The Mahdi Times The Mahdi Times July 2014 | Page 95

markets that sold local foods and
imported products.
Of these, the Capo and the Ballaro’ are
still thriving markets with a real chaotic,
souk-like vibe.

The Sicilian word for orange blossom –
zagara – derives from the Arabic word
zahr. Sicilians make the zagara into a
beautiful toilet-water type perfume, also
invented by the North Africans.

You can buy fresh fruit and veg, spices,
meat or sea food, and eat local delicacies
such as a spleen sandwich or a small
intestine kebab, freshly cooked in front
of you.

SURNAMES: Arabic surnames
survive in Sicily. Salimbeni, Taibbi,
Sacca’, Zappala’, Cuffaro and Micicchè
are all derived from North African
families. They often have the stress on
the last vowel, which of course breaks all
the rules of pronunciation in Italian.
There is also the name Fricano, which is
extremely common in Bagheria where I
live and in a few nearby towns. It is
pretty easy to tell that this is derived
from “African”, the name the Romans
gave to Carthaginian Africans who
remained in Sicily after the Romans
conquered the island. Strangely, though,
the Romans also gave this title to several
generals of theirs as an honourary
additional surname for conquering the
Carthaginians in Africa.

CITRUS FRUIT: The North Africans
brought citrus trees with them and
planted them all over Sicily and
particularly in the bay of Palermo, which
came to be called the Bay of Gold
because of the glowing fruit that filled it.
Once the world discovered the cause of
scurvy, selling citrus fruits to sailors
from all over Europe made Palermo one
of the richest cities in Europe.

IRRIGATION: The North Africans
were experts in irrigation. They used a
technique which was first employed to
reclaim the deserts all over Persia (I’m
deliberately not saying Iran, because
Persia back in those days was much
bigger), digging out gradually tilting
tunnels under the whole bay of Palermo
area and lining them with stone. The
depth to which the channels were sunk
and the subtle gradient gathered water
from a wide area and made the Palermo
bay into one of Europe’s most fertile
farming areas.