Sicily's Ancient Landscapes & Timeless Traditions Day 6

Day 6 - September 25, 2015 - Friday - Mazara Walking Tour; Visit Mazara Kasbah Quarter; Couscous Lunch; Sicilian Cooking Lesson

Pepé picked us up at 9:00 to begin our day in Mazara, the port city about 20 minutes from our hotel. The day was designed as a walking tour so we left our backpacks on the bus and set off from the port on foot to explore the city.

Mazara is at the mouth of the Mazaro River as it goes into the sea. We made a brief stop at the Teatro Garibaldi; a very small theater built after the unification of Italy and named for one of the men instrumental in the merger of all of the city-states of the peninsula.

We walked directly to Saint Ignatius Church, built in 1072 on the site of a mosque, and then enlarged in the 1600’s. The earthquakes of 1819 and 1820 destroyed the church. The columns were restored, but the church was never rebuilt.

Right next door is the Duomo and a museum dedicated to the newly discovered “Dancing Satyr”. Local fishermen discovered this incredible Greek bronze statue in 1998. After careful restoration by archaeologists in Rome, it was returned to Mazara.

Maurizio did not want to overwhelm us with too many churches, but in Italy and Sicily, the church was the only organization wealthy enough to commission art work. We had the opportunity to peek into several churches in the town, each one more magnificent than the next in decoration and wealth.

We had free time to go to the grocery store, get cash from the ATM, and walk around the town. At noon we met back at the Duomo Square where Maurizio introduced us to Paulo, our local guide for the next hour.

Paulo was the son of a Tunisian father and his mother was from Naples. He is a doctor of history but part of the unemployed army of men in Italy. At 40 years of age, he has converted to Catholicism but was a resident of the Muslim neighborhood of Mazara.

We walked with Paulo through the labyrinth of narrow alleys in the Kasbah, the Muslim quarter of the city. Seeing us with Paulo (who knew everyone), many people greeted us warmly. A young woman who was a student here but was born in Tunisia graciously answered our questions and spent a few minutes discussing her family background.

Amazingly, we found our way back to the main commercial street and had lunch at Eyem Zemen where we were served a traditional Arab meal of couscous. There were three types; one with a fresh white fish, one with just vegetables, and the last with shell fish.

On our way back to the port after lunch, Maurizio bought us all a gelato for dessert. As they say, “There is always room for Gelato”!

Back at the hotel at 3:00, we found out the Wi-Fi was not working, but we could write the journal and organize the pictures without the Internet.

At 6:00 we met our group to drive back into Mazara for a cooking lesson. Paulo, the Chef, welcomed us to his restaurant, Osteria Scopari where we were immediately divided into five three-person teams.

One team made the pizza, the next the eggplant Parmesan, the third was assigned the pasta, another the sauce, and the last the dessert. Vic was on the pizza team and Gennie was assigned to the sauce.

We each learned a new skill in Sicilian cooking. The first and most important secret was that all of the ingredients were fresh, making all of the dishes so delicious.

The best part of the experience was the camaraderie of the teams and the reward of a delightful meal. Everyone agreed that this was the most entertaining and exciting cooking class we had ever had with OAT!

It was almost 9:30 when we got back to the hotel. We still did not have Internet so Vic organized the material and took it to the office to use their direct connection to post the journal.

It was another late night, but well worth it as we had another superb day in Sicily.

Accommodations: Giardino de Costanza - - - Meal: B, L, D