At Dwejra geology, time and sea have worked together to produce some of the most remarkable scenery on the Islands. The rocky coastline yields fossilised remains of sea creatures dating from the Miocene period. The area is currently a candidate on UNESCO’s list of world heritage sites.
Fungus Rock, shown in this picture, is a huge rock accessible only by boat – a few metres of sea separate it from the rest of Gozo. The rock got its name from a fungus, Fungus Gaulitanus, which grows on the rock and was considered to have medicinal qualities and was used by the Knights of St. John. The Knights who were famed also for their hospitaller role valued the fungus so much that they guarded the island and a penalty of death was imposed on any one trying to steal the fungus. For this reason the locals called this rock ‘il-gebla tal-general’ meaning ‘the general’s rock’.
AND THIS MAY BE OF INTEREST TO YOU, HOWARD. The area is one of the prime diving sites around the Maltese Islands. The average sea depth here is of 40 metres and apart from the topography visible above sea and ground, there are some fascinating underwater caves which provide impressive underwater scenery with vertical walls, fissures, gulleys and caverns created by boulders, which provide excellent habitat for the largest groupers. Looking upwards, one can often see tuna, amberjacks and barracudas. The walls of the rock are covered in algae, sea urchins, tube worms, starfish, bristle worms and sea potatoes, with their brilliant red colour.
