Sicilian getaways
Sicily’s
rugged beauty and chequered heritage make it an attractive getaway – in the
romantic, not in the Mafia sense of the word. In fact, far from being a shadowy
underworld populated by secretive families and deadly vows of silence, this
beautiful Mediterranean isle – with its eclectic mix of history, culture, cuisine
and laid-back living – is a charming, if often crumbling, retreat.
December 2006
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©2006 K. Maes |
Frutti
di mari
Siracusa (or Syracuse, as it is known in English) has undoubtedly changed a
great deal since it was established by the Ancient Greeks in the 8th
century BC. But I would not argue too much with the Greek philosopher and
statesman Cicero’s description of it as “the greatest Greek city and the most beautiful of them all”. My simple
description of the seaside town’s simple hedonistic pleasures and appeal was
“MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!” which Katleen refined to “MMMMMMMMMMM plus the Greek
theatre!”
The Greek theatre and Roman amphitheatre we visited were probably the most
taxing part of our first day’s escapades, exposed to the mid-day sun as they
were. Interestingly, the ancient stone quarry near the theatre was used as an
ancient POW camp during the wars with Carthage! We then came across an oddly
shaped building which looked like a 1930s idea of ‘space age’. It turned out to
be an all-denominational church which seemed – from both the inside – and out
to have been designed, as some sort of antenna, by a sci-fi buff hoping to make
contact with alien life forms. It reminded me a little of the Mary of Zion
church in Axum, Ethiopia.
Then, it was back to our luxurious hotel room (we’d decided to spoil
ourselves for a night) for some R&R and a siesta. The room (which was fiendishly
numbered 101) was as large as a studio apartment, with high ceilings, tasteful
modern furniture and hand-painted blue designs around the edges of the
ceilings.
We went for a late afternoon stroll around the old city’s narrow,
picturesque streets. In the early evening, we watched the sun slip behind the
Adriatic, staining the sky pink – like Sicily’s national colour but more
beautiful – before spreading into a deep orange. As the orange dipped, we
sipped on sparkling wine at a café overlooking the
sea and nibbled on some light appetizers before we went off to have dinner.
The next day, we explored a different section of the old town and visited
the city’s cathedral which was once a Roman temple, and the ancient pillars
were still an integral part of the structure.
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©2006 K. Diab
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Prickly
fruit and grand vistas
For our last full day in Sicily, we went, based on a friend’s
recommendation, on a trip to the quaint one-time fishing village of Cefalu. A
spectacular cliff looms over this hilly town with its beautiful Arab-Norman
church. Cefalu’s narrow, medieval streets are a tranquil and pleasant maze to
wander through. The sun was shining brightly, the temperature was touching 30ºC
and the sea was a rich, almost navy blue.
The climb up to the top of the cliff, where there is a Roman temple of
Diana and the ruins of a palace is a relatively simple one. On the way up, the
profusion of cactus trees lured me to pick us a couple of prickly pears and we
were soon reminded that they were called ‘prickly’ for a reason. Despite being
cautious, I was left with little thorny reminders in the palm of my hand for a
couple of days, but the cactus fruit tasted good!
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©2006
K. Diab |
At the top of the cliff is a Roman temple of Diana and the ruins of a
palace. We found a secluded terrace
where we sat and contemplated the spectacular view of the town, the
harbour and the sea for a good hour.
Afterwards, we climed back down and visited the Arab-Norman Church of the
Dome (as so many of these hybrid churches are known) which borrowed a lot from
the Islamic elegance and symmetry of the time. Set against one side of the
cliff and on a large piazza where locals gathered to chat and tourists milled
about, it is a soothing and peaceful sight to behold. The proprietor of our
pension in Palermo told us that the face of Christ inside was illuminated by
the sun’s rays once a year on the day of the transfiguration, which put me in
mind of the statues of Ramses and some Egyptian deities which are illuminated
on what are supposed to be the ancient pharaoh’s birthday and coronation day.
ã2006
K. Diab. Unless otherwise stated, all the content on this website is the
copyright of Khaled Diab.