Cyprus and cheap car hire
Cheap car hire at the airport in Cyprus is still available, and the best way to book car rentals at Larnaca Airport is to make the arrangements before you travel.
Before exploring the great ar¬chaeological site itself, stop off in the nearby village of Episkopi to visit the fine little Kourion Museum. Founded in the 1930s, it now also holds dramatic recent finds from the earth¬quake that devastated Kourion in AD 365. On display is a group of three human skele¬tons, a 25yearold male pro¬tecting a I9 year old female with an 18 month old baby clutched to her breast.
Among the other exhibits from Kouri¬on and the temple of Apollo are sculptures, a Roman stone lion fountain, terracotta vases and figurines Just west of Episkopi, Kou¬rion is with Salamis in Northern Cyprus the most important archaeological site on the island.
Remains of its various settlements include a Greek temple, houses with superb mosaics, a theatre and stadium of the Roman era, and an early Christian cathedral. Not the least of its attractions is the site's spectacular view from a bluff high above Episkopi Bay. (In ancient times, sacrilegious criminals were hurled to their death on the rocks below.)
The area was inhabited back in the Stone Age, but current historical opinIOn at¬tributes the town's foundation to Mycenaean settlers in the 13th century Be. Known as Curium to the Romans, it con¬verted to Christianity in the 4th century AD, faith sorely tested by a devastating earth¬quake in 365. After Arab raids in the 7th century, the bish opric moved out to what is now Episkopi, leaving Kouri¬on to sink into oblivion.
On the left as you enter the site (before reaching the tourist pavilion) are the fencedin ruins of a colonnad¬ed portico paved with an Achilles Mosaic (4th century AD).
It depicts Achilles, dis guised as a woman to avoid enlistment in the Trojan army tricked by Odysseus into grab-bing a spear and shield and revealing his true identity. The House of Gladiators nearby is so named for its beautifully coloured mosaics of two duels, one with a very aristocratic looking referee ¬perhaps the owner of the house. (If closed, the guardian usually has the key.) Beyond the main entrance gate (where guide maps to the site are on sale) are the re¬mains of the early Christian cathedral.
Approaching from the west, you pass the dea¬con's offices where a Greek inscription from the Psalms suggests that worshippers made their donations 'Vow and pay to the Lord'. The plan of the basilica reveals 12 pairs of granite columns for the nave. Over to the left (north) is the baptistery with a dressing¬-room where people undressed for anointment with oil before descending to the cross-shaped font.
The Roman Theatre Cyprus
Continue on to the recon¬structed Roman theatre (AD 50 to 175), which occupies a spectacular sloping site on the edge of the bluff. The auditori¬um housed 3,500 (and is back in use now for openair perfor¬mances). At the end of the 2nd century AD, the theatre spiced up its show with hunt¬ers pursuing and killing or being killed by wild animals.
When you descend to the semicircular orchestra, notice how the front rows were lev¬elled to move spectators back to a safe distance. Behind the theatre is the Roman Villa of Eustolios, started about AD 400. He must have been a fine fellow, this Eustolios, welcoming visitors with an inscription 'Enter ... and good luck to the house'.
Mosaics of birds and fish indicate a man of wealth and taste. Inscriptions to Apollo and Jesus Christ suggest that religiously he was hedging his bets. He later added onto the villa a public bath house and health club. The baths are up a few steps. In the cen¬tral room, notice some more remarkable mosaics, including one of a partridge, another of Ktisis, a deity personifying creation. She holds what seems to be a one-foot ruler, symbol of her function.
Back on the highway, about 1 km (Il mile) west of the main site, is the stadium (2nd century AD) where you can imagine athletics per¬formed on the Vshaped track before some 6,000 spectators. Continue west to the Sanc¬tuary of Apollo Hylates (God of the Woodland), situated back from the highway in what was originally a deer forest and is now a charming setting of pines and evergreen scrub forest.
Apollo was worshipped here from the 8th century Be but most of the present struc¬tures were put up around AD 100 and toppled by the great earthquake of 365.From the guardian's lodge, take the path west to the pilgrims' entrance through Paphos Gate. The buildings here were probably hostels and storehouses for worship¬pers' votive offerings. The surplus was carefully placed in the vothros pit (at the centre of the site), which was full of terracotta figurines, mostly horse riders still intact when uncovered by the ar¬chaeologists.
From here, fol¬low the pilgrims' way along the sanctuary's main street north to a flight of stairs lead¬ing to the Temple of Apollo. It has been partially reconstruct¬ed, with simplified Corinthian capitals on its columns, as it appeared in AD 100. Take the winding cliff road past vineyards to end your ex¬cursion at Petra tou Romiou, 46 km (28 miles) from Limas¬sol, Aphrodite's legendary birthplace.
The Troodos Mountains Cyprus
The Troodos chain in west central Cyprus is the island's principal uplands and provides most of its fresh water and what the British Empire in its tropical outposts termed hill stations, resorts where people can come up from the hot, arid plains to cool off amid the mountain greenery. The roads climb through foothills with rushing streams and orchards past villages perched on the slopes surrounded at higher al¬titudes by pine forest. Monks ¬and EOKA fighters have found refuge here, and the monasteries are now joined by resort hotels and spas, with even a little winter skiing at the town of Troodos itself.
Platres to Troodos and Larnaca Airport car hire
The best place to pre-book your car hire from is Larnaca Airport, where you can start your tour around Cyprus.About 45 minutes from Limas¬sol, 90 minutes from Nicosia, Pano Platres at 1,128 m (3,700 ft) makes an ideal base for visiting the whole Troodos region. With its hotels, restau¬rants and craft-ware shops, the little town occupies a charming and shady mountain site. In high season, you will be joined by the bourgeoisie of Limassol whose summer homes swell the population from 500 to over 1,500. The Platres Festival of the folk arts is a major attraction.
Before exploring the great ar¬chaeological site itself, stop off in the nearby village of Episkopi to visit the fine little Kourion Museum. Founded in the 1930s, it now also holds dramatic recent finds from the earth¬quake that devastated Kourion in AD 365. On display is a group of three human skele¬tons, a 25yearold male pro¬tecting a I9 year old female with an 18 month old baby clutched to her breast.
Among the other exhibits from Kouri¬on and the temple of Apollo are sculptures, a Roman stone lion fountain, terracotta vases and figurines Just west of Episkopi, Kou¬rion is with Salamis in Northern Cyprus the most important archaeological site on the island.
Remains of its various settlements include a Greek temple, houses with superb mosaics, a theatre and stadium of the Roman era, and an early Christian cathedral. Not the least of its attractions is the site's spectacular view from a bluff high above Episkopi Bay. (In ancient times, sacrilegious criminals were hurled to their death on the rocks below.)
The area was inhabited back in the Stone Age, but current historical opinIOn at¬tributes the town's foundation to Mycenaean settlers in the 13th century Be. Known as Curium to the Romans, it con¬verted to Christianity in the 4th century AD, faith sorely tested by a devastating earth¬quake in 365. After Arab raids in the 7th century, the bish opric moved out to what is now Episkopi, leaving Kouri¬on to sink into oblivion.
On the left as you enter the site (before reaching the tourist pavilion) are the fencedin ruins of a colonnad¬ed portico paved with an Achilles Mosaic (4th century AD).
It depicts Achilles, dis guised as a woman to avoid enlistment in the Trojan army tricked by Odysseus into grab-bing a spear and shield and revealing his true identity. The House of Gladiators nearby is so named for its beautifully coloured mosaics of two duels, one with a very aristocratic looking referee ¬perhaps the owner of the house. (If closed, the guardian usually has the key.) Beyond the main entrance gate (where guide maps to the site are on sale) are the re¬mains of the early Christian cathedral.
Approaching from the west, you pass the dea¬con's offices where a Greek inscription from the Psalms suggests that worshippers made their donations 'Vow and pay to the Lord'. The plan of the basilica reveals 12 pairs of granite columns for the nave. Over to the left (north) is the baptistery with a dressing¬-room where people undressed for anointment with oil before descending to the cross-shaped font.
The Roman Theatre Cyprus
Continue on to the recon¬structed Roman theatre (AD 50 to 175), which occupies a spectacular sloping site on the edge of the bluff. The auditori¬um housed 3,500 (and is back in use now for openair perfor¬mances). At the end of the 2nd century AD, the theatre spiced up its show with hunt¬ers pursuing and killing or being killed by wild animals.
When you descend to the semicircular orchestra, notice how the front rows were lev¬elled to move spectators back to a safe distance. Behind the theatre is the Roman Villa of Eustolios, started about AD 400. He must have been a fine fellow, this Eustolios, welcoming visitors with an inscription 'Enter ... and good luck to the house'.
Mosaics of birds and fish indicate a man of wealth and taste. Inscriptions to Apollo and Jesus Christ suggest that religiously he was hedging his bets. He later added onto the villa a public bath house and health club. The baths are up a few steps. In the cen¬tral room, notice some more remarkable mosaics, including one of a partridge, another of Ktisis, a deity personifying creation. She holds what seems to be a one-foot ruler, symbol of her function.
Back on the highway, about 1 km (Il mile) west of the main site, is the stadium (2nd century AD) where you can imagine athletics per¬formed on the Vshaped track before some 6,000 spectators. Continue west to the Sanc¬tuary of Apollo Hylates (God of the Woodland), situated back from the highway in what was originally a deer forest and is now a charming setting of pines and evergreen scrub forest.
Apollo was worshipped here from the 8th century Be but most of the present struc¬tures were put up around AD 100 and toppled by the great earthquake of 365.From the guardian's lodge, take the path west to the pilgrims' entrance through Paphos Gate. The buildings here were probably hostels and storehouses for worship¬pers' votive offerings. The surplus was carefully placed in the vothros pit (at the centre of the site), which was full of terracotta figurines, mostly horse riders still intact when uncovered by the ar¬chaeologists.
From here, fol¬low the pilgrims' way along the sanctuary's main street north to a flight of stairs lead¬ing to the Temple of Apollo. It has been partially reconstruct¬ed, with simplified Corinthian capitals on its columns, as it appeared in AD 100. Take the winding cliff road past vineyards to end your ex¬cursion at Petra tou Romiou, 46 km (28 miles) from Limas¬sol, Aphrodite's legendary birthplace.
The Troodos Mountains Cyprus
The Troodos chain in west central Cyprus is the island's principal uplands and provides most of its fresh water and what the British Empire in its tropical outposts termed hill stations, resorts where people can come up from the hot, arid plains to cool off amid the mountain greenery. The roads climb through foothills with rushing streams and orchards past villages perched on the slopes surrounded at higher al¬titudes by pine forest. Monks ¬and EOKA fighters have found refuge here, and the monasteries are now joined by resort hotels and spas, with even a little winter skiing at the town of Troodos itself.
Platres to Troodos and Larnaca Airport car hire
The best place to pre-book your car hire from is Larnaca Airport, where you can start your tour around Cyprus.About 45 minutes from Limas¬sol, 90 minutes from Nicosia, Pano Platres at 1,128 m (3,700 ft) makes an ideal base for visiting the whole Troodos region. With its hotels, restau¬rants and craft-ware shops, the little town occupies a charming and shady mountain site. In high season, you will be joined by the bourgeoisie of Limassol whose summer homes swell the population from 500 to over 1,500. The Platres Festival of the folk arts is a major attraction.
posted by The Car Hire Guy at
09:16
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