Ggantija Temples
Temple Street, Xaghra (21553194/ www.heritagemalta.org). Open 9am- 5pm daily. Admission Eur3.49; Eurl.75 students; Eur0.58 children.
One of Malta's most important archaeological sites and the world's oldest freestanding building is composed of two temples with pairs of lobed chambers that share an outer perimeter wall, erected from megaliths around 3600BC. At the time, they would have looked like massive caves dominating the landscape for miles around. The roofs have long since collapsed but you can see the corbelling at the upper parts of the high walls that survive in a precarious semi-ruined state. Altars have also survived and if you look closely at the limestone megaliths that frame the passageways you can detect the fading motifs of spirals and pitting. The footprint of this World Heritage Site -pairs of round apses linked by a passageway that eventually leads to one apse at the back, where the altars stand is thought to be modelled on the 'fat lady' statues found within and today exhibited at the National Museum of Archaeology. Locals used to believe that because of their dimensions these temples were the work of giants, hence the name Ggantija, Maltese for giant.
Ta' Kola Windmill
Windmill Street, Xaghra (2156 1071/ www.heritagemalta.org). Open 9am- 5pm daily. Admission Eur2.33; Eur1.16 students; Eur0.58 children.
The beautiful stone windmill, today within a modern residential area, was built in 1725 and was in operation until the mid-20th century. Today it is open as a museum and two of the rooms display reconstructed traditional workshops -a carpenter's and a blacksmith's. More interesting are the reconstructions of the living quarters: a kitchen with a stone hearth and a bedroom with a wrought iron bed frame. You can climb the spiral stone staircase up to the tower that supports the sails and get a close look at the intricate series of wooden cogwheels which powered the grinding stones.