Being tourists: Tindari 6/06/09
We went to Tindari for the bank holiday, a tiny ancient mountain-top city founded by Dionisis di Syracusa in 396 AD as Tyndaris. Romans, Arabs and Byzantines also all spent time there, leaving interesting, but poorly maintained ruins. Part of the original mura or city walls remain, and the massive entrance gate to the city, and what they call the basilica, or Agorà , the central place of Greek life. There were Roman baths to the side with clay pipes for heating the water. But the best thing is the Greek Amphitheatre, with the Mediterranean stretching out behind the stage, beyond scrub and olive trees. They have Greek plays on every evening for a couple of weeks in June, and the actress of the night was rehearsing, her beautiful black curls cascading down her back, her hands gesticulating. Fabulous views of the sea and surrounding countryside. Tufty grass and wild herbs and olive trees to go wandering through, fabulous smell of wild fennel. Lovely big walled entrance to the old city, or...