Sicily 4: Segesta [Sky Watch Friday]

On our 4th day, we departed Palermo by bus and headed west to Trapani, on the Mediterranean Sea. That night, I managed to get a few decent shots of the sunset from our hotel restaurant window.

We would spend two nights here and take some bus excursions. The first one was to Segesta, site of a magnificent Doric temple and theater (dating back to the 5th century BC). They are situated out in rolling green hills, albeit separated by a considerable distance. The image below shows the surrounding landscape.

As we came over a hill crest, there was the temple, an awe-inspiring sight.

We worked our way down to the temple entrance. Yes, the capitals were in classical Doric style, and the columns were unfluted.  Examples of the more modern fluted columns will be shown in future postings.

The well preserved columns (including the capitals) are ca. 30 feet high;, with14 on the long side and 6 each along the short side of the temple.

The semi-circular theater was built into the side of a hill, Monte Barbaro. Its acoustics are phenomenal; e.g. a softly spoken word at ground level, within the semi-circular area, can easily be heard in the top row of seating. Consequently, ancient Greek plays are performed here every summer.