Phoenicians, Salt, and Time
The island, especially, was fascinating, its history going back at least to the 5th century B.C.
We saw the white marble Greek statue of Giovane di Mozia (the Young Man of Mozia)
We saw the House of Mosaics which was once a magnificent house with Doric columns and mosaic floors made of marine pebbles in the shapes of animals with decorative borders.
In the island's museum, I also found fascinating the archeological evidence of the Phoenicians' way of weaving, using weights to keep the warp threads taut.
After the tour of the island and the lagoon, where what looked like hundreds of people were wind surfing,
Ancient windmills still in use
Saltpans as the sun begins to set
Photo op with leftover salt from a couple of years ago.
I find myself often thinking about time here in Marsala, whether it's marveling about artifacts from hundreds of years BC, or considering the timing of olive or salt harvests, or figuring out when we can call our friends in British Columbia and Mexico.
Time is evident also in the different pace of life here in Marsala. We went out our first day about 3:00 in the afternoon to find just about all of the businesses and government offices closed. Paul looked at the hours posted on the door of the grocery store we had walked to and sure enough, they were closed for an afternoon break, as was the pharmacy next door and just about every place else.
We should have checked Google maps first. People are home, one would surmise, with their families, having their own dinners together, which is a good thing. It makes for a long workday though.
Occasionally we would see a cafe (called "bars" here in Italy) open but that's about it. Most restaurants serving dinner don't even open for business until 7:00 pm or later.
But we are adaptable and tomorrow we leave Marsala for Sperlinga, where my father's father was from. And that will be another story.
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