Catania's Street Markets
La Fiera and La Pescheria are two outdoor daily markets that give life to the streets of Catania and have become one of the city’s major tourist attractions as they are a meeting point between indigenous people and curious foreigners who enjoy watching these markets environment.
La Fiera expands along the city center, being la piazza de Stesicoro its nerve center where the market branches on different streets of the city. From early in the morning you can walk through this market and let the smells and colors of the fruits and vegetables wrap you in. La Fiera is always full of people picking through the wide range of things you can find at this huge market.
La Pescheria is the other central market located next to la piazza del Duomo, an incredible fish market buzzing with its merchants from 5 am until noon. La Pescheria offers a huge variety of incredibly fresh fish and seafood and also offers the opportunity to try in situ some of the products such as clams, mussels, oysters and sea urchins.
After walking through these markets, you better enjoy the wide variety of dishes provided by the restaurants in Catania.
Picture by Berthold Werner
Text by Fran Arnaiz.
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more infoThe Caves of Hercules
The beauty of the place, their archaeological and mythological value make the caves of Hercules an unusual place to visit in Tangier. The mythological comes as it is here where it is said Hercules rested after performing one of his 12 labors, after separating Europe and Africa , and waiting to perform the next task assigned – pick the golden apples from the Garden of the Hesperides .
You get there by a small road , 5 miles from Cape Spartel and 20 minutes from the city of Tangier . Although part of the cave has an artificial origin – rocks for making mill were extracted from here-, its origin is mainly due to the action of strong waves , which has shaped these caves in curious ways. For example , if you see the cave opening to the Atlantic, you will see drawn silhouette of African continenente flipped. Inside the cave , a handful of vendors and artisans offer their ceramic products , souvenirs and postcards with the image of this famous opening .
Picture: imad khleeh
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Volcano on Nisyros
Kos, the third largest island of the Dodecanese is located just 4 kilometres from the coast of Turkey. It offers infinite possibilities with its turquoise waters of the Aegean Sea, hot springs and ancient monuments.
In the Kardamena port you can take one of the ships that will take you in approximately 45 minutes up to Mandraki, the main port of the island Nisyros. . According to Greek mythology, the island was formed when Poseidon, God of the sea, cut off a part of Kos and threw it on the giant Polyvotis to prevent her escape.
The island of Nisyros is a great place for hiking lovers. It has a long cultural history and is a good reflection of the innate wild beauty of Greece. Inside is one of the largest and most ancient volcanoes of the Mediterranean. Stefanos is the larger and imposing of craters and, therefore, which arouses greater interest of tourists.
Once on the island, don’t forget to visit some of its beautiful villages, like Nikia, at the southern end of the crater.
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Picture by Simpsonfreak
more infoMonreale Cathedral
A forty-minute by bus ride from Palermo takes you to the Cathedral of Monreale. This cathedral was constructed during the reign of William II of Normandy, between 1172 and 1190, and is a living example of the fusion of cultures and religions that existed in Sicily during that period. It boasts a syncretic style as it was built by combining Norman architecture with aspects of Moorish art. It consists of a main nave with two wings and an apse. The most surprising features are the interior walls, as they are covered with more than 6,000 m2 of Byzantine gold mosaics inspired by those in the Palatine Chapel in Palermo. The mosaics recount episodes from the Bible, from the creation to the passion of Christ in chronological order from left to right. An impressive Christ Pantocrator crowns the apse leaving visitors speechless.
Adjacent to the cathedral can be found the cloister and its 228 columns, each one supporting a different ornament, along with a number of Arab-inspired arches.
You can travel to Monreale by bus (number 389), which passes by the Piazza Independencia in Palermo. It costs nothing to get into the cathedral but you can hire an audio-guide for 5 euros. Entry to the cloister costs 6 euros.
Image:Urban
By Isabel Romano from Diario de a bordo
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