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Għargħur is one of the smallest and oldest towns of Malta. Għargħur is situated on a hilltop between two valleys in the North-East of Malta with a population of 2,389 (Nov 2005). Its coat of arms is a red star over a red triangle on a silver shield with the motto 'Excelsior' which means 'The Highest'. This motto indicates the fact that this town is geographically one of the highest in Malta. Some Roman artefacts, found during road construction, were carried to the Domus Romana (Roman Villa), a Roman Villa and Museum, situated in the old town of Rabat. There is documented reference of Għargħur as far back as 1419, in the lists of the Dejma, which was a Militia that guarded the locals from pirate attacks. This settlement suffered from severe de-population during the High Middle Ages and some years later due to continuous pirate attacks. Exiles from the central Italian city of Celano settled in Għargħur and built the town's oldest church, that of St. John (next to which one finds the town's graveyard). The citizens of Celano were exiled in the year 1223 by Emperor Frederick II. Għargħur was a rural community living in an area particularly lacking fertile soil and fresh water. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of this area were able to finance the building of a parish church and several other chapels which host Baroque fine arts. The main attraction of the village, besides the countryside, is the parish church dedicated to Saint Bartholomew the Apostle. Its interior is of the Doric order but it has a fine Baroque façade. The original façade was demolished and the one seen today was built in 1743. The church was built between 1610 and 1638 and was designed by Maltese architect Tumas Dingli. Its treasures include a wooden statue of Saint Bartholomew sculptured in Rome, attributed to Maltese artist Melchiore Gafa. The statue was made circa 1666 and it is believed to be the model for the similar statue in San Giovanni Laterano, Rome. It was brought to the town in 1772. Restorations on it were held in 1912. In 2005 the statue had further preservations and its niche was restructured. The statue is the second heaviest in the Maltese islands. The Victoria Lines, named after Queen Victoria, and which divide the island of Malta from east to west, passes through this locality. Other fortifications can also be found. Għargħur hosts much of Malta's telecommunication infrastructure. Before World War II and prior to the installation of radar, a concave wall was constructed in Għargħur to with the aim of detect incoming Italian aircraft.[1] This acoustic mirror is called "il-Widna" by locals (lit. the ear). Għargħur hosted a number a refugees from the harbour area during that war. These refugees were seeking shelter from the continuous air raids by the Axis Powers. The public school was used as a dormitory for these refugees. The main event of the year is the village festa which is celebrated on the 24th (if this turns out to be a Sunday) or the last Sunday of August. The statue of the saint is carried shoulder high along the illuminated streets of the village accompanied by musical bands. A display of colourful fireworks, ends the village festival. Many tourists tend to take part in the celebration of the saint's day, by visiting the church and the well-known fireworks display. In modern times a controversy has risen over the real name of this village - whether it should be called Gargur or Ħal-Għargħur. The original name was Ħal-Għargħur (pronounced hal- arur). 'Ħal' is an old abbreviation of 'Raħal', which mean a "village/small town". 'Ghargħur' most probably derives from 'Gregorio' — in the middle of the 15th century, the village was called Casal Gregorio. The current pronunciation is possibly related to the influence of English rule (1800-1964).[2]. It is also possible that the name Gregorio emerged as a result of the process of Italianisation which the Maltese language underwent. Similar example are the names of the town of Żurrieq, which on official documents appeared as Zurico and Naxxar, which on various documents and maps was referred to as Nascario. Most probably, the name Għargħur derives from the Għargħar, Malta's national tree. It is interesting to note that in the North-Eastern part of Malta there are other place names which possibly have their origin to this particular tree. These are San Ġwann ta' l-Għargħar and Il-Ħotba ta' l-Għargħar. Another reason for the two versions of the name might be linguistic/phonologiic. Originally the Maltese letter "GĦ" was spelt (it still is by a small number of people). It is possible that when the usage of the "GĦ " in speech was dying out, some people dropped the "GĦ " (in the same way as was done with other words) while others retained it but transformed it into a G sound. Similar cases can be found in the Maltese language. For example, the word "ħarħar" was originally spelt as "għargħar"; in this case the "Għ" was replaced by an "ħ".
[edit] Performing ArtsThe aim of Dwal Godda is to present Maltese Theatre in its cultural setting. As well as the works of members of the group, mainly the prolific playwright Martin Gauci, Dwal Godda's repertoire includes classic plays by international dramatists and work by living writers. [edit] Band Clubs
[edit] Football Clubs
[edit] Interesting Places
[edit] Village Core
[edit] Famous People
[edit] Zones in Għargħur
Traditionally, the hamlets of Madliena and Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq, as well as part of Magħtab, form part of Għargħur. Likewise, the zones of St. Andrew's and High Ridge formed part of Għargħur before being integrated within the locality of Swieqi. The modern town of Pembroke also used to form part of Għargħur, albeit access to this zone was restricted due to the fact that this area was reserved for military purpose. [edit] Għargħur Main Roads
[edit] DialectTraditionally, the people of Għargħur speak in their own dialect. Unfortunately, this dialect, like others on the island of Malta, is highly endangered. This is mainly due to the influence of the media, where the harbour-area accents are used, as well as an education system which discourages the use of dialects. Socio-cultural stigma associated with dialects also contributed to the gradual demise of the dialect. As older generations stopped talking to their children in dialect, the dialect started dying out. There are various features associated with this dialect. One of them is the pronunciation of the letter "Q" in certain words, namely "daħq", "ċagħaq", "qagħaq" and "sriedaq" as a voiceless uvular plosive (sounds as a "k" to the unexpert ear). In standard Maltese, the Q is prounounced as a glottal stop. Another feature, which however now has largely disappeared, is the pronunciation of the "h" which is otherwise silent in Maltese. A word which is associated with this dialect is "ħuri", which means "look". [edit] Notes
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