12/5/25. Awoke to the last “Supermoon” of 2025 over Syracuse Sicily this morning
And looking to the north through the mist you can make out (what I think is) Mt Etnna.
Apparently when they showed up they saw quail here this the name. There is also a bunch of mythological stuff tied in which you can look up if you like as at this point my mind is fried.
And of course much was made of the name Siracusa which
Is commonly thought to refer to the fact that this is a place of abundant fresh water. Water comes from the mountains, filtered through the rock and then appears in spring throughout the area.
We stoped first at the Temple of Athena which over the years became Roman, Catholic, Muslim ….. Like many of these archeological finds this area was covered with apartment house before someone recognized a column in a wall and started to dig
While there is water, there is no soil so if you want plants you have to grow them in pots which line the streets. Cars mostly miss them.
And of course we visited a number of Churches
Oh, and then another Church.
This one is the Dome of Syracuse. Originally identified as another temple To Athena from 5th century bce because of the Doric columns. Then the Roman’s dedicated to Minerva then Constantine made it a church for Christians. This was the capital of Sicily until the 9th century. Then this building became a mosque. Apparently it’s only the columns that survived the 17th century earthquake.
The tile floors were varied and quite splendid
Check out the light reflection from the stained glass.
This was the home of Archemedies but that would require another book.
Remember I mentioned the abundance of fresh water?
The first picture is of a spring in the foreground (famous as the meeting place of two love struck gods) In the background is the salt water of the Ionian Sea.
Now back to the Jewish street.
It’s estimated there may have been up to 3500 Jews 1/5 of the population at its height. There was an active congregation here until 1492. Sicily was part of Spain, and subject to the inquisition. .
. Interesting story about how in 1989 a woman who bought a hotel wanted to do some extension and discovered Europe’s oldest Mikvah some 38 feet below the hotel. 58 steps hewn through rock. At the time of the inquisition the community filled it in and buried the entrance to prevent it being found. It stayed hidden for centuries.
And, if you bring your own chaperone you can still make arrangements to use the mikvah.
And some other random shots:
so David’s headline now there are three means. We were in a marketplace and met these three people about our age and found out they were from Syracuse Utah. We got to talking and they said they were missionaries from the church of the Latter Day Saints. I said I don’t wanna be rude, but aren’t you a little old to be missionaries? They said what they are are the adults that follow the young people all over the world. I want that gig. Can I do it even though I’m Jewish? By the way this happened after we went into a lemoncello store. And they forced me to have many samples. Lastly, we bought the many samples.
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