|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Today we went to Paphos on the southwest side of the island, about 2.5 hours from Nicosia.
The first stop was Petra tou Romiou, the rock of Aphrodite. As Aphrodite rose from the sea, this rock marked her birthplace. It is said now that whoever can swim to and climb this rock will find everlasting love. Given that I only had 10 minutes this morning, I didn't attempt the climb, but I thought you would appreciate what my photographer (a member of the team) calls "the two Aphrodites".. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
The next stop was the Tomb of the Kings (or the Necropolis), an ancient site (300 BD - 300 AD) where not just kings but many people, including children, were buried in tombs and catacombs of carved rock. Each nook and cranny of literally hundreds of rocks are carved of very hard rock for the final resting place. Every tomb is different and most have columns and interesting arches and architecture. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Nearby on the harbor is a medeival fort built by the Turks in 1392 (I think). All stone but again fascinating architecture. There is a wonderful view of the harbor from the top. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Finally, we went to the House of Dionysos and the House of Orpheus where there are mosaics dating to the 3rd - 5th centuries AD. Each mosaic consists of naturally colored stones arranged to make patterns. I'm not sending a picture of a mosaic (I used a different camera), but this group shot is ruins of a theater outside of the mosaics. This shot gives you an idea of the diversity of the team members - so far we have the Philappines, Korea, Guatemala, Honduras, Canada, Somaliland and the US represented and more will arrive from Africa and Sri Lanka this week. |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|