Field Trip to Sicily!!! (Days 3 and 4)

On Friday morning (3 Feb.), we got up and left for our next destination, but we did make a few detours along the way...  Before leaving the city, my professors managed to convince the bus driver to drive up the mountain so we could look out onto the city.

View of Palermo (through the bus window)

We went up a tiny winding road with a huge tour bus.  To make matters more interesting, it happened to be raining, and we met another bus trying to go down the hill.  Somehow, they managed to maneuver around each other without even scratching the other and still stayed on the road.  We were all impressed.

Building on the Mountain

Once we got to the top of the mountain, we visited one of the churches that was built right in the side of the mountain.

Church on top of the mountain

Here you can see how it was actually built right into the mountain, taking on the mountain's form and everything.

Literally into the mountain

Even though this looks like a complete building, it was really only a facade with an entrance way, then it opened up to the sky and the sanctuary space was in a cave-like space.

Sanctuary Space

There were even a few tombs inside.

Tomb inside the church

Then, we headed back down the other side of the mountain and just before we got to this view the bus driver said, "One, two, three, wow!" And wow it was!

View from the bus

On our lunch break, we stopped by the beach to dip our feet in.

Beach on the Tyrrhenian Sea

Before you knew it, we all had our shoes and socks off and were dipping our feet in the water!

Cool picture of the waves coming in

Who knew we would be enjoying a day at the beach in February?!?

A day at the beach :)

And Alex made me be a typical girl and write I love you in the sand...

I love you Kyle :) 

Unfortunately, we then had to get back on the bus to head to Marsala, but we did make one more detour...

Wonderful Views-can't get sick of them

When we first got to Marsala, we first visited the “Saline Ettore e Inferza” or the salt-making industry.

Clay tiles covering salt mound

This is a museum that displays the traditional methods for producing salt that are still used at the facility today.  

View of the facility

They start by bringing in water from the sea during high tide in April and allow the sun to dissolve some of the water.

Salt Pools

Once the saltwater is at the right concentration, they use the windmill to run an auger which pumps water into one of the shallower pools.

Large grinding stones

The same process is repeated four times, each time moving into a shallower pool.

Gears for the grinding stones

In the last pool is where the crystals start to form. 

Large salt crystals

The crystals are then harvested and made into piles.

Windmill

The piles are then covered with clay tiles and are allowed to dry through the winter.

Gears that turn the grinding stones

The clay tiles prevent excess moisture from seeping into.

More gears that turn the grinding stones

The large grinding stones have been there since at least the 1500s because that's the earliest that there was any documentation of what was in the facility.

View of the grinding stones from above

The salt they produce is 99% pure without any added dyes.  It also retains all of the minerals because they don't need to rinse it.

Tools used to harvest the salt

Today, the salt mostly goes up to the Scandinavian countries to be used for the preservation of fish.

Model of the production facility

When we finally got into Marsala, it was raining and we were a little ways from the downtown area where the restaurants were.  So, our bus driver had a friend with a restaurant (he had a lot of friends with restaurants...) and he organized a deal for all of us to go out to eat!

First Course-Seafood Pasta

All gone :)

And then they brought seconds!!

Second Course-Swordfish Steak and Squid

So delicious!

And a taste of traditional Marsala wine

Cheers!

On Saturday (4 Feb.-My Birthday :) ), we left the hotel early and went to Selinunte.

Temple of Hera or "Temple E"

Selinunte was one of the most important Greek colonies and now is an ancient Greek archaeological site which has a few temples, some of which are centered around the acropolis.

Steps leading up to the temple

It's guessed to have been established by the Greeks around 650 BC.

Sarah looking out onto the acropolis
in the distance

Temple E is a Doric order temple that was re-erected in the 20th C. because of an earthquake that knocked most of it down.

Interior room of the temple

Some of the columns are only partially fluted which means that it was never completely finished.

Massive columns

Some parts of the columns were even reconstructed by using a similarly colored concrete mix.  This is sometimes critiqued today because some areas are hard to distinguish what was original and what was added on.

Column and lintel support system

The remains of this temple are also somewhat deceiving because the temple would have been entirely clad in marble, both white and colored, and none of the marble remains today.

I thought I would make a pretty good scaley :)

Scaley=architectural term for placing a person in a photograph to tell how big it is

Temple E

Then we moved on to the ruins that lay in heaps-also damage caused by the earthquake.

John being King of the Mountain

Of course everyone had to play on them. :)

More people joining in

We then left the temple to head over to the acropolis.

Temple E

Temple E in the distance

The most dominant temple at the acropolis is Temple C.

Temple of Apollo or "Temple C"

Scholars are unaware of the true dedication of the temple since so little of it remains.

View of ruins looking out to sea

There were also some other ruins in the area of what are assumed to be houses and some shops.

Looking out to Temple C in the distance

Then, we headed back to Temple E again to do some sketches.

Leaving Selinunte

All-in-all, I would say it was a pretty good birthday-spent the day sketching Greek temple ruins-what could have been better?