Actually, during my six months in Sicily, I never got sand in my hair but I did experience the hot African winds when the mercury climbed to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit.)

Picture a nineteen-year-old American boy, in sweat drenched short-sleeve white shirt and brown polyester pants riding his bicycle in the empty August afternoon streets of Catania and Palermo.

ANCIENT GREEK RUINS

What else is hot in Sicily? How about ancient Greek ruins for starters?

"Temple E" is the name given by modern archaeologists (yes, archaeologists have a knack for coining colorful names) to one of the best preserved temples of the ancient Greek city of Selinunte.

Just as the Roman empire encompassed not only the Italian peninsula but also Spain, France, Switzerland, Turkey, Israel and other parts of Europe, the Middle East and Africa so also did the empire of Greece extend beyond the bounds of the Greek Isles.

MAGNA WHAT?

Magna Graecia (Latin for "Greater Greece" as in "greater metropolitan area") was the name the Romans gave to Sicily and Southern Italy, for this region was home to numerous Greek colonies.

[Did you know there are still Greek speaking descendants of the ancient Greeks in Italy? It's mostly in the tip of the boot in Calabria. Their language is "Griko". You can read an article on it at Wikipedia.

Selinunte was founded by Greeks who emigrated from Western Sicily around 640 BC. It quickly became one of the most progressive and successful cities in all of Magna Graecia, second only to Syracuse in prominence and grandeur.

HERE COME THE AFRICANS

In 409 BC, the Carthaginians of Northern Africa, along with their elephants, were still smarting from a loss to the Sicilian Greeks in the war of 480 B.C. (Apparently, Carthaginians, like elephants, never forget.)

So they sent an army of 100,000 men (yes, that was a little bit overkill) equipped with battering rams, and with siege towers that were taller than Selinunte's walls.

After a siege that lasted only nine days, the Carthaginians broke through the walls of the city and overwhelmed the defenders.

SELINUNTE IS WIPED OUT

Of Selinunte's 25,000 inhabitants, 16,000 were killed and 7,000 made slaves. (Hopefully not sex slaves.) Only 2,000 escaped. And this is why you have never heard of any famous Selinuntians: they were pretty much wiped out in this slaughter.

Though the city never regained its former prestige it was re-populated to some degree by Carthaginians (free land) until 250 BC. At that time the Carthaginians, fighting Rome, in the first of the Punic Wars, were fleeing the Roman advance and razed Selinunte to the ground.

The ruins of Selinunte lay abandoned and desolate for nearly one thousand years until a group of Greeks (ironic, eh?) from Byzantium (modern day Istanbul) established a small village there about 700 A.D.

MORE TRAGEDY

Alas, this settlement also met a tragic fate when, a century later, an earthquake struck Sicily, destroying the village.

WHERE IS IT?

How about just checking out its location on a map?

A quick search on Google maps shows Selinunte to be southwest of Palermo in the southwest corner of Sicily.

If you enjoy the archeological ruins at Selinunte you'll find more at Agrigento and Syracuse.

WHAT ELSE IS HOT ABOUT SICILY?

"Pasta al forno" is pasta baked in the oven (sort of like lasagna, but better). You can find it at almost any "trattoria" in Palermo and elsewhere on the island.

Beautiful beaches abound.

The cathedrale at Monreale, near Palermo, is thought to be one of the most beautiful in the world.

For something a bit quirky and macabre, check out the catacombs of Palermo where hundred year old corpses hang from the walls fully dressed in period attire.

WHAT'S NOT HOT?

What's not hot about Sicily? I would have to say organized crime. The Mafia began here and is still a factor in daily life though it is becoming less so with each passing year.