DAY TWO IN CYPRUS!!! Today we visited two sites in Larnaca, Hala Sultan Tekke and Saint Lazarus Church. We started at the Hala Sultan Tekke, which was a mosque and a tomb for Umm Haram. The tomb was covered by green curtains, and we had to look from outside of the building. Inside the tomb, the prayer room was decorated beautifully with a green carpet covering the floor. The prayer rooms were separated between men and women, with the women being on the upper floor. Apparently, you used to be able to get to the tomb from the prayer room, but it is now closed off. Also, many cats roamed the courtyard which I thought was nice.
We then visited Saint Lazarus Church, which happened to have a sarcophagus below the altar. This was my first time seeing a sarcophagus and it was very interesting. The room it was in was very low, so many of us had to bend down just to stand. The church had many beautiful paintings and had three domed parts on the roof. The tour guide informed us that the three domes were for the holy trinity and that the domes are a symbol of many Christian churches from back then. The paintings are now covered in glass to help preserve them, but back then they used to kiss the paintings.
After finishing all the sites, we had the rest of the day to ourselves, which I spent mostly on the beach. I wanted to spend as much time as possible with my toes in the sand and the sun shining down on me, so sadly I did not get to explore much of the city. The water was still a little chilly, but once you were in for a while it was very nice. I found myself at one point too cold to get out of the water, as the wind was making it cold to get out. I went swimming in the ocean, which I think may have been saltier than from back in the US. This may just be because I have not been in the ocean in a while, but I still like to think it was saltier. I also got a chicken kebab on the beach that was quite delicious. Overall, today was a great day and I look forward to tomorrow!!
