Fodor's Expert Review Ġgantija Temples

Imagine domes rising from the heavy stone walls of eastern Xagħra's 5,800-year-old Ġgantija Temples, and you will get a sense of their original power. Each bears the classic five-apse plan that is the signature of Maltese megalithic temples. This is currently considered to be the oldest free-standing man-made structure in the world, created more than 1,000 years before the first stone was laid of the Pyramids of Giza. Much of it has been reconstructed from sketches by European travelers who visited over the centuries, as locals slowly picked away at its stones. An adjoining museum puts it all in context and shows many of the carvings discovered here.