After leaving Limassol this morning, we started our journey to the second half of our trip: Nicosia! However, we made a few stop along the way. The first place that we went was Aphrodite’s Rock. This was my slide when my group did a presentation on Cyprus, so I came in with some background information. Aphrodite’s Rock is a famous place in Greek Mythology. Aphrodite was the goddess of love and beauty and was said to be born from the foam of the sea near this rock, which is why it’s named after her. I personally have never been interested in Greek Mythology so I did not feel especially connected to this spot, however I thought that it was gorgeous. The crystal clear water and nature’s wonder that is the rock. It is huge and taller and it is wide. I have attached a picture below however I believe that the only thing that does this scene justice is seeing it in person. Once we got back on the bus Demetra told us about the magic that is said to come with the rock. According to the legend, if someone touches the rock at midnight, on a full moon, and completely naked, then they will be blessed by the ancient greek god of love and beauty. For women this would mean Aphrodite’s beauty and for men this would be eternal youth.

After leaving Aphrodite’s rock, we traveled to the city of Paphos and visited the house of Dionysus. This is a large building/house was the first house with mosaic flooring to be discovered in Paphos. All of the mosaics depict a different subject such as a mythological scene. The first mosaic that we saw was said to be crafted during the Hellenistic period. Due to it being older and created during a different period than the others, it was an originally a meter lower than the rest. However, it was brought up to the same level for easier viewing. The mosaic depicts the greek god (Asklepios I believe) holding his staff with his daughter next to him. This was made with pebbles from the sea which makes it extremely unique because none of the pebbles are the same are they are a variety of different shapes, colors, and textures. The next mosaic that we saw was definitely the most entertaining. This was one of Narcissus (where I assume the word narcissism comes from) dating back to the 2nd century AD during the Roman Period. He was infamously known for being extremely self absorbed and looking at his reflection whenever he got the chance. The moral depicts him looking in his reflection in a pool of water. This mosaic was more colorful than the last (most likely due to it being created later). This was also made with stone and was better preserved than the previous so it was easier to see the details. However, it is said that he was so absorbed in himself that he fell in and drowned. Many greek myths are used as lessons, and this is definitely an example of that. It shows that you should not be so interested in yourself that you are oblivious to your surroundings.

After we finished our Greek Mythology lessons for the day, we were given 3 hours of free time in the city of Paphos! A group of us were starving so we immediately found a place to eat. It was called Bistro and had a mic of American type breakfast food along with some Greek breakfast/lunch. I got an omelet which was delicious and I also tried some of Sophie’s pancakes which were also amazing. The restaurant next to the one we ate at had a live pelican just walking around which was so cool to see in person. They are so much larger than I imagined! I was talking to Smaragda about it and she said that the reason the pelican was so pink was because it eats so much shrimp, similar to flamingos! After our brunch, we went shopping for around 45 minutes before it started to rain and we headed back to the bus and left for our next destination: Nicosia!!!