Agrigento

Agrigento (high on the right of this photo), with about 50,000 population, sits on a hilltop a couple of miles from the Mediterranean Sea. There were mostly older buildings (almost brand new when compared to these Greek ruins, nearby), but right in downtown there is an interesting round building, and the Post Office was in a very substantial facility.

In the Valley of the Temples (between town and the Mediterranean Sea) there are many fascinating Greek ruins dating from 500 to 700 BC — included are numerous temples, necropoli, houses, streets, and a small amphitheater. Unfortunately, most of the temples at Agrigento are in ruins — this photo is the Temple of Concord, built around 440 BC.

This is another town where we needed a tape recorder. Agrigento’s fruit and vegetable vendor, with his brightly colored donkey-drawn cart, was singing his own special song advertising what he had for sale. One year, at a fish market in Ghent, Belgium, the young woman was broadcasting her sing-song sales pitch about the low price, and good quality of her herring. She was so serious, and just kept up this chatter — again, never a tape recorder when we need one.