Growing up, every so often my mom would surprise my sister and I with a long weekend trip somewhere fabulous. She would justify taking us out of school for a day or two here and there to see “history in its truest form”. Her philosophy was that you could learn better experiencing something rather than just reading about it in a book. We would go to Kings Mountain to learn about its battle during the Revolutionary War, and to Savannah Georgia to see an antebellum city and learn about pluff mud (all you need to know is that it stinks). We learned all about the history of the American Colonies during multiple trips to the Outerbanks, and of course, we tried to decipher the mystery of the Lost Colony of Roanoke – this sparked quite a few debates during the ride back to the hotel. I always left those places feeling like I had just been transported to the past. I walked on the same path as those before me had, and I felt so connected to them because I stood where they stood. However, none of those experiences could have even begun to have prepared me for what it would feel like to walk among the ruins of Agrigento in in Sicily.
My family never takes the short route when we take trips – most of us get very distracted and the path from point A to B is never a straight line, but this has created some of my best memories. A clear example of that was our ride from Palermo to Pietraperzia – this ride took close to 10 times longer than it should have. Before we left the bed and breakfast, we made the decision that we would take the coastal route for two reasons. The first was we had a goal to stick our toes in all three bodies of water that surrounded Sicily, and this would take us via the Mediterranean. The second was my papa requested that we stop at Agrigento which I knew nothing about. They told me it had a site of ancient Greek ruins, so of course I immediately became interested. Little did I know exactly what was in store for this stop.
Driving into the Valle dei Templi of Agrigento, we saw the glimpse of one of the structures, and I hurried up the hill to get in line to buy tickets as I was fascinated by what I had caught a peep of. We started along the path and came to the Tempio di Giunone which was amazing. It still had most of the pillars still in-tact, and you could definitely see the boundaries of the temple.
Walking along the path we saw more bits and pieces here and there. Then I looked up and saw the most extraordinary structure I had ever seen. The Tempio della Concordia. This temple was massive and still looked like what I could only imagine it looked upon its creation in 440 BC. I stared at row after row of these incredibly formed pillars that so tall I had to tilt my head up to see where they began and where they ended.
After I took in the breathtaking structure, I turned to read the plaque that told me that is considered one of the best kept Greek temples in not only the Mediterranean, but the world. I was standing in front of something that was the most notable in the whole world. This was an experience that I had never been through before. What is the protocol for seeing a UNESCO World Heritage Site? Do I act calm and collected like I am cultured enough to have felt this feeling before, or do I freely exhibit that my mind is fully blown standing in front of this temple. I finally decided that I would just stand in awe, but at least try to make my face look like this was not my first time seeing something of this calibar!
I stayed in front of that temple until I realized that my family had left me to keep on walking the path, so I hurried after them passing structure after structure that if could talk could tell enough stories that would make my school history book seem quaint. Coming from a culture that is always looking forward to tomorrow and what the best way to innovate is, it was refreshing and inspirational to take a look back into the very distant past. This stop is one that I will not soon forget.
Happy Travels!
-Kaitlin