Another UNESCO World Heritage Site!  We see a lot of these on Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) tours, and this one was no different.  Sicily is full of them, and they are all well worth the visit.

Siracusa, the capital of the province of Siracuse, was one of the most powerful ports of the ancient Mediterranean world.  It dates back 2,700 years, so the city has a long, rich history.  The architecture is a mix of Greek, Roman, and Baroque—one of the reasons UNESCO added the city to its list. 

Just across the small bridges is the quaint and charming island of Ortigia (Ortygia), which is the historical center of Siracusa.  Full of ancient landmarks, a wonderful mix of architecture, and a whole lot more (as you will see), we thoroughly enjoyed our walking tour and free time exploring this little island.

To begin our walking tour, we passed by the ruins of Temple of Apollo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site dating back to the 6^th century BC. This Doric temple is one of the oldest in Sicily.

(For all photos, click on the image for a full screen view.)

The following are more highlights from our time on the island:

Bruce and I thoroughly enjoy markets as my regular readers know. We seek them out wherever we travel, whether they are historic open-air farmers markets, or modern foreign grocery stores. We found another one!

Since it was yet another beautiful day, our group was able to conclude our visit with a scenic boat tour of the island’s rocky cliffs and grottos along the Ionian Sea.  Were we ever fortunate and grateful!  According to our tour leader, Francesco, this was only the second time in three years for him as a tour leader the water was calm enough to go inside the caves—one of the highlights of the trip for me and Bruce! 

Coming up next: SICILY & AMALFI COAST #18: CULTURAL CATANIA