Yet another day packed with cultural visits, today we visited the city of Paphos, known to be the birthplace of the Roman goddess Aphrodite. Our first stop and sneak peek at the city was a walk on the beach around what is known to be the birthplace of the goddess, Aphrodite’s rock. Legend says anyone who swims around the rock will be blessed with eternal beauty.
In the heart of the city, we visited the archeological site of the Tomb of the Kings. Constructed during the Roman rule over Cyprus, the site is filled with various tombs carved into the ground, overlooking the water located on the coast. The tombs were for the burials of high-ranking officials and required an intense amount of work to construct. Each one was meticulously crafted to have 13 steps each down into the tomb. Because these were not easy to create, the Romans eventually had to carve more tombs into the ground to accommodate more burials. I was shocked at the commitment these people had to the burials. Each one had plenty of open air and extra space, creating a sizeable tomb that would have taken months with multiple people involved in the construction. This extra space surprised me, it didn’t seem to serve a specific purpose but simply added to the area. These tombs which were thousands of years old were in great condition, with the pillars of the tomb carved out of the ground still standing.
Our next stop was a lunch break along the water where I enjoyed a plate of saffron risotto with seafood. I was shocked yet again at the low prices in Cyprus only paying around 20 euros for a seafood dish. After a quick picture with the local pelican, our last stop for the day was a visit to an extensive mosaic collection in the House of Dionysus. Located in the Paphos archaeological site, each mosaic had intricate detail and was made up of precisely cut stones still in great condition. During the time they were built, each mosaic would take months made by a team of artists that would spend their whole life learning the skill. Each mosaic told a story and depicted hunting scenes and symbols used by cultures around the world. Other mosaics included figures worshiped during the period such as Scylla, a female figure known to have a tail. These mosaics did a great job of depicting 3 dimensions, a skill that was made all the more difficult by constructing the art from hand-cut stones.
Today also was our last day with Demitrea, our tour guide through the week that provided us with a stream of information, limitless energy, and hilarious side comments.
