Ancient of Ancients {Selinunte, Segeste and Agrigento} Sicily

On the edge of the ocean, where the waves crash endlessly along the shores, ancient peoples built temples to their gods and they couldn't have picked a room with a better view. A land soaked in history, blood, tears and triumph, these are the walls that weep, still sing on the wings of the wind, and remember.

first, a little geography!

Selinunte, on the sea we ate olives and listened to the gulls cry as they floated on the salty ocean breeze.

this guy was looking for lunch

 my first view of the walls of Selinunte that still stand (though some have been resurrected and "restacked") 

a random capture of a tourist who I don't know.

perspective is everything

some of the ruins of the city walls, off in the distance from the temple

more walls within the city

shadow shots

sheep and a WWII pillbox. told ya they're everywhere

the road to Segesta

view from the top

the stone literally glows

these were the ruins (above) that Aaron took me too straight off the international flight (9 hours overnight and no sleep). And then we hiked a mile up from the temple to see the intact amphitheater, pictured below. #worththewalk

Agrigento. I drove almost three hours to get to these ruins, which were the most intact (one of them  because it had been converted to a Christian church some point in its history, thus preserving it), but the most difficult to find. They were set in the middle of a city, and I drove in circles trying to find the "parking" for the archeological center. And I reeeaallly had to use the bathroom. Talk about frustrating! And while I wasn't connected all the time, I did have internet access via portable wifi, but finding things when you're lost only works with wifi if the websites give addresses, had addresses your GPS recognized, or are in English. Most of them didn't, hadn't and weren't.

the burial chambers set beneath the streets that led between the temples. 

this was reeeeaaallly cool - you never realize how large the temples really are until you can climb all over the remains, or stand next to the fallen statue that lays in permanent slumber next to the now-crumbled walls it once stood guard over.

the city was pretty close to the temples.

even in the heart of December, the spring flowers bloom in the 65 degree humid winters.

and so do the oranges!