Sirocco

Sahara wind blows until here and fills up the sky with a vivid golden colour. I would like to share with you, some stunning pictures taken today in my city.

http://palermo.repubblica.it/cronaca/2011/05/02/foto/cielo_marrone_sopra_palermo_i_cittadini_chiamano_i_pompieri-15683644/1/

Palermo streets.

 If Palermo streets could talk, they would tell us a lot of amazing stories. Stories that we can't either imagine.
So if you're walking in my city, don't be surprised if you notice some plates translated in Italian, Arabic and Hebrew. They are there to underline and remind the multicultural nature of Palermo.

In some quarters, you can still smell the past. It's like time has stopped. It happens when you drop by Vicolo Meschita. Once upon a timet the area was inhabited by Jews when Palermo was dominated by Arabs. It was divided in two districts: Harat-abu-Himaz (Meschita ) and Horat-al-Jahudin (Guzzetta). The word Meschita, derives from arabic: Masjid, which means Mosque.

There are other quarters of the city that deserve a visit. I would like to mention Via Calderai: a street full of workshops whose exhibitions offer a wide choice of objects that let the customer spoilt for choice: cups, lanterns, pots, pans, boilers, fireplaces., All dangling in the entrance of the shops, almost hiding the entry. 


I can't finish the topic of the post without talking about Via dei Lattarini, in which is located also a popular market. The name suggests that the market has arabic origin and that the words  derives  from Suq el Attarine, which means, Market Spices.

Alchimia: An Arabic Lounge.

Once upon a time there was Balarm, the seaside city that Arabs made ​​prosperous, making it be a place of tolerance and wealth. It was called "Aziz", the flower, to underline its lush splendor.
An Arabian Night corner now still exists in the historical centre of Palermo, which, with its maze of alleys, was the cradle of the arabic domination in the early centuries of the second millennium. Alchemy is a "arabic lounge" which name derives from al-khimiya, a word that, in this case, wants to express the union of all particular elements that decorate evenings spent in this young local.

I have been in this local together with my friends, and I have loved its atmosphere, location and furniture. Was I in my city? I felt like I was somewhere else in the Middle East. Sicily is also this, a mix of cultures which have left indelible mark.

The Local is situated in Piazza Sant'Onofrio, 39 - Palermo (PA)

 

references: http://palermo.2night.it/locali/aperitivo/cocktail+bar/16292/alchimia.html

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=110178746302

Cuore di menta has opened.

It took several days to decide how my blog should look like and what it should be about.
Blogs are a little windows which allows to share our world. We let people see through our eyes.Through it, I hope, I can express the fusion of cultures within the society where I live. Post by Post, you'll understand what I'm talking about.

I have forgotten to introduce myself. I'm a 22 year old sicilian student. I'm interested in knowing foreign cultures, in particulary those cultures which are related to mine, such as arabic, french, spanish ones. I hope that I can make you see my land through my eyes and to help you to enjoy it. Because Sicily is not only mafia, but much more.