Ortigia/Weekend at Giardini Naxos

On Friday we took our second tour around Ortigia, this time seeing the archaic and classical sites. First, we visited the ionic Temple of Artemis. The remains actually are found beneath a modern government building. However, we received special access and descended underground to view the remains of the temple. Then, we saw the doric Temple of Athena, which sat right beside it. This temple was turned into a church in the 6th century AD and a Catholic Cathedral after the Norman conquest of the 13th century, allowing the preservation of many doric columns, which can be seen from both the inside and outside. Then, we saw the remains of the Temple of Apollo, which are actually found outside. Only about 2 columns stand upright, but the base of the temple and many other columns are still available. Finally, we visited the Fountain of Arethusa. According to mythology, the nymph Arethusa was turned into this fountain by Artemis along with the river god Asopus who was lusting after her. This fountain was a very important source of portable water for the ancient Syracusans. After our tour of Ortigia, I hopped on a bus to visit the beach at Giardini Naxos for the weekend. On Friday evening I visited the lovely city of Taormina, which is just north of Giardini Naxos. The second largest theater in Sicily, dating to the Hellenistic Period, can be found here. With Mt. Etna in the background it is an absolutely amazing view. Later that evening, I had a pasta with shrimp, mussels and octopus, which might be the best pasta I have ever consumed! Yesterday, I visited the archaeological site of Naxos, the first Greek colony established on Sicily in 734 BC. The remains are scanty, but the significance of this place still hit me as I walked through the site. It was colonized right on the beach shore for commercial reasons. Afterwards, I checked out the small museum. Then, I headed to the beach, which turned out to be a bad decision, because that evening I came down with a pretty intense fever. Thus, this morning, I checked out earlier than expected and headed back to Syracuse to try and recover.