L-Iklin is a relatively modern village in the centre of Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

, with a population of 3,203 people (Nov 2005), situated between Birkirkara

Birkirkara

Birkirkara or B'Kara is a city of 25,858 inhabitants in central Malta. It is the most populated town on the island and consists of four autonomous parishes: St Helen, St Joseph, Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Mary. It also houses one of the most famous colleges in Malta, St Aloysius' College...

, Naxxar

Naxxar

Naxxar is a village in the central north of Malta, with a population of about 13,647 people . The Naxxar Church is dedicated to Our Lady of Victories. The feast is celebrated on September 8...

 and Ħal Lija. L-Iklin detached itself only recently from neighbouring village, Lija. A number of commercial outlets have more recently opened in the area. It also has its own Parish Church. This means that it does not depend any longer on Lija, which is its neighbouring village. In fact such celebrations as the first holy communion and confirmation are celebrated in the L-Iklin Chapel. Such activities which are organised each year include:

• Jum l-Iklin (Iklin's Day)
• a fund-raising activity for the Parish Church

There is a small chapel dedicated to St. Michael (actually on the Lija side). St. Michael's feast

Michaelmas

Michaelmas, the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel is a day in the Western Christian calendar which occurs on 29 September...

 is celebrated the Sunday before the 29 September by the Lija fireworks team. This current chapel seems to have been built in 1615, on the site of a previous chapel. Mgr. Dusina report of the Apostolic Visit in 1575 describes the chapel in a very poor state.

Archaeological sites at L-Iklin

Even though L-Iklin has only recently developed (the first house was built in 1958), it still has a few minor sites of archaeological importance:

• a megalithic site, perhaps the remains of a temple was discovered in 1967 by the Teenagers Din l-Art Ħelwa group from St. Aloysius' College. Unfortunately, this site has never been seriously surveyed or studied.
• a second megalithic site was studied in 1986 during works on the new Birkirkara By-Pass, in the area known as Tar-Raddiena. Two large megaliths, and a few smaller ones are still visible (though often ignored) on this busy road. The ruins were dated, through pottery sherds found during excavation, to the Temple Period.
• the foundations of a Roman Villa were excavated in 1975 during construction works. Unfortunately, the site - which seems to have been quite an interesting minor site - was destroyed soon after excavation, in the name of progress.

Zones in L-Iklin

• Il-Qasbija
• Ta' Ġnien Fonsu (Alphons Garden's Village)
• Ta' Kieles
• Ta' Simblija
• Tal-Balal
• Tat-Tabib (Doctor's Village)
• Tax-Xwieki

L-Iklin Main Roads

• Triq Dun Karm (Dun Karm By-Pass)
• Triq Geronimo Abos (Geronimo Abos Street)
• Triq il-Wied (Valley Road)
• Triq in-Naxxar (Naxxar Road)
• Triq San Mikiel (St Micheal Street)

External links

• L-Iklin Local Council
• Parish of the Holy Family, l-Iklin