Scala Dei Turchi - Realmonte  

General Data

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Description

Scala dei Turchi (Stair of the Turks) is a wonderful rocky cliff on the coast of Realmonte, in the province of Agrigento. 

In recent years the Scala dei Turchi has become increasingly popular, following the success of the detective novels by the Sicilian writer Andrea Camilleri and thanks to its particular white color and shape.

The Staircase is a beautiful white marl cliff, a sedimentary rock formed by limestone and clay. Wind and rain have modelled it into a staircase. The view is unique, and the white of the rocks looks brighter because the sun light insinuates itself between the light blue of the sky and the deep blue of the water: it’s a paradise.The water is incredibly clear and during the summer there is a big crowd of people sunbathing.

According to an old legend, the Saracen corsairs having anchored their boats behind the staircase, climbed the cliff reaching the top. Once there they robbed the local people. Actually is not very probable that the Turks arrived up to there, but the legend prevailed. There is also another story connected to the Scala dei Turchi: 200 metres off the beach there are two rocks, “u zitu” (the boyfriend) and “a zita” (the girlfriend), which refer to the love affair of two young local lovers.

A dazzling white cliff, which the wind and ram have shaped into a marvellous natural stairway, springs vertically from a turquoise sea.

It’s mostly in summer that visitors come to the beach and the staircase with its surrounding crystalline waters. Here they can plunge into the blue-green water, and often, drawn by this miracle of nature, climb back up to the top of the steps, from whence they con admire the coastline of Agrigento.

Unfortunately, however, the place has been in the papers in recent years because of the presence of abusive buildings and "ecomonsters" built just close to the Scala in addition to the regrettable attitude of some tourists that destroy the marl to obtain a sort of natural beauty mask or park their car even in the foreshore.

The bays offers no yachting or tourist services, except for two bathing establishments and some rental apartments.

The wonderful marl cliff is easy reachable by car and it is even possible to walk barefoot on it since its surface has been made particularly smooth by the constant effect of sun and wind 

 

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