The Mahdi Times The Mahdi Times July 2014 | Page 94
La Martorana Church in Sicily.
Martorana means marzipan, also
invented by the Moors, which allegedly
the nuns from the neighboring convent
used to sell. The martorana sweet,
usually shaped very attractively into
fruits, is named after the church, not the
other way round, apparently.
And this:
An Arabic plaque which can be seen on
the exterior of Palermo Cathedral
The Normans who conquered Sicily so
greatly admired Moorish architecture
that they employed African architects,
artists and craftsmen for their buildings.
As a result, some of Palermo’s churches
look like this:
A view of the Arabic garden in the
courtyard of Monreale Cathedral
PALERMO AND ITS STREET
MARKETS: The Carthaginians of
Tunisia founded Palermo in 734 B.C.
and gave it the catchy name of Zyz.
Some of their city walls still survive in
the city centre. Then in the 9th century
A.D., the North African Moors invaded
again, built new neighborhoods, and
filled the town with buzzing street