Entries about larnaca

Setting idyllically in the sun, the ancient ruins of Kourion on the coast of Cyprus

One of the reasons I came to Cyprus was the wealth of historical sights from my favorite periods of history. The Egyptians were there, the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, crusaders, and Arabs and Turks. Essentially, Cyprus is my 7th grade Social studies curriculum in a tiny, island nutshell. Today's itinerary would bear that out. We would begin with a Crusader castle, move on to Greek and Roman ruins, drop back 6,000 years to the Stone Age, and then finish with the Middle Ages.

Kolossi Castle - the most intact fortifications built by the crusaders during their stay on Medieval Cyprus

Although it was my turn to drive, we decided to not mess with success and keep the Jenny Driver, Mike Navigator, tandem. It would work to perfection. We were never lost, and even navigated our way through the crowded, one-way streets of Larnaca flawlessly. We started with a couple sights in the area of our base of Limassol. First up was Kolossi, the most intact Crusader fort in Cyprus. When I travel, I usually try to get an early start. I'm not talking crack of dawn, but if I'm not on the road by the 9 o'clock hour, I'm disappointed. My usual payoff - and it held true today - is you avoid the crowds. Most of the tour bus crowd lingers over breakfast and coffee and you can at least beat them to your first destination.

Medieval crusaders once strode beneath the vaulted ceilings of the halls inside Kolossi castle

And so it was. Jenny and I had the castle to ourselves for the first half hour or so. Although there are no furnishings or decorations in the rooms themselves, it was easy to populate them in our mind with torches, tables full of ale and food, and raucous knights. The castle initially was built by the crusaders who accompanied Guy of Lusignan, who took control of the island in 1194 A.D. Later it was passed into the hands of both the Knights of St. John (also known as the Hospitallers), and the famous -- or infamous -- Templars. When that order was suppressed by the Pope, the castle went back into the hands of the Hospitallers. From there, it was seized by the Italians and finally the Turks. The spiral stone staircases, echoing halls, and arrow slits along the walls transported you back mentally to the medieval world. It was cool to pace slowly around the amber-colored stone rooms and soak up the atmosphere.

Ancient columns at the Graeco-Roman ruins of Kourion

From there, we drove to the day's highlight: the Graeco-Roman ruins of Kourion. This site sprawls along the gorgeous deep blue Mediterranean coast, within sight of the famous Rocks of Aphrodite from our first day of sightseeing. They have tumbled down homes, temples, churches, and public buildings from the Greeks, Romans, and early Christians of the Dark Ages. There are several huge villas that have been excavated to uncover not only the bases of the walls, but extensive mosaic floors. A number of these are covered by modern wooden roofs with boardwalks suspended overhead for visitors to view the protected floors and ruins. You can't accuse Kourion of being overly reconstructed (except for maybe the semicircular stone theater). It has been made VERY accessible to the visitor, though. Clearly defined gravel paths direct you and signs inform you of what you are looking at. And though the sun beat down on us making it a hot, hour-long walk through the ruins, we were never left scratching our head or mystified at what we were visiting.

Roman baths at Kourion

The Kourion ruins are fairly spread out, too. It takes awhile to walk their extent, which generally mean the package tours disgorging from their tour buses can't visit all of the site. For Kourion, that meant we had to put up with the 50-strong German tour group only at the theater. So, for most of our wanderings at the site, we encountered only a couple of others here and there. Jenny and are we're amused by the American guy with his svelte, blonde trophy wife who insisted on getting her picture taken posing in front of every scenic view. All in all, though, our visit to Kourion was awesome, and we had much of it to enjoy by ourselves.

It was a beautiful, sunny day to explore this ancient site

After filling up our rental car with gas (Yikes...55 Euros! About $70...), we headed east on the interstate. We pulled off at Choirokoitia, which was definitely off the beaten tourist track. This hilltop Stone Age settlement began in 6500 B.C., and is still being excavated. The dwellings are grouped in clusters of four tiny, round, stone huts. One was used by a family group for sleeping, another for cooking, and yet another for grinding grain, and so on. The scientists have built a cluster of replicas at the beginning of the site, and you see the stone remains of the originals when you climb the steep hill to the community's defensible site. It was definitely not as exciting as Kourion or the castle of Kolossi, but still fascinating for a history buff.

The reconstructed Stone Age village of Choirokoitia

Next, we drove into downtown Larnaca, and much to my amazement, navigated the one-way streets and divided roads to our destination without hitch. We parked the car and walked through Larnaca, as most of its sites are not far apart. First, we visited the church of St. Lazarus...yes, the same one from the Bible miracle, "Lazarus, come forth!" The story goes that Lazarus moved to Cyprus and preached Jesus' teachings there. In the Middle Ages, his tomb, inscribed "Lazarus, dead 4 days and friend of Jesus" was found beneath the church dedicated to his name. The interior is a really cool melding of the gold-encrusted, elaborately decorated Byzantine style and the soaring stone Frankish or Gothic styles. Icons bedeck every open space in the church, many with votive candles glowing beneath them or enclosed within polished silver frames. Candle light gleams from gold and silver everywhere you look. You can duck down into the crypt and view the tomb of Lazarus. You could even look at his bones, partially enclosed in a carved silver box which is taken out and paraded through Larnaca's streets during festivals. And most miraculous of all (okay, and just a t-a-d sarcastically), photography was not prohibited...at least not that I could see!

The Church of St. Lazarus (yes, as in "Lazarus, come forth...!") in Larnaca, Cyprus

Just a short walk away was the Larnaca Medieval Fort and "Museum". I put museum in quotes because that was the weakest attempt at a medieval museum I've seen in 80 countries. More than 3/4's of the displays were grainy black and white photographs -- many of places most tourists would visit during their stay on the island. There was one small glass case of medieval weapons (all from what *I* would term the Renaissance), and a couple cases of pottery cups (wow...how exciting). The fort was okay, though. The best part was its position right on the beach in the center of town. Looking over its walls, you see the waves breaking on the shore. It didn't come near capturing Kolossi's mystique, though.

View of Larnaca beach from Larnaca Fort and Museum

Next, Jenny wanted to kick back and gaze out at the Mediterranean. So, we grabbed a couple Strongbow English ciders and sat on a bench and relaxed. We laughed at a dog and his master romping on the beach, and people watched. As we whiled away the time, it ticked steadily away. By the time we got in motion again, every place we wanted to visit was closed. It had been a long, sun-drenched day, though. So, we were content to make our way back to the car and begin the drive home. We had one more full day of sightseeing left, and there was nothing wrong with being rested up for it! Plus, we found a great pub to sit in, enjoy some beverages, and check out the photos we'd taken. Day 3 in Cyprus was one for the history books, and after all, that was why I was here...!

Here is me posing in front of ancient Cyprus' most famous philosopher, Zenon of Kition, who invented the idea of Stoicism. Do I look stoic enough?

For more photos, check out my Cyprus Photobucket site: http://s721.photobucket.com/user/mikedemana/library/Cyprus%202014?sort=3&page=1