One mighty arch. One of Gozo’s top tourist attractions. One inevitable fate?
When I first started coming to Gozo, the Azure Window wasn’t just a geological marvel to view from a safe distance. It was something to be crawled over. People picnicked on it.
Then they walked further down the coast to capture its full glory on film, before catching a boat and doing the same from sea level. You can still do all of those things (well, aside from picnicking on top) but the sad fact is you might not have much longer to take in this wonderful sight. Nature is eroding the arch at an apparently increasing rate. It could be gone in just a few years.
Nature it may be, but that would be a tragedy for Gozo. From the TV and movie crews who’ve used it as a backdrop for decades (you’ll have spotted it in Clash of the Titans, Game of Thrones, The Count of Monte Cristo and plenty more), to the divers who swim beneath it and the visitors who simply stand and gaze at it in wonder, the Azure Window is marvellous.
So it’s heartening to hear that Professor Vincent May, from the Department of Environmental and Geographical Sciences at Bournemouth University, is to carry out a study into the deterioration of the Window.
The study may not be able to prevent what seems to be an inevitable fate, but it should provide more information about the causes of damage, and perhaps help delay the day the Azure Window becomes the Gozo Stack.
Want to see the Azure Window for yourself? Best hurry. Book your Gozo holiday accommodation now.
