**SICILY (ANG)

Triskeles, "three legs", and Trinakria, "the land of the three promontories, a wonderful island on three legs". presumably many nations before the Arabs already knew this, since the island's symbol, a head wrapped in snakes and three legs, originates from antiquity - the Arabs, on the other hand, supplied the first comprehensive cartography of Sicily. Geologically speaking the largest island in the Mediterranean is chained to Italy: the Apennine continues from the tip of the boot underwater, ascends to the Peloritani and stretches all the way to the Nebrodi. A second chain comprises the volcanoes that link Sicily to the continent: from the Vesuv over the Lipari Islands to Mount Etna and further South West. The Madonie massive and the Sicanian mountainous country around Palermo as well as the high plateau of the Hyblaean in the South East are all together karstic, yet indescribably different. It is amazing that hikers and mountaineers are only now discovering Sicily. After all, an extremely exotic and diverse mountainous scenery, which has much more to offer than a mere mandatory ascent of the omniprevalent 3340 m-high Mount Etna, is luring visitors. Mithra Omidvar, hiking guide and without a doubt one of the foremost experts of this world of mountains, has chosen 50 excursions which cover all regions of the island as well as the Lipari and Aeolic Islands from a plethora of tour options. It comes as no surprise that any friend of nature would wish for three legs for Sicily's endless mountainous landscape.