Today is day 2 of my trip to Cyprus! We started the day early on a couple of tours before heading to the beach and relaxing for the rest of the afternoon! At around 9:30am we took an hour long bus ride before we arrived at the Hala Sultan Tekke mosque. Our tour guide told us about the culture and history of the mosque. I also learned that Umm Haram was buried there. At the mosque, we got to go inside and look at the prayer area and then we also got to look at the tomb. The mosque was very beautiful and there was a stunning garden on the outside. There were so many cats and I had a great time learning about the historical significance about the Hala Sultan Tekke mosque.

After, we headed back on the bus to go to St. Lazarus Church. I learned that at one point, this was a church that was visited by Barnabas as well as the apostle Mark. Our tour guide told us about how the church used to have three domes and how each one represented the holy trinity. Since domes were an important part of Christian architecture back then, the church installed the domes as they believed that the sky and heaven was in the form of a dome shape. It was really cool to be able to not only go into the church, but see all the intricate wood detailing and the paintings of the saints covered in gold. For me, the coolest part was being able to go down to the basement where Lazarus’s tomb was laid.

Then after St. Lazarus’s Church, some of us grabbed a quick lunch before heading to the beach! The beach was so relaxing and it was nice to take a quick nap and enjoy the breezy weather. One thing I noticed about the water in Cyprus was that it seemed to be more salty than the ocean water back in Jersey. After spending a few hours at the beach, some of us went to look at the shops in the town. Overall, the water was so clear and refreshing after laying in the hot sun!