Gozo Island

Geography

Gozo is 87 square kilometers in size, which is approximately the same as Hong Kong. The island has a population of 30.000, about 6.000 of them living in its capital Rabat[?].

It lies 3 3/4 miles northwest from the nearest point of Malta, is of oval form, 8 3/4 miles in length and 4 1/2 miles in extreme breadth.

History

Gozo is inhabitated since the 5^th millennium BC. The first neolithic settlers probably crossed over from Sicily.

In July 1551 Ottomans conquered Gozo and enslaved all 5.000 inhabitants, bringing them to Tarhuna[?] in Libya.

The history of Gozo is strongly coupled with the history of Malta, since Gozo has been governed by Malta within living memory, with the exception of a short period of autonomy between October 28, 1798 and September 5, 1800.

External Links

• Maltese Ministry for Gozo (http://www.gozo.gov.mt/)]