Out of all of the days so far, this one was by far my favorite, and that’s because today was the day we got to visit Paphos. The great thing about Paphos, among other things, is that it’s the only city we’ve visited that’s on the west side of the country so we got to cross new terrain. The area also holds so much history and lore behind it, so I was very excited to go see the sights of the day which started with Aphrodite’s rock. According to legend, Aphrodite was born from seafoam on the coast of Paphos, and the rock is supposedly where she first came out of the sea. It is also said that those who can swim around the rock will gain beauty and/or eternal youth. Unfortunately we were not allowed to swim, but we did have a great time exploring the beach and collecting little rocks of our own to take back with us. 

Then came the most intriguing part of the schedule for me which was our visit to the House of Dionysus. The House is home to some of the oldest mosaics in history, dating back thousands of years and remaining unmoved from their original position, with the exception of one mosaic which was originally located deep underground. The arrangement of the pieces was made to act as floors for rooms in the home that used to stand there centuries ago, which is hard to fathom now that the mosaics have become incredibly fragile and worn down. Walking around each one and imagining the life they used to hold was emotional for me; seeing the colors faded and pieces of stone loose made me think about all of the time the artists spent carefully planning and working, only for everything to end up buried and going unseen. It made me sad to consider this, but also relieved that they stayed fortified for as long as they did and remained in good condition so that people now can still appreciate them.