After a busy day yesterday of museum tours and our final classes at the University of Nicosia, we said goodbye to the city and embarked on our trip to Limassol. On the way there, we stopped by Kourion, an ancient city kingdom with a long history of conquest. It was fascinating walking through the ruins and seeing the beautiful mosaics and technology. One mosaic that I found particularly interesting would have been found in the main entrance of the house, and served almost as an ancient welcome mat. These mosaics as well as clay pipes and wash rooms exemplified this civilization’s technology and creativity. We also got to visit the amphitheater for this city. This had an impressive amount of seating and an even more impressive history. We learned that this amphitheater had taken many shapes over the years. It originally was a closed stadium for music, drama, and performances in a traditional Greek style. Then, when conquered by the Romans, it was transformed into a mini colosseum for gladiator battles, however it was never put to use as the emperor that it was commissioned for never showed. It was then converted back into closer to its original form for music and other entertainment. I think it’s particularly interesting that this space is still used today for concerts and performances.
After visiting Kourion we got to begin exploring Limassol. Here, we got to get our first glimpses at the Mediterranean sea and did some shopping prior to our tour of Limassol Castle. I had never been in a medieval castle before, so for me this was an impressive sight. I loved getting to tour through all the rooms and see the artifacts preserved there. I especially liked seeing the stonework used in statues, gravesites, and churches preserved there from the Byzantine era. One fact I found particularly interesting was that the castle was not in its original form. In fact, where the Venetians built many fortifications and castles, they were also responsible for tearing this one down. The Venetians did not have the men to defend this castle, and therefore tore it down before the Ottomans could use it as a base when invading. This ties back to the idea I mentioned in Day 2, where the Venetians knew they were not going to hold control of the Island for long and therefore were constantly preparing for an attack. Evidence of this is found in the broken stonework found within the castle, along with the segments that have a new, rebuilt look. After we finished our tour of our castle, we took some group photos before heading to the hotel. I’m so excited to continue to explore the city and continue to learn more about its history and industries!
