Yiassou Cyprus: Paphos

Thursday was an eventful day. We took a group trip to a city called Paphos (Pafos), about an hour and a half west of Nicosia. I read a bit about how Paphos got its name. A skilled sculptor named Pygmalion molded a stunning woman who was so realistic that he fell in love with her. Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, noticed Pygmalion’s deep love for his creation and transformed the statue into a real woman named Galatea. Pygmalion and Galatea were married and a produced a son, whom they named Paphos. The themes of this myth have inspired various works, notably, George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, later turned into the musical My Fair Lady. Like the transformation of Galatea from statue to a living, breathing human, Shaw’s work features Eliza Doolittle, who transforms from a cockney flower girl into a woman who can pass as a duchess.

Our first stop was the medieval castle of Kolossi in Limassol, which was a strong military power throughout its long history. Many important groups have occupied the castle over the period of a thousand years. Notably, the Knights Templar came to occupy the castle in 1306. In the 1400’s, the severe combination of military attacks and earthquakes ruined the stately structure and Louis de Magnac rebuilt a stronger castle that we were fortunate enough to see during our journey to Paphos. We explored all three floors of the stone castle, including two underground water cisterns and a drawbridge. The ground floor featured a beautiful wall painting of the crucifixion. We saw several fleur-de-lis emblems (the Magnac family coat of arms) engraved into walls and the sides of fireplaces. We saw something called a machiocolation above the main entrance that the Knights used to pour hot water on enemies attempting to enter the castle. The walls adjacent to the windows were slanted at an angle. My classmate explained to me this design made it easy to shoot arrows out of the castle at an angle while still remaining protected. I tried to picture the castle at its height hundreds of years ago. I imagined it under siege during battle, which is a stark contrast to the major activity the castle sees today: tourists meandering around on the grounds.

Fleur-de-lis

We boarded the bus and made our way to the archaeological site of Kourion, which was an ancient city-kingdom allegedly founded by Koureas, the son of the mythical king Kinyras. Colonization of this area began in the 14^th century BC and Kourion is believed to have been eradicated by none other than Alexander the Great. The oldest remains date all the way back to 325-350 BC.

The sites were breathtaking. We saw an early Christian basilica decorated with mosaics and marble structures overlooking the sea. Near the basilica was a circular theater from the 2^nd century BC that is still used for plays today and can seat 3,000 people.

We climbed up a steep hill in the sweltering heat, with sweat constantly pouring off of us as our bodies frantically attempted to keep us cool. The reward at the top of the incline was well worth it: an astounding view of the Mediterranean Sea surrounded by high cliffs. We did not have time to explore the rest of the massive area, but it also features an ancient agora, stoa (16 marble columns, 6 of which remain today), a Roman Nymphaeum (a sanctuary of the Nymphs who were the daughters of Poseidon, the god of the sea), the house of the Gladiators and the house of Achilles. I felt like I had traveled through time into Homer's Odyssey.

Wild Horse

We stopped for lunch at a place called The Pelican in a touristy area and ordered seafood. We saw a real pelican that was light pink in color. It looked like a cartoon bird that popped straight out of a comic book. When it first caught my eye, I actually thought it was a large puppet.

After lunch, we visited the Ayia Kyriaki Church, which was constructed in the 13^th century. According to history, St. Paul was a missionary who journeyed to Cyprus to convert Jews to Christianity. One such encounter led to Paul being tied to a pillar and subjected to 39 lashes, one less than 40, which was a death sentence. While we were there, a few of us entered the church and happened upon a Scottish wedding. The bride had not arrived yet, so we were allowed to walk into the church. When we emerged, we listened to a man in a kilt play the bagpipes. He told us he was originally from England, but has Scottish heritage. We watched the stunning bride, her father, and her bridesmaids proceed into the church and we snapped some photographs to capture the event, like we were wedding photographers and not mere tourists.

St. Paul's Pillar

Next, we visited the Tombs of the Kings, which is a misnomer since it is not a burial site of actual royalty, but rather, wealthy aristocrats and high officials. The tombs are from around the 4^th century BC, are carved out of rock, and were constructed similarly to the homes of the living during that time. We saw Doric columns and fresco walls. The sand and tombs were light in color and it was uncomfortably hot as the sun reflected off of the light surfaces. Excavations in this area still occur today. I envisioned Mary and Louis Leakey, famous British archaeologists, and marveled at how they could have worked in such extreme conditions as a profession.

Later in the day, we made our way to Aphrodite’s rock, which is the alleged birthplace of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. Ancient Greek mythology says she emerged from the waves. When we arrived at the beach, I pictured a beautiful goddess slowly and dramatically walking towards the shore from the clear, blue sea. Legend says if you swim around the rock three times, you will be blessed with eternal youth. The beach was rocky and painful to walk on and the water was cooler than other beaches we visited. The entire MBA group jumped into the water and each of us swam three times around the rock in an attempt to grasp eternal youth.