Sicily - Part 1: Taormina and Syracuse

Taormina is a dream. The small town on a hill near Mount Etna is the first stop of my stay in Sicily. This time, I start my sightseeing tour directly with the most attractive highlight of the town: the ancient theater.

As soon as I enter the top row of seats of the theater and look down at the stage and the surrounding landscape with the sea, mountains, and sky, my lungs fill with air. It is breathtakingly beautiful, not only because I am standing so high up. The Roman structure from the 2nd century BC was built on top of a smaller theater of Greek origin and is embedded in the hillside. I jump around and try to find the perfect position for taking pictures to capture everything that fascinates and makes me feel so alive. Of course, there are tourists here as well, wearing particularly eye-catching neon yellow or pink outfits, which I do not want to have directly next to my ancient treasure. So I patiently wait until the bright colors pass by and rather hope for pastel-colored people (or ideally no people at all) to gather in front of my camera lens.

I walk around the theater, go on stage, sit in the audience area where poppies grow between the rows of seats, and carefully store the tingling atmosphere in all my cells. It is another highlight of my trip; Taormina is already in my heart.

When clouds gather, I set off because I also want to visit the ruins of a former fortress above the city. I walk through the alleys, first to the main square with the cathedral, and then climb a staircase to the small church of Santuario Madonna della Rocca. I go inside and light a candle. It is a habit of mine when I am in a town for the first time and it touches me.

From here, it is only a stone's throw to the old fortress. The site is not officially open to visitors, but apparently a friend of abandoned places has already sawed off a few iron bars from the gate, so that one can easily enter the premises. I look in all directions at the beautiful landscape below, with my gaze repeatedly returning to the ancient theater that has enchanted me so much.

In the evening, I go to the beach and only then realize that I have forgotten my bikini in the accommodation. But I really need to go into the water, I urgently need to cool down, so I wrap myself in a towel that I always carry with me to protect against all kinds of air conditioners, and take a swim. Life is beautiful.

On the next day, I visit the town of Syracuse, which is about 100 km away. My thoughts are still revolving around Taormina, and Syracuse would have to offer a lot to surpass the experiences of the previous day. However, the city does not manage to do that. Despite the fact that Syracuse also has an archaeological park with an even larger Greek theater and an amphitheater on top, I do not feel any enthusiasm. On the one hand, this is surely because the Greek theater is currently being prepared for the evening performance and there are spotlights, barriers, and tarpaulins everywhere. On the other hand, the surroundings are quite unremarkable and in no way comparable to the breathtaking landscape in Taormina. It certainly also has to do with personal preference.

Nevertheless, the Roman amphitheater is worth seeing, but in the famous "Ear of Dionysius" it smells like rotten fish and urine. This is a cave with exceptional acoustics. Legend has it that Dionysius locked up his prisoners in this cave to eavesdrop on their conversations. Because of the special shape of the tunnel, every whispered word reached the ear of the ruler at the other end of the cave.

After visiting the archaeological park, I go to the district of Ortygia. This part of the city is located on a limestone island, which can be reached via three bridges and represents the historical core of the city. The alleys are narrow and charming, the square around the cathedral is very pretty, but unfortunately, the Maniace Fortress at the very tip of the island, which I actually had my eye on, is closed. Well, I still want to take a photo, at least from above. So I confidently enter the Faculty of Architecture next door, nod to the gatekeeper, and climb the first staircase that comes my way up to the top floor. I am lucky because the lecture hall in front of me is empty, the window with a view of the fortress can be opened, and I have my photo. I nod cheerfully to the gatekeeper as I leave.

Syracuse is definitely a worth visiting town, but it could not distract my thoughts from Taormina. Let's see what Catania and Palermo, my last two stops on this long journey, which has flown by in the blink of an eye, have in store for me.. 😊