Cyprus Attractions

The island's proud collection of antiquities is housed out on Museum Street just south of the Green Line, near the Turkish Cypriot sector's old Paphos Gate. The sculpture, ceramics and jewellery here give you a fine insight into the unique Cypriot synthesis of Greek and Levantine cul¬ture. (Exhibits are constantly moved around.

We present highlights in a chronological order which will not always correspond to their display.) Exhibits of the Bronze Age include the some of the first implements made from the is¬land's all important copper mines, red polished and white painted pottery. Look for the clay bowl shaped sanctuary model (2000 BC), in which worshippers and priests sur¬round a bull sacrifice while a Peeping Tom on the sanctu¬ary wall watches the secret ceremony.

An intriguing Mycenaean krater (drinking cup) import¬ed to Enkomi by merchants from the Peloponnese in the 14th century BC has an octo¬pus motif framing a scene of Zeus preparing warriors for battle at Troy. A blue faience rhyton (ritual anointing ves¬sel) (13th century BC, from Kition) depicts a lively bull . hunt a Mycenaean theme, but the hunters are distinctly Syrian. Fascinating royal tomb furniture from Salamis (8th century BC) includes an ivory throne, a bed, a sword and the remains of two chariots and their horses' skeletons.

A major highlight is the showcase displaying scores of votive statues and figurines (625 to 500 Be) Swedish exca¬vators found 2,000 of them at Ayia Irini in northwest Cyprus, preserved just as they originally stood around an altar of an open-air sanctuary. In a dual cult of war and fertil-ity, soldiers, war chariots, priests with bull masks, sphin¬xes, minotaurs and bulls were fashioned life size or just 10 cm (4 in) tall, according to their ritual importance.

Ap¬parently of no great impor¬tance in those days are the shrine's only females, two small statuettes. Lacking the more refined possibilities of marble on the island, Cypriot limestone sculpture tends to be psycho¬logically inexpressive, with one magnificent exception, a poignant woman's head (3rd century Be) from the Aphrodite sanctuary at Arsos, north of Larnaca.

A true masterpiece of Roman-Cypriot art is the monumental bronze of Em¬peror Septimius Severus (c. AD 200) in heroic nudity despite his 'orator's pose. (Outside, you can rest in the pleasant Municipal Gar¬dens across the street, next to the Municipal Theatre.)

The Turkish Quarter of Cyprus

Visit the sights, mostly inside the old ramparts, as part of your tour of Northern Cyprus. From Kyrenia Gate, follow the avenue of the same name to Mevlevi Tekke, once a monastery inhabited by members of the whirling dervishes sect, outlawed in 1925. The 17th century build¬ing with its several domes now houses a Museum of Arts and Crafts. Brownstone government office buildings rim Atatiirk Square, hub of the Turkish quarter. Here stands the post office and a granite column probably brought from Salamis by the Venetians.

The Turks removed it when they conquered Cyprus in 1570,and it was erected in 1915. Unfortunately the St Mark's lion once crowning it disap¬peared, and the copper globe you see is a recent addition. From Atatiirk Square, As¬malti Street leads past a couple of old Turkish inns with pic¬turesque courtyards and ve¬randahs: Kurnardjilar Khan (now restored) and Buyuk Khan. In the 18th century the Turks built these khans or hans as hospices for visiting foreigners. A main door gave onto a courtyard surrounded by rooms.

Although the main door was bolted, a smaller door within it, called the 'eye of the needle', was left open for travellers so that camels, carts and other conveyances could not enter. With its minarets and lofty Gothic arches, Selimiye Mosque, formerly the great French Cathedral of St Sophia, is an eloquent landmark of the city's dual identity. The cathe¬dral was begun in 1209 under the first Latin archbishop, Thierry, reaching completion in the 14th century. Here the Lusignan princes were crowned kings of Cyprus, and here Christian worship took place until the Turks turned the church into a mosque following the 1570 conquest.

Note the western facade and its porch with three portals surmounted by a rose window; with moulded ogival arches and carved figures of saints, royalty and clergy, this could be a cathedral transported straight from France. The Bedestan or old mar¬ket next door dates from the 12th to the 14th centuries, when it was constructed as the Church of St Nicholas of the English. The Turks converted the church into a covered mar¬ket today disused.

But you can still admire the carved Gothic doors, the family crests and religious sculptures above the main portal, the barrel shaped roof, three apses and dome. In the crumbling inte¬rior are some wall paintings, notably one of St Andrew (12th century). Also near the cathedral, the Sultan's Library preserves important books in Turkish, Arabic and Persian.

Around Nicosia Cyprus and airport car hire

Airport car hire can be pre-booked from Cyprus International Airport, Larnaca, or from Paphos Airport, where easy pick-ups and drop-offs, make car hire the best option for exploring this fascinating island.

The following excursions are all within 50 km (30 miles) of Nicosia, making them easy day trips. Royal Tombs and Monasteries Just over 12 km (7 miles) southwest of the capital, near the village of Politiko, is the site of Tamassos, ancient city kingdom rich in copper.

Archaeologists have uncov¬ered a sanctuary and altar to Aphrodite. The royal tombs (6th century BC), with stair¬ways and narrow dromos passages approaching the burial chamber, are carved in stone to imitate wooden dwellings, complete with sim¬ulated bolted doors, window sills and 'logroof' ceilings.

The nearby Monastery of Ayios Herakleidos is now in the hands of nuns who tend the gardens and sell honey, marzipan and other sweet¬meats. After many restorations, the present 18thcentury structure houses, in a domed mausoleum, the remains of the saint who guided Paul and Barnabas on their mission to Cyprus. First bishop of Tamassos, Herakleidos was burned alive by unbelievers; his skull and a hand bone were salvaged and are now in a bejewelled gold reliquary.

Even unbelievers can enjoy the drive southwest past sweeping vistas of bleak valleys and wooded ravines to the Monastery of Macheras, 884 m (2,900 ft) up in the Troodos mountains. The re¬gion was a natural hideout for EOKA second in command Gregoris Afxentiou, who died near the monastery in battle against the British in 1957.

The monastery itself is a mod¬em construction after an 1892 fire destroyed the original 12thcentury foundation its miracle-working icon of the Virgin Mary survived. Down the road beyond Gourri, the village of Phikar¬dou represents a noble effort to sustain Cypriot rural traditions. It is protected as an Ancient Monument with a restoration programme for its subtly coloured ironstone houses and cobbled streets.

The idea is not to create anoth¬er folk museum, but to revital¬ize the community. At last count, in 1992, there were just 8 permanent residents (plus a dozen cats), though others may be enticed back by the handsome reconstruction. In the House of Katsinioros and House of Achilles Dimitri, you can see authentic old furnishings, a weaver's work¬shop, a wine press, a brandy still and taste the results at the local taverna. Assinou Church A second tour, some 30 kIn (19 miles) west of Nicosia, takes you past Peristerona to follow a signposted road to the hillside 12thcentury church of Assinou, also known as Panayia Phorbiotissa.

To view its magnificent Byzm¬tine frescoes outside the holi¬day season, stop at the village of Nikitari to pick up the priest and keeper ofthe keys ¬remember to give him a small offering when you leave.

The modest but exquisite little church of ochre stone contains a veritable gallery of Byzantine art from the 12th to 16th centuries: a splendid Pantocrator (Christ in Majesty) in the narthex dome; a Last Judgment in which the dam¬ned seem at least destined for a more interesting time than the rather sad looking heaven bound blessed.

Frescoes in the nave and bays depict the Washing of the Feet, Raising of Lazarus, Crucifixion and Entombment. But for a scene sublime beyond art, look back through the narthex to the frescoes framing the west door open to the green wooded slope beyond. The town is booming. It must be said that it has benefitted considerably from the 1974 partition.

Its airport has re¬placed Nicosia's abandoned airfield as the Republic's inter¬national port of entry. The population has almost doubled since the influx of refugees, mostly from Famagusta, the seaport is reviving. Beach re¬sort facilities have burgeoned, the best out north around Larnaca Bay rather than down¬town. While its own cultural at¬tractions are limited to the Pierides museum, St Lazarus Church and archaeological ruins of its origins, Larnaca makes a comfortable base for exploring the interior and coast of the island's southeast corner.