja (Church Alley) *Sqaq Wied tal-Qattus (Cat's Valley Alley) *Trejqet Ġesù Nazzarenu (Jesus of Nazareth Path) *Trejqet il-Farfett tal-Korpus (Corpus Butterfly Path) *Triq id-Dehra (Apparition Street) *Triq il-Ġonna (Gardens Street) *Triq il-Knisja (Church Street) *Triq il-Maxrabija (Maxrabija Street) *Triq it-Tamar (Dates Street) *Triq l-Għarb (Għarb Road) *Triq Ta' Għammar (Għammar Road) *Triq Ta' Pinu (Ta' Pinu Road) *Triq Tal-Fenek (Tal-Fenek Road) *Triq Tal-Kanun (Tal-Kanun Road) *Triq Wied l-Għasri (Għasri Valley Road) *Triq Wied Sara (Sahra Valley Road) *Wesgħa Dun Ġużepp Buttigieg (Fr. Joseph Buttigieg Place)

Twin towns – sister cities

Għasri is twinned with: *

Ottenschlag Ottenschlag is a municipality in the district of Zwettl in the Austrian state of Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are ...

, Austria * Le Cabanial, France

References

External links

Għasri Local Council Website

Photo of Wied L-Ghasri

Photo of Wied il-Għasri taken from the staircase cut into the rock
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghasri Towns in Malta Local councils of Malta Gozo