0953 MALTA - Marsaxlokk and its Luzzu

Marsaxlokk is a picturesque fishing village located in the south-eastern part of Malta, with a population of 3,277 people. Its name comes from marsa (port) and xlokk, the local name for south east. The word is related to the name for the dry sirocco wind that blows from the Sahara. The Phoenicians landed here and set up trading posts during the 9th century BC, but evidence of habitation of the area are much older. The hill of Tas-Silġ, which overlook the northern arm of Marsaxlokk Bay, contains remains of megalithic temples, but also the remains of its use as a religious site, from the end of the 6th century BC to the 1st century AD, and also of the 4th century AD, when it was adapted to the new religion, Christianity.

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