EXOTIC ESCAPES

The Beauty of Sicily

An island where Arabic place names lace every valley, and couscous is still a Sicilian tradition.

7 Days / 6 NightsPalermo, Marsala, Agrigento, Taormina, Catania

FROM$7,000per person

The trip

An island where Arabic place names lace every valley, and couscous is still a Sicilian tradition.

Sicily was Isqilliyya for more than two centuries, and the names stayed: Palermo was Bal Al-Harm, Enna was Kasr al-Jannah, Etna is still Jabal al-Nar, the Mountain of Fire. You begin in Palermo, where the Great Mosque is a cathedral now but holds Qur'anic verses on its stone, and pray with the local Muslim community. Then west to the fortress at Calatafimi Segesta, where the conquest began in 827, and to Marsala, Marsa Allah, the Port of Allah, for couscous the island never gave up. The middle of the week is Enna and Agrigento, and the last nights are in Catania beneath the volcano.

The hilltop fortress at Calatafimi Segesta holds the last Grand Mosque of Sicily, still aligned to the Qiblah. It began here, in 827.

Day by day

Every day, already considered.

Prayer, dining, and where you rest, planned into each day, so you are never caught out.

01
DESTINATION
Bal Al-Harm, and prayer with locals
Palermo was Bal Al-Harm, an Islamic capital where poets walked the markets and astronomers read the stars. You stand inside the Great Mosque, a cathedral now but holding Qur'anic verses on its stone, then San Giovanni degli Eremiti, the madrasa turned mosque with its red domes. You meet the local Muslim community and pray together, and spend the evening in the Islamic streets.
02
DESTINATION
Where it all began, in 827
West to Calatafimi Segesta, Kal'at al-Fimi, where a hilltop fortress holds the last Grand Mosque of Sicily, still aligned to the Qiblah. It began here, in 827. Marsala means Marsa Allah, the Port of Allah, and lunch is Sicilian couscous, a tradition the island never gave up. Then the maze of the Kasbah quarter in Mazara del Vallo, and sunset at the Castle of Al-Ja'far in Erice.
03
DESTINATION
Mosaics laid by Muslim hands
Islamic artistry inside Norman architecture. At Monreale and Cefalù you stand before cathedrals full of mosaics crafted by Muslim artists, and see how Islamic irrigation shaped Sicily's golden age. Lunch is by the sea: lemon, olive oil, fresh herbs. Then Corleone, Kurloyun, a Muslim village long before The Godfather, once eighty per cent Muslim, where Arabic words survive.
04
DESTINATION
The Fortress of Paradise
Enna is Kasr al-Jannah, the Fortress of Paradise, one of the last cities to fall to Muslim forces, with panoramic views. Above it sits Calascibetta, Qal'at Chibat, a Berber village of stone houses and cliffs with Amazigh roots, where lunch is Sicilian Berber cooking. Then the Valley of Temples at Agrigento, and the white cliffs of Scala dei Turchi, named for Muslim sailors.
05
DESTINATION
Jabal al-Nar, the Mountain of Fire
Mount Etna is Jabal al-Nar, the Mountain of Fire, and Europe's highest active volcano. Then Taormina, Tabermine, taken by Muslims in 902, with seaside viewpoints, palaces and fortresses that keep their Islamic bones beneath the Norman layers. The day ends in Catania, Qataaniyya, a city that once thrived under Muslim rule, over dinner and stories.
06
DESTINATION
Ceramics, Jumu'ah and the markets
Caltagirone first, known for ceramics worked in Islamic patterns and a good place for photographs and gifts. Back in Catania you attend Jumu'ah with the local Muslim community if the day falls on a Friday, then walk markets scented with citrus, spices and roasted coffee. Free time follows for seaside cafés, gelato and pistachio sweets, and a last night together.
07
DESTINATION
A last breakfast in Catania
A final breakfast before the transfer to Catania airport. You leave with an Islamic world that felt alive again for a week: Arabic names in the valleys, mosaics laid by Muslim hands, couscous on a Sicilian table, and the red domes above Palermo. Isqilliyya stays with you.