Mosaics, Churches, and Tombs! Oh My!
January 29, 2018
I have been in Paphos for about 3 weeks now and I really love it here. It’s such a chill town, especially this time of year. I can only imagine how less chill it is in the summer at the height of tourist time, but right now it’s perfectly quiet. During they day we enjoy a high of 18 C and the evening it can get as low as 10 C. We’ve had a few rainy days and a few windy days, but overall the weather is perfect. One of the draws to live in Paphos over another city in Cyprus is the archeological parks. Our apartment is between two parks, the Paphos Archeological Park and the Tombs of the Kings.
For my first post about Cyprus I’d like to share my incredible time at the Archeological Park discovering all the amazing layers of history. The park is just an easy 20 min walk along the waterfront from our apartment.
For the small fee of 4,50 Euros we were granted access to this incredible park. A window into the past. The monuments and artefacts in this park date back to prehistoric times, through the middle ages, the Roman period, and even some building from the early Christians. While the park itself is quite large you can tell that much of the city must be built on some ruins as well. The history is everywhere.
I couldn’t believe all the incredible mosaics left intact throughout the park and in such good condition. They’ve built houses around some of the mosaics to help preserve them, but many are still left outside. For the winter months some of the outdoor mosaics are covered in tarps and sand to protect them from any harsh weather while others are left uncovered for viewing.
The House of Aion.
The House of Theseus.
(click here for the panorama if the embedded one doesn’t work, or to see it full screen)
The House of Four Seasons.
The House of Orpheus.
I got a little obsessed with the fact that I was allowed to walk on some of the mosaics. It ancient, yo! So, I took a bunch of photos of me in my sneaks walking on gorgeous ancient mosaics.
(click here for the panorama if the embedded one doesn’t work, or to see it full screen)
(click here for the panorama if the embedded one doesn’t work, or to see it full screen)
The Ancient Odeon.
John gave me and a couple other tourists a performance!
Ancient gecko.
The Agora.
Tombs.
The Panagia Chrysopolitissa. Byzantine basilica and the pillar of Saint Paul (where he was flogged by the Romans).
I loved visiting these archeological sites. They’ve filled me with images of Ancient Greece and Rome when people found truth and guidance from epic stories of gods and goddesses.
~B~