THE SANCTUARY OF APOLLO YLATIS

HISTORY OF THE SANCTUARY

The Sanctuary of Apollo Hylates is recorded in the historical sources about Cyprus as one of the most important Sanctuaries on the island. Strabo wrote about a cap (cape?) past the Kourion from where those who touched the Sacred Altar of Apollo were flung into the sea. Many inscribed testimonies, which have been found on the spot and in the city, confirm the historical sources.

The finds from the archaeological inquiry lead mainly to a Roman sanctuary and testify that there were in the area more ancient constructions incorporated in Roman edifices or demolished in the same period when the Sanctuary was intensively undergoing a restoration, southern the boundaries of the Roman temple.

The Romans revived a flourishing cult in the area since the Archaic times indeed. This cult is likely to have been practised even earlier in the Bronze Age, as it is shown by several shells belonging to the red burnished ceramic of the Early Bronze Age, which have been found adjacent to the circular altar but also according to the relevant legends about its heroes and inspirers.

A cult, which is testified on an architectural level only in the 7th or 8th century and which does not in any case constitute properly part of a settlement of any period.

This autonomy of the Sanctuary in relation to the settlement cannot but be linked with the same Sanctuary of Apollo Maleata at Epidaurus, the most ancient and important Sanctuary of Apollon in Argolis. The finds of the known “Temple boys” on the side of Ayia Anna show typically this cultic coherence. The most ancient inscription, which the name of god Apollo (5th / 4th century B.C.) is recorded on, is retrieved at the foot of one of them.

The name Hylates given to Apollo is recorded from the Hellenistic times and it certainly describes the prevailing nature of the cult of Apollo, which was performed until then, combining the primary characteristics of its eastern origin but also its subsequent western development in the Theology of the Hellenic twelve gods mainly as a healing god.

I have to admit i was awestruck in a way from just being here in Cyprus and and standing amid ruins that date back to the time of Christ and before and didnt think to buy some sort of pamphlet describing the site in more detail. I just assumed I would be able to find all I needed to know online somewhere, but that really has proved difficult.  I did manage to take the photos of the information plaques which were also few and far between.

Before I transcribe them let me give you an overhead view of the area from google earth.The temple is situated at the top in this image, at the end of that whitish looking path which runs in a north/south direction. The palaestra is in the bottom right hand corner and the South Portico is along the bottom. the covered area there near the bottom right, above the palaestra are the baths, the structure built over it to protect the mosaic tiles which lined the floors of the baths. This seems to be the most extensive area being excavated and restored or maintained, the majority of the site is ruins of course, but attempts have been made to restore parts of the temple.

The Palaestra
A monumental building with a Propylon (monumental colonnaded entrance), a peristyle atrium (courtyard) and a series of rooms facing the three sides of the peristyle courtyard.
It is dated to the 1st century A.D.

The south Portico

This building comprises a T-shaped complx of T-shape porticoes and guest rooms which were already under construction when Emperor Trajan funded its completion at the beginning of the 2nd century A.D.

Ruins of earlier structures from the Hellenistic and Roman periods (2nd century B.C. – 1st century A.D.) were excavated below Trajan’s building.

This from the Cyprus Dept. of Antiquities web site: The sanctuary is located about 2,5 kilometres west of the ancient town of Kourion along the road which leads to Pafos. It was one of the main religious centres of ancient Cyprus, where Apollo was worshipped as god of the woodlands. It seems that the worship of Apollo on this site began as early as the 8th century B.C. and continued until the 4th century A.D. The site has undergone many extensions and alterations in different periods. The majority of the monuments as they can be seen today belong to the site’s 1st century AD restorations. A wall from which one could enter the site via the Kourion Gate and the Pafos Gate surrounds the sanctuary. Originally the site consisted of: a temple, traces of which survive in the foundations of the present temple; a circular monument, which was probably destined for processions or dances around a grove of sacred trees; and a formalized Archaic Altar and Precinct. During the Roman period the site was extended with the addition of the South and North Buildings, which may have been used for the display of votives or the accommodation of visitors. Terracotta figurines and pottery that were accumulated in the Temple from the 5th century B.C. to the Roman period were buried in the Votive Pit. A long street running from south to north leads to the Temple of Apollo Hylates, which was built in the Late Classical or Early Hellenistic period on the ruins of the Archaic temple. In the 1st century A.D. the temple was rebuilt with a different architectural style. A small building south of the Precinct may have been a priest’s house. Along the external east side of the walls are the Palaestra where athletes once exercised and played games, and the Baths.

I truly enjoyed my time in Cyprus, not to mention being with the Love of my life, but just being in this ancient land so full of history. Another post soon to come of arriving in Paphos.. you aint seen no rocks yet! ;)  lol

The following pictures are also located in my picasa web gallery where you can download higher resolution images.

Sunday Morning, the 5th day of our holiday we had been invited to go to a tavern in one of the mountain villages that Alison and her friends frequent, Taki’s tavern, for lunch. With no rush to get ready in the morning, we had a coffee or two and a bit of breakfast out in the garden.

With still some time to spare Alison decided it was time to give Benji a bath! :o) Well I don’t  think it is one of his favourite things, but he did good and no chasing was involved. well not much! ;)  It didn’t take too long and Benji was cleaned up and ready to get dirty all over again! :) It didn’t take long either in the warm dry air for him to dry and I’m sure then he felt better. With that done we began to get ready for our trip to Vouni village where Taki’s Tavern is located. Agneta and George had invited us to go and eat with them and it was a chance to finally meet her in person. I felt already I knew her from Alison speaking so much about her in the mails and chats we have had as they are very good friends and spend as much time together as they can, even if its just to meet for coffee. It was so nice to meet them. They came and picked us up around noon I think or maybe a little before as we had reservations for lunch already, which I hear is a good thing to do as it is a popular place to go on the weekends and its usually very busy. I think it was about a 20 or 30 minute trek to the village of Vouni. Right outside of Vouni is the famous Donkey Sanctuary.

While we didn’t stop, we were able to see many of them along the way. Most sort of roaming around in the fields and on the sides of the mountains. Of course there were plenty of other donkeys as well being used still a lot for farming and carrying loads and such, ,When we happened to stop for traffic I was able to get this picture of one right by the roadside, while it was sort of sad to see him chained up, but he appeared to be in good health. It is sort of a funny picture looking like he has his own personal refrigerator!

Well how else is a donkey going to stay cool unless he has some cold bottled water or maybe a beer nearby :) Seeing some of the ways of farming and the use of these animals was like going back in time. I can remember growing up in rural northeastern North Carolina and seeing more than few donkeys used for farming and pulling carts and even some used ass regular transportation for some of the poorer farmers who couldn’t afford a car! I think that’s one of the appeals of Cyprus as in some ways its still having a much simpler lifestyle in some ways.

We arrived in Vouni not too long after that and with the streets being narrow and impossible  to find a parking place , we had to park just along the road outside the village and take a stroll up to the tavern. When I say up that is literal as the village is in the mountains and some of the streets are very inclined, thankfully we were moving downhill after eating and being so full! Of course being the good tourist I am, we had to have some pictures along the way. this is Agneta and I posing for the camera. With that belly of mine you would think I had just eaten! :)

And of course I couldnt be posing without one with my bonny Brit could I? ;)  Its taken just about the same spot as the one above, we should have stayed with our heads in the shade though as we look to be squinting a lot in that bright Cyprus sun! I am not so good at reading Greek, but I think the sign is calling it Andrea Branch. I’m willing to stand corrected though if anyone would prefer to translate :)

Just a bit more of a stroll up the hill and we reach our destination, Taki’s Taverna! its a family run tavena inside of an actual home if my memory is correct. Well part of the inside has a couple of dining rooms and then this area in the picture is in a covered outside area. Very much preferable on a warm day like we had, it was a bit stuffy inside for our tastes. Taki’s serves a traditional greek or Cyprus style meze. A meze is simply put , a series of several typical Greek or Cyprus dishes served one after another to eventually make up a whole meal.

I forget now how many different things they brought out, just two or three types at a time with enough on each plate for us all to have a taste, I know there is probably some order the meal is served in , salad things first then assorted vegetables, breads, meat dishes, dips and on and on to dessert and coffee. I apologize for not knowing the names of anything, but I can tell you it was all great! :) I guess the best way to describe the meal as like having a series of appetizers one after another. Well of course a bottle or two of the local wines are always nice to have with any meal! At the end of the meal I decided to have some Cypriot style coffee as I had heard Alison speak of it before and I wanted to try it. Its a very very strong cup of coffee, well a very small cup its served in. I of course had some sugar in it being the silly Americano , but i always have sugar in my coffee and creamer, not real cream mind, powdered creamer! ;) anyway I quite enjoyed it and was careful not to tip the cup and drink the sediment that is left in the bottom of this brew! :o) It really was a great meal and it was a genuine example of Cyprus cuisine, not the sort of thing you find at the tourist spots. This was the real deal and I was so happy to have had the chance to experience it. I thank George and Agneta so very much for the wonderful time we had there! A wonderful experience and the best part… sitting beside the Love of my life !  Afterwards it was back to Agneta’s for a coffee and another wine and to meet up with more friends of Alison, Allyson and Marios, and Thereza and Andros. Of course they were all seemingly so familiar already as I had seen their photos so many times since meeting Alison and hearing of all the get togethers, I felt very comfortable every minute as if I had been here before.

We stayed there until just after dark and chatted and socialized before returning home to get a chance to relax and get ready a bit for our next three days in Paphos, courtesy of Alison’s mom and dad! Thanks Maureen and Jack! :)

We decided on Saturday to take a break from the tourist thing as well and spent most of the morning just around the house taking it easy. I finally met Churchill, the now famous Cyprus tortoise appearing on YouTube (along with a short cameo appearance by Benji and Natalie’s fingers.. I think!) Well he even came out long enough to pose and fill up his tortoise belly on some very good tomatoes, he’s quite an eater! And I remember Alison saying she wasn’t sure if it was a male or a female and with a little online research the gender confusion was all cleared up! :) The weather was still hot and we decided it would be a nice day to have a trip to the beach. There was a short trip or two to the store to pick up some nibbles before we got the car loaded and then we were off to get wet. It would have been nice we said to head down to Curium, but with us traveling so much the first couple of days we settled on something maybe a bit closer and a bit more secluded, Governor’s Beach. Well we didn’t want to scare the masses with the bright white body of mine! lol

the pics for this post are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/garazon/Day4Cyprus

From the website: Governor’s Beach is located midway between Larnaca and Limassol and its sandy beach and shallow crystal water it’s ideal for families with children, but also for romantic couples. (hey, that’s us! )

The name Governor’s Beach comes from the British Colonial days when the Governor used to come for a swim.

Governor’s Beach also offers the spectacular white rocks area for those who like snorkeling, boating, fishing…or have a nice walk in one of the many nature trails on the hills near by, or on the beach watching a beautiful sunrise. There is a great selection of nice restaurants, where you can enjoy your lunch or dinner sitting under the trees… just a few meters away from the crystal water of the Mediterranean Sea.

The most memorable thing for me about Cyprus and the Mediterranean , besides Alison Michelle of course! ;), is the water! I was awestruck from my first sight of the colour and how clear it is too! I literally could stare for hours at it as the blue seems so intense and its just beyond description. Well we got there and got ourselves a bed and umbrella and laid back a while to soak up some sun and just enjoy the warmth and the sounds of the sea. This was actually where I saw the most grass I had seen in one spot in Cyprus since arriving! just above the beach is a grassy area where you can get a bed and umbrella if you don’t care to be right on the sandy beach itself. The sand is quite a bit finer than what we have here and its much darker too! I think a lot of the darker sand is caused by some many islands in the bed being formed by volcanoes so naturally its going to be different than our light coloured sand. well it doesn’t feel like our sand either, its softer in a way. We finally decided to test the water and see if it was warm enough for a swim, which as it turned out was lovely really. a little cool at first, but it didn’t take long to get used to it and the hot sun above made it feel nice. Well its shallow for a good ways out and we had to walk a bit to get shoulder deep. and that is when I had the most amazing site. Being up to my neck in the sea I could look down and see my feet through the water! Stunning! I was really amazed and had to laugh out loud! Well you would have to see the water in the sounds here in NC to appreciate it, you can’t put your hand but a few inches below the surface here and it disappears from sight! very murky looking, even more so once you have been in the clear water of the Med. It makes you wonder how a place where civilization has existed for centuries more than it has here can be so clean and clear still! Well I guess ours isn’t really dirty, just has more shallow quiet parts and a lot of vegetation and trees around which drop the leaves into the water and add more particles, sort of like a strong brewed tea if you will! Instead of tea leaves its pine and poplar and oak and maple leaf tea! Anyway we had a very nice swim and I really would be tanned by now if I lived there in Cyprus as I would live at this beach if I could! Marvelous! We went back and laid in the sun for quite a while longer before heading back home, were we laid down again and tried to take a nap! Its hard work laying in the sun don’t you know!

Well being in a lazy mood we didn’t feel to fix supper so it was out to eat. We went to a place called Pizza Express… well we have a place named that here in the States but its nothing even close to the same as it is there! Here it conjures up an image of a cheap pizza shop that has maybe a dozen different combos of pizza and beer or soft drinks, maybe a salad bar.. ;) well this place was looking like one of our fancier restaurants. It was a two story type place, the center being open and you can look down and see the crowd and tables below and they have a live band or some type of entertainment playing in the evenings. The night we were there it was trio singing a lot of various style songs, from rock ballads to reggae to soul and jazz… they were quite good and we had a very good view. The food was pretty good, but for the price I think it could have been better! Alison ordered a chef’s salad I think it was, well it was supposed to have some chicken or meat of some kind, but I think she only had two or three little bites in the whole thing! and it wasnt that big a salad either! Well they have all sorts of things on the menu, from pasta to meats to pizza.. well me not being up on the fancy names of things I just got a pizza. I can’t remember the kind of pizza I ordered as they had dozens listed, and not of the toppings we think of here! So I just ordered the one I thought would be the least surprising once it arrived! it was pretty good I guess but then we were both hungry too and would have eaten anything! lol Anyway we had a nice time and enjoyed to sit with each other and listen to the music, and of course exchange a kiss or two.. or three or four… and to be sitting so happy with each others company. well that was the best part of the evening! We really didnt stay out so late and headed on home. I think that was the night we sat to watch some dvds we hired from a local shop… guess he specializes in bootlegs as none of the three worked at all! Well one did fairly well but hung up a bit! Well that was day 4 spent… maybe it was a quiet day, but one of the most wonderful of my life as I was with my Cyprus angel again all day long! My heaven! I love you Alison Michelle! I do! :) XXXX

We decided to spend the third day just staying close to home and resting as the time difference was beginning to catch up with me by the third day and I think Alison was a bit glad to have a break as well! It was still quite hot too so it was a good day to be taking it easy. Well we did venture out and about close to home during the day.

Pics for this post are here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/garazon/Day3Cyprus

We went out early in the morning to the cemetery where Nicos’ memorial is located, not far at all from Alison’s house. It’s a very large cemetery with some very elaborate graves and memorials. It’s a bit of a difference between the cultures here and there in so many ways. Well its striking the appearance first off, all are marble or stone memorials covering almost every inch of the place and most all of them have the photos on them, along with an oil lamp that burns continuously, or intended to burn. Most are maintained and filled with oil. And most have areas around them where flowers and shrubs are planted and there is something blooming everywhere. Seeing some of these large ones in Cyprus ( as well as the smaller ones in the villages) and then seeing the average cemetery here in the States with simple headstones and markers is sort of a shock. Just different cultures and customs. Well that is another post in itself as well for another time… maybe. From the cemetery we back to the house and just spent most of the day relaxing, a run out to the local Carrefour, which is similar to our supermarkets here but a bit bigger, nearer to a superwalmart than just a supermarket as they have everything, clothing, electronics, etc. Well that was another culture shock of sorts. First walking in I noticed all the cashiers were sitting! And nice seats too! lol I have to wonder what some of the cashiers form the store I work would say if they had seen that! those poor folks in the summer time here are on their feet the whole day and can only sit when they take a break in the back, if they’re lucky to even get one. I forget now what we went in to pick up, but I remember mostly just glancing at the brands on the shelf. Well there are a few of the brand new names out, but just the overall appearance of the American name brands that were there looked like a flashback to the 80′s! Even some of the old logo’s. Odd in a way, and then to have them mixed in with the local brands, most in Greek, well I would likely be lost! We really are a spoiled lot here in the US. too many choices I think sometimes. I was particularly wanting to see the meats , since that’s my profession. Well I was shocked at what I saw. Well first of all beef is not as readily available or as popular as it is here, but what they did have in the cases was horrible looking! days old at least and some eye round roasts that were so dried out from sitting in the case they were closer to chunky style beef jerky! they would have sacked the whole meat department on the spot if that was here in the US! None of it was prepackaged either, they were all service type cases and as they were cutting, they just dumped it into the case, and I mean literally dumped it! lol Well I guess its what people are used to, as they seemed busy. Pork and chicken were the biggest sellers and a lot of lamb too from the looks of the case. Well I personally would be afraid to buy anything, but I’m the same way here as being a meat cutter I rarely buy anything unless I cut it myself! ;) It was interesting to see first hand the little differences between here and there, but I am telling all the Americans reading this, you have no idea how spoiled we really are as a nation and how wasteful as well. It gave me a new appreciation, and brought a feeling of shame as well for the nitpicking we do over what are really stupid things to begin with. Now that will be a post in the future, for sure! ;)

We went back to the house and just stayed in the rest of the day. Watched a little tv, tried to take a nap but it was a bit warm and I think really I was still just excited to be there and didnt want to miss anything! We took Benji out for a walk around the neighborhood and I got chance to look around a bit more as up to now it was near dark when we had taken him out. Like everywhere these days its building up fast in Limassol. One of the things that I was amzed about was when they build a house the contractors oor owners will just have the material delivers and they sit out on the sidewalks or road! Same with the demolition debris! Well I guess they clean it all up when they’re done, but for all that time the stuff just sits there, and noboby messes with it! Can you imagine buying a pallet or two of roofing tiles and just storing them in the yard or on the street here? they would be gone the next morning! LOL And I swear I think I could have built a house with all the leftovers just thrown about. When we got back JM and I had a nice game of chess outside at the table while Alison fixed a fabulous meal. She had bought a chicken roll of sorts, well its a boneless rolled stuffed chicken wrapped in bacon and cheese. No not from Carrefour! lol theres a wonderful meat shop right down the road from her house which was very nice as I found out a few days later when we went to get some minced meat( ground pork ) ;) We ate out in the garden and enjoyed a wonderful meal and some wonderful wine! :) I really have developed a taste for it… well some of it… ;) After dinner Frosso came by and we sat and had another bottle and a wonderful evening just chatting and it was a pleasure meeting her. Well I feel I already knew everyone so well from all Alison had talked about them and it didnt seem I was meeting them for the first time really so that was very nice. Well it had to have been a couple of hours we sat out there enjoying the company, and the wine ;) Another wonderful day in Cyprus~ I felt very at home, well, being with Alison… I was home! :)

On the second day, Thursday October 11th, we decided to have a change of scenery and headed off to the Troodos mountains to walk through and tour a couple of the villages, Lania and Omodos. It turned out to be another hot day so it was good we decided to head to the mountains as it would hopefully be a bit cooler, turns out it wasn’t so much cooler at all! But still better than it would have been going somewhere near the sea. Its only a 20 minute drive or so from Limassol but it’s like entering a completely different place and time to see these villages which mostly retain the old way of life.

Photos for this post are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/garazon/Day2Cyprus

Before I go on about the villages I want to relate another story. We needed gas/petrol before we went out too far today and made a pit stop just before leaving Limassol. Well we pulled into one of the stations , can’t remember the name of it right off, well anyway I noticed a couple of employees near the pumps as we pulled in. I didn’t think much of it, one was sitting down in a small chair and I just assumed she was taking a break and I thought the other was just there to collect the money. Well Alison mentioned upon pulling in to see about getting someone to check the water as she had just had a new radiator put in the car and wanted to make sure things were ok before we headed up, and asked me to see is there was 50¢ CYP laying about to tip the guy. Well being from the states I was used to nothing but self service stations and was wondering what the tip was for. Ok we do have a couple of places that come pump the gas for you and collect the money, but that’s all they do. well the guy puts the gas in and heads back to the pump and then I found myself dumbfounded as the guy turns and comes back with a bucket and a squeegee! He then proceeds to clean not only the windshield, but the door windows and back window as well! I was in shock almost! I haven’t seen that kind of service since the late 60′s here in the states! Well he didn’t stop there, Alison popped the hood and the guy checks the oil and topped of the coolant tank as well! WOW! It was one of those twilight zone moments almost! well it made me smile too to see that there are still places that do this sort of thing in the world, I was loving Cyprus even more then. :)

Well with the car filled up we set out on our way. Our first destination was a smaller village that Alison said was one of the more picturesque, Lania.
She was right as usual :)
(description from website ) LANIA
Lania is a small, beautiful village, built at the foot of Mount Troodos on the main Limassol to Troodos road, about 26 Kms from Limassol. Lania is one of the main wine producing villages.
According to tradition, Lania got its name from Lania, daughter of the Greek god of wine and pleasure: Dionysos. This indicates the deep roots of the village in the field of vine-growing and wine-making. The village is well known for the high quality of its grapes and wines.
At the time Erricos was King of France, the country’s vineyards from which champagne was produced were destroyed by disease. The King went in search of healthy plants, which he found in Lania. The plants were loaded on a ship, transported to France and used to replant the Champagne vineyards. It is believed that during his stay in Cyprus, Erricos used to spend time at the Royal Oak of Lania, an 800 year old oak tree which sadly collapsed in 1997. In the same area, only a few metres from the Royal Oak, there is another oak tree, even bigger and well worth a visit.
The inhabitants of the village are occupied with vine-growing and the production of wine-related products including Zivania, Commandaria and Sousouko. Amongst the flower-lined streets and traditional architecture lies the village church, dedicated to St Mary. The Icon of St Mary of Valana, one of the oldest paintings in the world, is displayed in the church.
In Lania one can find an ancient and authentic Linos, a wine press, formerly used in the production of Commandaria. The entrance to the village is dominated by the old fountain from which villagers would get their drinking water and still today brings back memories of bygone times.

I totally fell in love with this village with it’s narrow stone streets and old stone houses, many of which have been restored and updated but kept their look and feel. And the amazing variety of floral plantings all along the streets and houses was beautiful. Somehow we missed the church, but did see the Linos. I guess because of the time of the year some of the places that usually are open, artists galleries and souvenir shops, even the Linos, were all closed. It was so quiet and peaceful and as we strolled the streets you could sense it. I could live in a place like this, long as they have Internet access! ;)

Omodos was the next stop. (from the website) Omodhos is located in the district of Limassol and is one of the best wine producing villages in Cyprus. It is about 35 kilometres (26 miles) from Limassol, 80 km from Nicosia and 7 km from Platres. The first view you get when you arrive in Omodhos is of its enormous big square, surrounded by whitewashed stone house, mulberry trees, tavernas, coffeehouse and souvenir shops. The village consists of many narrow streets, white houses and a picturesque church. The villagers speak the original Cypriot language and are very devoted to the contact with each other and their religious believes. Without doubt, when visiting Omodhos, one will be astonished by the women, farmers and traders who still maintain the traditional way of working.
For centuries, the people of Omodhos have worshipped and established this richness with care and devotion, which explains their, and my, proud. The inhabitants of the village Omodhos form a close community, who sometimes tend to exaggerate in their proud for their village. (Of course, we are just as common as any other villager in Cyprus, but we like to think of ourselves as the best people of the island. The village has a rich cultural heritage and is especially famous for its agricultural and natural resources, for example the many vineyards that can be found in and around the village.

A more detailed site for Omodos can be found here, giving the history of the village, the church, the wines and more. Including some links to photos of the inside the church. We weren’t allowed to photograph inside ourselves.

Omodos was much larger than Lania and of course had all the little tourist shops open as well as a few restaurants and taverns. We parked near the large village square and went there first. The entire square is paved, if that is the word to use, with stones and rocks mostly set on edge rather than flat, and you need some good shoes to walk on it very long! The walk down the square leads to the Monastery of the Holy Cross, a really lovely setting with the church in the center and the surrounding structure housing some artifacts and restored rooms now, as well as a museum for the National Struggle and a folk art museum as well is housed in one of the areas. We spent a good while in this area taking a few photos, outside of the church itself. :)
Being about lunchtime we decided to grab something to eat and drink and have
a sit down for a bit. Even up in the mountains it was still warm this day. We decided on a spot just across from the entrance to the square at a grill/restaurant/tavern. Like most place here the seating is outside as well as inside and we opted for a table out in the breeze under the umbrella. It also gave us a good view of all the activities. I had my first taste of Calamari here and actually liked it!. Well actually Alison ordered that, and me being the adventurous American tourist ordered a … cheeseburger! LOL Well it wasn’t the best tasting thing in the world mind you, probably some frozen beef patty, maybe containing beef somewhere in it, and some kind of very bland cheese. Cypriots do some really wonderful and great tasting Greek and Cypriot dishes, but they suck at American ones! LOL Well nevermind I ate it and it was filling. I tried the local Keo beer too, but wasn’t so fond of that either. Well what else goes with a burger… oh yes.. Pepsi please! lol Anyway we had a nice time sitting and talking and yes smooching too! ;) Right across the street there is part of a winery and all the time we were there the local farmers were transporting their grapes to sell. A steady stream of pickup trucks hauling crates of grapes and waiting in line to unload them. Quite interesting to see this side of things, instead of just seeing the bottles in the stores! We sat a right good while and then strolled around a bit more. We had been walking around 2 days now in the heat, between that and me trying to adjust to the time we were both ready to call it a day!
The villages were lovely to see and I liked Lania the best, just smaller and quieter and less touristy than Omodos., but both gorgeous villages and I loved it. Loved the guide more though :) Thanks my love for everything! XXX

In the evening I rode with Alison and JM to take him to the base at Akrotiri where he is in the Air Training Corps as a cadet. He wants to be a pilot and this program at the camp has given him a lot of good expereince and this summer he had his first solo flight! Amazing, he’s only 17 and already took off and landed a plane himself and I have just for the first time set foot on one!
So while he was doing his thinkg alison took me around to see some of the places she hangs out while she waits for him to get done with cadets. Most of the time she goes and caht with some friends at a little bar called Mom’s. Just a small place but a very nice relaxed feeling when you walk in. I got to meet Julie, a friend of Alison’s who has a son also in the cadets that she met and passes the time with. We sat there a short while and chatted, but had to leave before too long as we were supposed to go and meet Dee and Philip who live in Kolossi and then go back and pick JM up. Julie was nice enough to offer pick him up and to drop him off on the way so that we might have a longer visit with Dee. Dee works with Alison at 3D and is a lovely and very funny person. They have a gorgeous home and we sat and had a glass of wine or two and talked and the time passed so quickly. There are so many people I have come to know through Alison that she always see and tells me about I really would have liked to have met them all and spent more time with them, but we just couldnt manage to fit it all in with the short time we had. Everyone made me feel so at ease and in a way I felt I had already met them and they said the same about me! :) Well we had to meet up with Julie to get Jm and then headed home. We hadn’t eaten yet so aliosn stopped at a take away place and I had my first taste of sheftalia, a Cyrpriot style grilled sausage of sorts . Oh I loved this! it was in a pita bread with tomatoes and cucumbers.. wonderful taste, and I have been craving it ever since I got back to the states!

Another wonderful day that passed much too fast, but memories that will last me a lifetime. I love Cyprus, and especially one Cyprus angel! :)

It really wasn’t even close to enough time to see and explore everything I would have liked. The island is so rich in history and culture, so beautiful that it would take a month to go see and do everything and that would just scratch the surface. And then there are all the stories I can tell about the lifestyle and day to day things that you don’t think about until you actually experience them firsthand. Cyrus driving and traffic is a post by itself! lol

So let me start with Day 1. The first few days were really hot, as they are having a warm October just as we are here. Oh we think its dry here having so little rain, well it is, but there you can see the dust in the air at times and everything gets covered so quick in it. The dams are all so very low right now. I think even though we think about conserving water here in the states we don’t realize just how good we have it until you go to restaurant there and have to buy water!

After breakfast and coffee we headed out to explore. I was most wanting to see some of the archaeological sites and that sort of thing, so we took the first day and planned a trip to Curium and the Kolossi and Limassol Castles. It was probably too hot to do it, but we were not having so many days to do everything so we journeyed on. The area of Curium is beautiful really. You could spend the entire day or two just in that area alone. The first place we went was to see the Curium amphitheatre. Today the theatre is used for cultural events. I’ve had a few mails since we met and Alison has often spoke of going to see performances there so this is one of the first places I wanted to see and experience. It was originally built in the 2nd century B.C. but what is preserved today dates to the Roman period with 2nd and 3rd century A.D. additions and restorations. In the curved auditorium the spectators’ seating area accommodates around 3500 people. The stage only preserves its foundations but it originally rose to the full height of the auditorium. You can Google up Curium or Kourion and get more detailed history of the theatre and the surrounding city itself. It was a wonderful feeling though to sit on those steps and think that almost 200 years ago how many people have sat there with the same view I had of the sea and it must have been magnificent to sit under the stars. There was a tour group there when we were walking around and even though they were situated near the top seats of the theatre as she was giving the history, we were down below and could hear quite clearly her voice. Amazing the acoustics in these places! Right next to the theatre is the remains of The House of Eustolios, which consists of many rooms with fascinating 5th century AD mosaic floors and a complex of baths. The majority of it all protected by over walks and a large canopy. The photos show many of the different mosaics that once covered the bottom of the baths and its not hard to imagine how splendid it must have looked in its day. In some of the photos of the rooms you can see the pillars that once held the floors up, as well as the clay pipes that served as the conduits for the water, a system that is still in popular use today as well in the area! You look at things like this and think that with all our advances in technology have we really come so far today in just the basic day to day living? I don’t think so.

The Amphitheatre is directly above the Curium beach, and you may see hand-gliders riding above the Curium cliffs. One of the most appealing beaches on the island, Curium is a beach of unspeakable beauty. The sea is rough and wild, whereas the beaches are gentle to have fun on. This beach is also a popular sailing spot but can get overcrowded with swimmers. We left from here and rode down to get to the beach area. We stopped just before the beach area to a little stone church still in use, St Ermogenis. The Entry door can’t be much more than 5 feet tall. And inside probably has less than a dozen wooden carved seats, the walls are covered in the icons which are in all the churches here. Over on one side is the tomb and burial site of the saint the church is named after, St Ermogenis . I thought we had a picture of it but I don’t see one. Itwas very quaint and you could feel a deep sense of it being used continually as a place of prayer and peace.

From there it was just a short drive down to the beach . We didn’t go on the Beach itself that day. Forgot about our swimsuits really, so with it being hot we went to one of the restaurants right on the beach and had a cool drink and just sat in the breeze a while. That’s one of the things that struck me all over Cyprus, no one seems to be in a hurry (unless they are driving lol) and you can go and sit in a place like this without feeling you are rushed to leave. I was absorbed in the beautiful view from there, you can see the cliffs and the sea and its quite a striking site. the photos really don’t do justice to it. And the colour of the sea itself amazing. It makes the ocean and sounds around NC look like mud! I took a ton of pics of the sea from all over the island! And the rocks too ;)

With more than half the day already gone we made our way back with a stop at the Kolossi Castle. It is still in very good shape. The Castle of Kolossi was initially built in 1210 and rebuilt in its present form in the middle of the 15th century. The castle first belonged to King Hugh I who gave it to the Knights of St. John in order for their support in his fight against the Muslims. The knights controlled sixty villages on the island and being such good farmers and having a great business sense, all villages were strengthened. Kolossi became one of the Knights most valuable overseas possessions when they produced the famous Commandaria wine, which was sought after all over Europe and brought the knights fame and fortune. According to tradition the Kolossi Castle is where Richard the Lion-heart and Queen Berengaria spent their honeymoon.

Next on the agenda was a quick stop at the Limassol Castle or fort as some places call it. Located near the old port, Limassol Mediaeval fort was built in the 14th century, on the land of an earlier Byzantine Castle and it houses the Cyprus Mediaeval museum. This is where it is believed that Richard the Lion-heart married Berengaria Navarre crowning her Queen of England in 1191. We didn’t go inside this one as by this time we were both drained from the heat and climbing stone stairs all morning long! Theres tons of links though to its history and pictures if you ant to google it.
From there we decided to make our way home. We took out some chicken kebabs to do on the grill for supper. Even that was a surprise to me as we had to go get some charcoal for the grill. Another one of those things you don’t think about until you are in a different country. I love my Matchlight charcoal, pour it in light it and 10 minutes its ready! Americans really are a lazy bunch!! Well its nice! lol Anyway the charcoal here is just that, chunks of charred wood! There are all sizes in the bag, not uniform at all ,and you have to use paraffin to get it lit! JM did a great job getting it going! Poor guy about wore his arms out fanning it with a dustpan to get it fired up hot enough to cook the kebabs. Anyway they turned out great and we had a wonderful supper there in Alison’s garden under the stairs and in
the cool evening air.

Wow I think It will take me a month at this pace to recount all all of my trip, well it will not be leaving my mind anytime soon and after I get the day to day posts done I will come back and elaborate more on some of them.

All the pics for this post are here http://picasaweb.google.com/garazon/Day1Cyprus
Thanks for reading and for keeping up with us~ love you all
Chester and Alison