Today we left Limassol to head to the capital, Nicosia. We stopped at Aphrodite’s Rock and the city of Paphos. Aphrodite’s Rock was amazing. The rock is believed to be the place that see rose up from the sea foam. Aphrodite was worshiped by the people of Cyprus, and they created a temple very close to her birthplace. In Greek mythology, Aphrodite was lovers with the Prince of Paphos. Being at the rock was an amazing experience. It is very cool to see places that hold such importance in the culture and history of a place I haven’t been before.

After we visited Aphrodite’s Rock, we went to see the mosaics in Paphos. The first one we saw was from the hellenistic period which is before the Romans. It was only black and white because during that time period they would get rocks from the sea to make their designs. The rest of the mosaics were made by the Romans. Many of them depicted the God of Wine, Dionysus, because the house they were in was owned by a rich wine merchant. Another mosaic showed two lovers who weren’t allowed to be together so they committed suicide, and this is the inspiration for Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet.”

We had free time in Paphos after we learned about the mosaics, and a group of us went to eat. While we were eating, there was a pink pelican that started walking around and we think it was owned by one of the other restaurants. When we were finished, we walked around the area. The marina was filled with huge boats, and there was even a pirate ship. Lot of stores and restaurants were there, and a guy had a bunch of iguanas around him which was an interesting sight to say the least. Overall, it was a beautiful area with lots of history surrounding it.