Pantallica

Yesterday, we had class and then took a walking tour of Ortigia to "see" all the prehistoric sites on the island. We actually didn't see much, because when most of the sites were excavated, pictures were taken, and then they covered the areas up and many buildings have been constructed on top of them. So essentially we just saw the location of the prehistoric settlement's boundaries, which really didn't interest me at all, since I'm not big on this sort of stuff. Also, I didn't like the fact that I couldn't see what the professor was referring to. Anyway, that evening we had a lecture on Mycenaean imperialism in Sicily, and then MCAS hosted another event; this one celebrating Arabic culture. I stuffed myself with a lot of Arabic food while enjoying a belly-dancing performance. It was a great night! Today, we visited Pantallica, another prehistoric necropolis but one used during the Late Bronze Age instead. It held hundreds of thousands of tombs for the middle to upper-class of this settlement. After viewing some of the many tombs which are accessible, we made our way up to the plateau to see the remains of the Anaktoron, a building that was used as a palace/storage facility. We then headed back to Ortigia and I spent the rest of the day just relaxing. This intense heat just takes the wind out of your sails. I would kill for some air conditioning right now! Anyway, that night I played a pick-up game of soccer. I hadn't played in years, so it was a real interesting experience to say the least.