A Stroll Through Ancient Greece at the Valley of the Temples

Agrigento, Sicily

The ancient city of Akragas was located along the top of a ridge between the confluence of the Hypsas and Akragas rivers in Sicily and is now known as Agrigento. Akragas while claiming the legendary Daedalus (builder of the Labyrinth for King Minos of Crete) as it's founder, is considered to have been established by a group of Rhodian and Cretan colonists from the city of Gela circa 582 B.C. However, excavations indicate that a 7th century BC Greek settlement has existed at this location. Typical of classic Greek settlements, Akragas was built on the flanks of a hill by the coast. This allowed Akragas to expand from the original acropolis and prosper within a very short time after colonization. Defensive walls were built to reinforce the natural protection of the difficult topography circa 570-555 BC.   Under Phalaris and Theron, the city expanded its territory and grew rapidly to a population of between 100,000 to 200,000 inhabitants, becoming one of the richest and most famous of the Greek colonies of Magna Graecia (an area in southern Italy in the vicinity of the Gulf of Taranto). After the period of tyranny under Phalaris and Theron, Akragas flourished as a democracy known for its high-quality wine, olives and horses. The city was sacked and completely destroyed by the Carthaginians in 406 BC, never to regain its former glory. The city became a prize fought over by Romans and Carthaginians, falling to Roman conquest in 262 BC and becoming incorporated into the Roman Empire in 210 BC. The decline of the Western Roman Empire and the ascendancy of Christianity led to depopulation and impoverishment of the city.  The older quarters were abandoned and the remaining population clustering on the hill.  The settlement during it's decline was successively occupied by the Arabs in 829 and by the Normans in 1086. The current population of Agrigento is approximately 60,000, a shadow of it's former self.

Map of Valley of the Temples
 http://www.thethinkingtraveller.com/  with parking lot information added

Ancient Akragas covered a large area, much of which still remains unexcavated but is exemplified by the Valley of the Temples.  The Valley of the Temples covers most of the built-up part of the ancient city and its public monuments on the south side of the ancient city (and modern city of Agrigento). Seven Greek temples in the Doric style were constructed during the 6th and 5th centuries BC.  The excavated and partially restored temples within this archaeological site constitute some of the largest and best-preserved ancient Greek buildings outside of Greece and is a listed World Heritage Site. The most impressive remains are those of the temples built during the reign of Thero and after. There are eight temples (and various other remains) built between about 510 BC and 430 BC include the Temple of Hera, the Temple of Concordia, the Temple of Heracles, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Temple of Castor and Pollux, the Temple of Hephaestos, the Temple of Demeter, and the Temple of Asclepius (the God of Medicine).

As per most sites of interest in Sicily,  finding and following signage can be a challenge.  Our trip to the Valley of the Temples took us through Agrigento, based on GPS and signage. At the time of our visit to the Valley of the Temples we were still GPS novices and were operating under the mistaken impression that the GPS would provide the quickest and most efficient routes (See recalculating is a four letter word Post). There is no need to drive through Agrigento to go to the Valley of the Temples, so save yourself the aggravation and use what we would call the bypass road. We parked in the lower entrance parking lot and took a taxi to the upper entrance near the The temple of Juno.  It was definitely worth the money (5 euros per person) as we walked the route downhill back to the vehicle in 30°C temperatures (end of May).  About the site, all I can say is wow and definitely worth the visit.  Enjoy the photographs and if you visit Sicily, a stroll through ancient Greece in the Valley of the Temples should definitely be on your "must see" list.  Enjoy.

Video from the Valley of the Temples May 2014

Valley of the Temples

Photographs from the Valley of the Temples May 2014

The temple of Juno (Hera Lacinia) was built in the Doric style (450-440 B.C.) and  rests upon a base with four steps and has six columns at the front and back, and thirteen along the sides.

Temple of Hera

The Temple of Concordia was built in 440-430 BC on a solid platform to overcome the uneven terrain.  This is one of the best preserved Doric temples in the world, due in part to alterations undertaken in the 4th Century (AD) when it became a Christian Basilica.

Temple of Concordia

This modern bronze (Fallen Icarus) by Polish artist Igot Mitoraj can be seen in the Valley of the Temples, near the Temple of Concordia.  Just my luck, a couple of large tour groups arrived making it impossible to get a good shot with the temple in the background.

Fallen Icarus

This is the oldest temple in the Valley of Temples, dating to the end of the 6th century B.C. The temple was famous for its statue of Hercules, which the notorious art thief Caius Verres attempted to steal for his governor's palace around 73 BC. Plans of the raid became know, and local citizens overpowered the the Roman soldiers.

Temple of Heracles (Hercules)

The Temple of the Dioscuri was built at the end of the 5th century BC in homage to the twins Castor and Pollux. The only remains of the temple are four columns, which were rebuilt in the 19th Century.

Temple of Dioscuri (Castor and Pollux)

A view of the Mediterranean Sea through the fortifications for Akragas. This is probably the remains of an arcosolium type of burial chamber that was cut into the walls of the Greek fortifications.

View through the Fortifications

Christian burial ground used between the 3rd and 6th centuries.

Paleochristian Necropolis

Ironically I suspect she does not realize that her rest spot today was in actuality someone's final resting place. This would have been part of the Byzantine Tombs that were cut into the fortifications between the 3rd and 6th centuries AD.

Resting Spot

The following web sites are excellent resources for information on the Valley of then Temples as well as other Sicilian locations:

http://www.thethinkingtraveller.com/

http://www.parcodeitempli.net/

http://www.valleyofthetemples.com/

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/831

http://www.bestofsicily.com/

Other pictures from our May 2014 Sicily trip may be seen at my Flickr Site: Sicily Album on my Flickr Site

Why Sicily or Rather Why Not Sicily?

Mount Etna

Several years ago, two of my friends and I started to discuss the possibility of taking a girls vacation; yes several bottles of wine were involved in that discussion. That was the start of what has become a much anticipated and enjoyed biennial vacation. Let me make this very clear, we are not ladies who would enjoy spending several days at a spa, gambling, shopping  and/or lounging at the pool or beach. That might be fine for a day or two; we rather like to see and experience the culture and history of a destination. While, this is the common thread among all of us; how we achieve the seeing and experiencing differences significantly. I am the "princess" (no apologies from me and yes I do like my creature comforts), then there is the "minimalist" (she would camp and have us camping anywhere), and finally the "sense of reason" (she strikes or rather facilitates and leads us to a sense of balance between the two extremes). However, we all enjoy partaking of the food, drink, culture and history of the regions we visit.

Citizen of Noto

So, when the 2014 year trip destination was proposed; Sicily, My first thought was why Sicily?  I knew little to nothing about Sicily, other than it was in Italy and the popular stereotypes associated with Sicily. OK, So again, why Sicily?  It so happens that Sicily is an uniquely multicultural society, having been ruled by Asians, Africans and Europeans at some point in their history, resulting in a society that is in reality a multitude of shades of grey. Sicily has been a Greek colony, a Roman province, an Arab emirate and a Norman kingdom. It's history has been stamped by the influences of the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Swabians, Angevins, Aragonese, Spanish and Albanians resulting in an uniquely eclectic history and culture that is reflected in the Classical, the Romanesque, the Gothic, and Baroque influences evident through out the island.

A view from the Greek Theatre in Taormina
The Sky adds Drama and Interest 

The beauty of Sicily with its unique blend of history and culture make it an ideal locale for travel photography. You have several beautiful and diverse archaeological sites and attractions without the larger crowds experienced at some more well known sites such as in Rome and Athens.  Nevertheless the Sicilian sites are magnificent in their own way. Sicily is home to some of the most impressive Roman mosaics in the world at Piazza Armerina and these mosaics are a reason unto themselves to visit Sicily. With such an eclectic mix of cultures, the architecture of Sicily is a treat for anybody who appreciates architecture. Sicily architecture influences include Roman, Arabic, Spanish and Norman styles. Mount Etna (surprise, surprise another vacation destination with a volcano; one of us seems to have a volcano fetish!), is a beautiful backdrop for any travel photograph.

My top three reasons for visiting Sicily are the Roman mosaics which are the finest in the world, Valley of the Temples with some of the best preserved Greek temples outside of Greece and Erice, the medieval walled town.  If you visit Sicily, you can easily develop your own top three reasons and mine may not even make your list. Add-in great weather, lovely beaches, seafood and why Sicily quickly becomes why not Sicily!

This post will be updated with links to the my other Sicily posts as they become available. The following Sicily posts are available.

A must read about driving in Sicily:
http://sandrawhiteway.blogspot.ca/2014/06/recalculating-is-four-letter-word.html

Mount Etna:
http://sandrawhiteway.blogspot.ca/2014/08/the-sleeping-dragon.html

Valley of the Temples:
http://sandrawhiteway.blogspot.ca/2014/12/a-stroll-through-ancient-greece-at.html

Villa Romanad del Casales
https://sandrawhiteway.blogspot.com/2020/06/depicted-in-mosiac.html

Sculptures on La Fontana della Vergogna, or the Fountain of Shame. Palermo, Sicily

View from the Balcony, Cefalu, Sicily

Nature in Full Bloom, Sicily

Mosaics in Villa Romana del Casale, Piazza Armerina

Erice, Sicily's Mediaeval town 

Salt Flats at Trapani, Sicily

 

Town Square, Cefalu

Street in Noto

Valley of the Temples, Agrigento, Sicily

The Thousand Year Journey

Twillingate, Newfoundland and Labrador (NL)

Thousands of icebergs calve off of Greenland into the Baffin and Labrador seas every year, riding the Labrador current, some make it to the shores of Newfoundland; the culmination of a journey which would have spanned thousands of years. The average age of an iceberg is thought to be approximately 5000 years with many, much older. The town of Twillingate, Newfoundland and Labrador is a fishing community located in Notre Dane Bay along side "Iceberg Alley"; an area from Baffin Bay down along the east coast of Newfoundland and Labrador where icebergs occur frequently. Twillingate originally known as “Toulinquet”, was named by the the French after a group of islands off the coast of Brest, France. In the early 1700′s, Toulinquet soon became Twillingate to the English Settlers, many of whom were unable speak or read the French language.

Twillingate, NL

Twillingate is approximately 450 km (280 miles) from St. John's, the capital and business centre of Newfoundland and Labrador. The distance between the places would add approximately one month's travel to an iceberg's journey. A month that can make a big difference to the size of those majestic towers and slabs of ice that have been moulded by the sea into shapes of all description.  This summer while visiting family in Musgrave Harbour (NL), we travelled to Twillingate (a 2 hour drive) in the midst of iceberg season. To our delight; there were icebergs all along the horizon, attesting to the fact that 2014 was the best iceberg season in a decade. Approximately 40,000 medium to large sized icebergs calve (break off) annually in Greenland and approximately 2% (~800) may make it as far south as 48° north latitude (St.John's). The numbers will vary greatly from year to year but on this one day, there were over a hundred of these beautiful ice castles on the horizon, attesting to why Twillingate is referred to as the “Iceberg Capital Of The World”.

Ocean Quest Zodiak Tour

The Zodiak, a rigid-hulled inflatable boat is the best type of vessel (in my opinion), for the serious photographer to photograph icebergs, whales, birds and the coastline in general. Due to their high degree of manoeuvrability, size and speed they are able to circle icebergs with ease. One of the main advantages they offer is that you are closer to water level than other vessel types, as well as, providing an unobstructed view of your environment. Zodiak tours are limited to 8-12 people, depending on zodiak size.  All the following iceberg pictures were taken during a zodiak tour offered by Ocean Quest Tours out of Twillingate, Newfoundland and Labrador. 

Enjoy the photographs of nature's floating giants as they approach the end of their thousand(s) year journey. An update will be made to this post as soon as production of a video from this tour has been completed. Additional photographs can be seen on my flickr site: https://www.flickr.com/photos/21108304@N02/.

What's in your backyard?

Contemplation.

Dinner with a view!

Dry-Dock Iceberg

Old House Cove Iceberg
Dirt in the iceberg, most likely from ancient volcanic activity.

Melting Berg!
It was over 30ºC (86°F), no surprise that the icebergs were melting.

There's large and than there's OMG Large!

This photograph shows the very large (OMG) iceberg in its entirety.  The red square is the area that is see in the above photograph with the tour vessel. The iceberg involved with the sinking of the titanic was a small iceberg, smaller than the one in the "Heading Home" picture and probably closer to the size of the one pictured in "What's in Your Backyard".  The winds were up and that is indeed melted water being blown up and over the iceberg. 

This photograph demonstrates the perspective distortion that can occur when taking a picture with a telephoto lens. The viewer cannot discern relative distances between objects – distances are compressed.  So, yes there really is a safe distance between the iceberg and the vessel as well as the vessel and the shore; though it does not seem to be.

Heading Home

The Sleeping Dragon

While the ancient Greeks considered Mt. Etna to be the realm of Vulcan, god of fire, and the home of the one-eyed monster known as the Cyclops; I like to think of Mt. Etna as a large black dragon, sometimes quietly sleeping, other times raging with fury. Our 2014 girls trip was to Sicily and Mount Etna was an anticipated stop. Coincidentally, we seem to have had volcanoes as one of our stops for most of the girls trips (someone seems to have a fascination with them). During our May visit Mt. Etna's fire and brimstone fury was quieted, but within a few weeks of our return, Mt. Etna reminded me that the dragon rudely awoken from its sleep can express it's fury with a spectacular pyrotechnical display, sending plumes of lava and ash hundreds of feet into the air. That must have been a spectacular site to see, mind you so was the sleeping version.   

Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site globally recognized on basis of its notoriety, scientific importance, cultural and educational value, superlative natural phenomena and exceptional aesthetic importance as iconic volcanic site, Mt. Etna is Europe's highest (~ 3,300 m, though this varies with summit eruptions) and most active volcano. The Mt. Etna landscape is otherworldly with black lava sand, volcanic gravel and rocks that crunch underfoot. Mount Etna is really a world apart from the classic beaches, ancient ruins and hilltop towns that dot Sicily.  

Mt. Etna is a Stratovolcanoe which are the most picturesque as well as the most deadly of the volcano types. Their lower slopes are gentle, but they rise steeply near the summit to produce an overall morphology that is concave in an upward direction. The summit area typically contains a surprisingly small summit crater. Mt. Etna's eruption style is one characterized by effusive (lava flows) and mildly explosive (strombolian) eruptions. It has consisted of both summit and frequent flank eruptions, the latter seem to be occurring in clusters lasting few to a few tens of years.

Mount Etna Cable Car

We drove to Mount Etna and our first stop was the base station at Rifugio Sapienza, where we took a cable car to 8,202 feet (2,500 meters). It was fascinating to see the landscape changes as we drove up to Rifugio Sapienza and when we emerged from the cable car above the tree line to see the black volcanic ash, gravel and rocks, which to me presented as a lunar like landscape. The cable car cost €30 per person. You could travel additional 500 m further up Mount Etna via a 4x4 bus at a cost of an additional ~€50 for bus and guide (getting to be a pricey view). We decided forgo the 4x4 bus trek, regardless the views were still remarkable from the 2500 m point. Information about Mount Etna cable and related tours can be found at: http://www.funiviaetna.com/versione_inglese/index.html. If pricing information is available on this site, it is difficult to find.

Mount Etna from the Ancient Theatre of Taormina

Since Mount Etna is the dominate landscape feature in eastern Sicily, it often forms a gorgeous back drop and can been easily seen from various towns including Stazzo and Taormina. Mount Etna has definitely add a dramatic element to various of my photographs including the one taken at the Ancient Theatre of Taormina.

Mount Etna also served up one of the most memorable and hilarious moments of the trip. My version of "a funny thing happened on the way down from Mt. Etna". The route up to Rifugio Sapienza has several stopping areas from which pictures can be taken, unusual in Sicily. At the first stop as we traversed down the mountain and to my utter astonishment; my travelling companions jumped in the car and drove off, with me running down the road after them. Not only had they left my alone on Mount Etna, all I had was my camera.  No money, identification, cellphone or coat; all of which were in the car.  I wondered how long it would take them to realize they left without me.  I would have loved to have been "a fly on the wall", when they realized I was not in the car. They wondered why I was not asking to stop to take photographs and reminded (the missing) me, all I needed to do was ask them to stop. Getting no response, they looked back to ask me what was wrong. Surprise! Fifteen minutes later my remorseful companions returned. Never was I more glad to have assumed the role of official trip photographer, else it could have been a much longer wait, likely until they arrived at our restaurant choice for the evening dining.

   

Yes the dirty white stuff is snow.

The following videos are a compilation of my video clips (set to classical music) plus one from ODN - On Demand News regarding the June 16, 2014 eruption activity.  Enjoy, more photographs from our Sicily trip can be seen on my flickr site and in future blog posts. https://www.flickr.com/photos/21108304@N02/sets/72157645040170144/

Recalculating is a Four Letter Word

En route to Palermo

All of my driving has been in North America with the aid of maps, excellent roads signs and a good sense of direction. Our most recent girls trip was a driving trip in Sicily and we included a GPS unit with our rental. Now as I was not driving, I really did not pay much attention to this aspect of the trip planning. Armed with photocopied map portions of Sicily and road directions (to our rental locations); we rented the car, plugged in the GPS and off we went. Our first destination was Palermo and driving to it from Catania was relatively straight forward, especially considering our rental unit was just off the main road.  I had located the rental unit prior to leaving and had printed directions including map on hand for the trip. We reached or destination with one or two minor recalculating messages, that were hilarious at the time. In fact the trip route was basically as expected based on my mapping exercise.  We were off to a good start.

Recalculating again,
so what did we do wrong this time!

Like many before us, we had attributed human characteristics or behaviours to our GPS; as well as naming her.  She went through several names changes over the course of our trip being named Guinevere after her first betrayal, but Matilda was the name that stuck. She was also called Genevieve, Martha, Mildred, Mabel, Mavis and Bertha at one point or another; so it's no wonder she had suffered several personality crisis's. The worst meltdown was in Palermo (at night time) where Matilda went into a recalculating frenzy advising us at one point that we were on a country lane (actually showed up on the GPS screen as being in the middle of a green area) when we were in neighbourhood area less than 2 kms from our destination. We had to turn it off and back on, because Matilda was hopelessly lost - go figure!  We even received the "unable to calculate route to destination" twice when we missed a directional change she requested while in urban areas, much to our amazement and like many times before, these announcements were met with a series of unprintable comments.

This qualifies as a road in Sicily.

It can be safely stated that within 48 hours; recalculating had become a 4-letter word! Our misplaced trust in Matilda was severely shaken and we began to question her directions, although we would have hopelessly lost without her. The reason for that is quite simple, in cities and towns a street sign is the exception rather than the rule. The streets have names (and the GPS knows the names) but good luck trying to find any signs to effectively use with a map. Furthermore, the GPS System that you received from the rental car agency may not have the most current version of map's installed (ours did not), so new roundabouts, one-way roads and new roads in general may not be current. Getting into a town is the easy part, the fun starts when you try to leave. In hindsight we should have bought a GPS at home, loaded the current version of Europe maps and set up some routing before leaving for our vacation, but alas we were GPS novices. A good old fashioned paper map is necessary backup but beware all maps are not created equal. The mapping applications on our pads or cell phones were consulted to try to find easily accessible restaurants as well as to check driving options before heading out on the daily jaunts, for a check of course (we were no longer the trusting GPS novices). 

50 kph, yeah right (try 80-100 kph)!

Now driving in any unfamiliar place is stressful but driving in Sicily is difficult at best, terrifying at worst. To be blunt many Sicilian motorists are careless, disrespectful of the rights of those with whom they share the streets (including pedestrians) and they can be downright aggressive. Many are also under the impression that they are Mario Andretti. Italian speed limits are 50 kph in cities, 90 kph outside of cities, 110 kph on highways and 130 kph on autostrada. Getting passed on the autostada doing the speed limit (130 kph) like you were standing still was a common and at first startling experience (just get out of the way of the Mercedes, BMW's and Alfa Romeo's and you will be fine). That also meant roads that are no more than cart paths (in my opinion anyway) may have speed limits of 50 or 90 kph, assuming you could actually find a limit posted for them.  If that was not bad enough, the best I can figure is that speed limits are considered a guideline not a limit in Sicily.  Most drive well over the maximum speed limit not just the 10 kph I had read as being the norm (20-30 kph or more over the speed limit is more the norm). Stopping seems to come under the same category as speed limits in Sicily, stop signs are a consideration not necessarily a stop, unless it's a light.  They actually stop for red lights. I have read that the rules of the roads tended to be more strictly adhered to in northern Italy but not so much in southern Italy and based on our experience this may indeed be true.

No, Don't Stop!

Sicilian drivers think nothing of overtaking on blind corners and consider a hairs width to be the correct distance between cars, regardless of speed! Add in the fact that the road signs can be confusing or practically non-existent with road numbers (and sometimes distances) rarely shown on signs, making directions using road numbers useless. Actually being able to read the signs on the roads amid the vast vegetation can be a challenge in itself. Furthermore, they are often poorly placed, too small, too many placed at one location (you are unable to read all of them at any speed and near impossible to pick out the one you are actually trying to find) or they can be placed after the intersection so that you have passed the middle of the intersection before seeing the sign, too late to make the correct turn especially on roundabouts (resulting in another recalculating message). Directional signs to museums and other attractions suffer the same fate with some having fantastic signage and others non-existent at best.

Pickup Ape

Copyright Jorge Pérez - www.lookmeluck.com

Then there is parking, which is another hit or miss experience (contrary to what I have read; parking spaces/areas can range from easy to find to near impossible). You need to beware that parking may be paid parking (tickets from a machine or nearby business), free parking, residents only parking, restricted parking, what seems to be a free for all type of parking and then there is the double parking (not just stopping) that will occur in the most inconvenient places. Car size will play an important consideration in your ability to park just about anywhere.  The parking spaces are made for small vehicles and are narrow; so the smaller the vehicle the easier it is to park or manoeuvre into a parking space including those on one-way streets. I suspect this may have been the reason for the high number of "Tricycle Ape" vehicles we saw in Sicily. They are three wheeled light commercial vehicles that are available as pick-ups, panel vans, general cargo vehicles, garbage trucks, police vehicles, small campers and there is even a passenger variant (and probably anything other variation imaginable). Regardless they are cute and seem to be extremely practical for the historic centres and those so called streets that are actually cart paths that can be found throughout Sicily. 

Another cart-path street (Cefalu, Sicily)

Don't be surprised to see locals driving the wrong way on a one-way street (I have actually seen this more times than I care to remember)! Then there are the roundabouts (which are approximately 25% more efficient that 4 way stops). Ah yes the roundabouts, assume that any traffic joining the roundabout will not give way for you and if you find yourself in a roundabout without your destination listed (highly probable), the wise decision will be to take additional turns in the roundabout until you're confident you're on the correct route. Cars in the roundabout supposedly always have the right of way (another rule of the road that is rarely observed). Furthermore cars in the roundabout will not always be in one lane so chaos in the roundabouts may occur, particularly those in larger centres or at peak traffic times (to be fair, many roundabouts did operate very efficiently). In busy traffic, 2 lanes can quickly turn into 3 or 4 (with only 2 lanes marked) then back to 2 again with no rhyme nor reason. Assume that any vehicle joining the road from the right is definitely going to pull out in front of you. That's a given. When driving always keep an eye on your right side mirror. Mopeds (and sometimes even cars - yikes) have a nasty habit of trying to overtake you on the right.

Yup, an actual stop sign.

In many ways we were naive when we embarked on our Sicily trip but we survived, mainly in part due to the steely nerves of our driver (thanks Kathy).  In hindsight the key factors to surviving a driving trip in Sicily are to buy a GPS at home and preload it with destinations and routings; order a physical map as backup for your GPS before embarking on your trip (http://www.trektools.com); use the mobile map apps (such as http://www.viamichelin.com); and drive the speed you and your passengers are comfortable with following the rules of the road while ignoring the honks and gestures of the locales. Finally, ensure you have full comprehensive insurance with no deductible on the rental vehicle, you will more than likely need it (Sicilian cars without or with damaged side mirrors and/or body damage is a common sight). Having said that, I would estimate 90% of the roads are in excellent shape even the cobblestone streets and they often are in better shape than at home (no freeze/thaw cycle). Regardless of the dubious driving habits of the Sicilians, their system seems to work well for them. I honestly can't say I recall seeing one driver using a cell phone (a claim that can't be made for North America). Ultimately the best way to explore Sicily is by renting a car and use the main freeways to get around. 

Oh and expect to have at least one cart path story (or is that horror story) to tell when you get home! And yes recalculating is indeed a four letter word.

Follow that vehicle (as we try to get out of town)!
 The start of the Corleone adventure.