Today was my first full day traveling in Cyprus. First, leaving from the city of Limassol, we went to see the ancient ruins of Kourion. The ruins we visited were atop a hill with a beautiful view of the farmland and sea below, with it being about 100 meters above sea level. I found it very interesting that ancient civilizations in Cyprus built this area for defensive purposes; they’d be able to see enemies approaching and have the high ground in any potential battles. These ruins had an ancient bathhouse and amphitheater. Many amphitheaters in other parts of the Mediterranean are Roman in origin but this one predates the Roman Empire. The Romans did rule over the region and amphitheater at one point though, they turned it into an arena to watch the killing of wild animals (like the colosseum in Rome).

Next we took a short bus ride to Kolossi castle. This castle was medieval in origin, and built as a result of crusaders. These crusaders were intending to “take the holy land” and Jerusalem from the Ottoman Empire, but accidently landed in Cyprus. It was shocking to think of the conditions that soldiers in the castle endured– for example they slept on just the floor!

Of all the ruins we saw, I found the bathhouse to be the most interesting. I have heard of bathhouses before, but figured they must be something that were only used for hygienic purposes. In actuality, I learnt that they were a leisure activity for ancient Cypriots, they would spend hours in different cool or hot baths and enjoy their time with others (bathing was not a private thing in those times). Bathhouses were highly luxurious— decorated with mosasics and marble. It was also intriguing to see some of the engineering behind the bathhouse. A fire pit was used to generate hot air, which circulated in a chamber below where the bath water