Saturday, June 22, 2013

Archaeology, History, Churches, Art, Nature, and Crafts of Paphos and Lefkara Village in Troodos

Hello everyone,
So I have not written in quite some time due to my crazy amount of school work this week!  I had my first Anatomy exam on Wednesday and then Thursday I had a presentation for my Management of Care class and today I had the final exam essay for the same class.  I have spent much time studying and am ready for a break this weekend. I will write an entry soon about all the things I have learned about health care systems and anatomy!
I would like to first talk about my trip to Paphos and the Troodos village of Lefkara that occurred from 6/14/13/-6/16/13.  The first stop of this weekend excursion was Paphos!  Paphos has TONS of ancient history and cool archaeological sites to see!
The first place we went to in Paphos (actually it was outside of it) was the ancient city of Kourion!  Kourion is situated on a hilltop and overlooks the beautiful coast of Cyprus.


I took the above shot with panorama on iphone 5 so it may be a little distorted.  Also, a picture does not do justice to the view that we saw from Kourion.  It was absolutely amazing to look along the coast line of Cyprus for many miles.
There is much more to this ancient city than the view, however.  We had the same tour guide as we did for Old Nicosia and she was just as amazing as the last time! It's incredible how much information she knows about the entirety of Cyprus.  Anyways, we entered through the lobby area that is basically a tourist information center and into the covered area of excavation.
As the picture indicates, there is a large canopy structure covering the site to prevent erosion from rain and wind.  There is a boardwalk above the ruins to prevent damaging them by stepping on the ruins.  The walkway turns and extends around the site to offer many views of this ancient place.  The canopy covers the House of Eustolios.  According to the tour guide we had and the tourist information book that I got in the mail before this trip to Cyprus, the House of Eustolios was originally a palace from 5th century BC!  However, it became a Christian area later and many of the mosaics still preserved on the floors contain Christian symbols and inscriptions.
The words/inscription in the picture above says something about the dedication of the house to Jesus Christ!  It was pretty cool to see a central hub of early christianity!
Directly outside the Eustolios complex was the Roman Amphitheater.
The photo above is a panorama shot of the ancient roman amphitheater.  Events that used to take place here included the infamous gladiator fights.  These days, it is used for Shakespearean plays and traditional theater.
After stopping at Kourion, we went to the Kolossi Castle nearby.
Inside the castle was yet another reminder of Christ and His love and the price He paid to save humanity from itself:

It was a faded picture, but incredibly beautiful.  There was much to see in this castle, and you can visit my facebook for more pictures, which largely speak for themselves.
After these two stops, we drove some more in our tour bus to get to the city of Paphos!  The first place we went to here was the Archaeological park.  Amazingly, much of the park is still being excavated, and there are already tons of things to see here.  The only thing we stopped to see were the famous Paphos mosaics.  I have many pictures of these, as they are very beautiful, but I will show you the highlights on this post.
The most notable mosaic perhaps is this one:
Unlike the other mosaics in the House of Dionysus (the site with all the mosaics we saw), this one does not have colored stones.  According to our tour guide, this mosaic is the oldest one in the house.  According to my tour book it was recently discovered in 1977.  The mosaic depicts the sea monster of Greek Mythology known as Scylla.  She is mounted on 5 dog heads (3 of which are visible in the mosaic) and the characteristic tail.  Our tour guide told us that the cross shape in her hand is the mast of a ship (she was known for sinking ships).  It was quite impressive artwork, actually.  
Continuing to some other mosaics we saw this one: 
The peacock was a symbol of early christianity, according to our tour guide.  It was remarkable to look at it!
Another part of the room had many symbols that we would all recognize:
Up in the top right corner you can see the infamous swastika.  Obviously, we all know that Hitler used it as a symbol of his evil regime.  However, in ancient times it was a symbol from Indian religions (according to the guide).  Diagonally from it is the Star of David, used by Israel currently.
Still another side of the room had magnificent mosaics portraying stories of Greek Mythology:
I don't know the particular story depicted here.  The tour guide explained every panel to us but it was a lot of information to absorb.  This picture kind of gives you an idea of the intricacy and artistry of the mosaics here, however.  See my facebook for other stories of Greek Mythology that may be recognizable if you have studied these tales before.
The next picture I want to show you gives one an idea of the scope and size of the mosaics:
This mosaic was big, as were all of them.  The details are not possible to see from this distance unless you are in person or if you zoom in with a camera:

These two pictures give you an idea of the complex geometric patterns that were used in these mosaics. Also, notice how each square of mosaic is an individual stone.  I can only imagine the effort it took to collect all these stones, grind them into the proper shape, and place them so perfectly.  It's unbelievable if you think about the talent and time it must have taken.  These mosaics are truly a monument to human intelligence and artistry.
After a night of enjoying dinner with friends and a morning of chilling around the Paphos coast.  I did some exploring and came upon the Agia Kyriaki church and St. Paul's Pillar, a place I had wanted to see the whole trip.  I found it completely by accident, and was thrilled to explore this place!  
Here is a picture of St. Paul's Pillar:
Legend has it that Paul the Apostle was chained to this pillar and whipped 39 times, until he managed to convince his captor, Sergius Paulus to Christianity (this is according to my tour book, I did not see this place with the guide unfortunately).  It was very emotional for me to be in a place that a legendary founder of my religion had been in just 2000 years ago!  I imagined the pain that Paul must have gone through at this pillar, while being beaten so savagely, and realized how beautiful it was that he endured this and formed enough of a bond with his captor that he was able to convince him of the reality of christianity.  That is a serious act of love for someone most would hate for such brutal suffering.  Truly wonderful place to be in, even though the pillar itself does not look all that impressive.
Around the pillar was the ruins of an old church that had been destroyed, with a newer (but still old) church at the center:


The pillars allow you to imagine how amazing the original church must have looked.  You can also see that there are still mosaic floors that have survived all these years.  It was surreal to be here.
I went inside the newer church and it was equally amazing:
I sat inside and prayed for several minutes, and I was in awe of my God in this place.  The illustrations and the icons inside were absolutely beautiful as was the architecture of the church.  However, what moved me most was the actual church: the people and the work that they are doing:

Though there were no priests/ministers around, these informational fliers were quite informative of the call that these Cypriot Christians have answered to help those who are suffering, in their own community and abroad in places like war-torn Syria.  This type of work is the way that we show the love of Christ to the world.  Jesus spent his life serving the poor, sick, and outcasts of society and it moved me that here on the other side of the world, this ideal of loving the least of these still rings true and is put into practice.  Even with the financial crisis in Cyprus, these people of faith are working to better the world.  Truly amazing, in my opinion.
After leaving this wonderful place, I spent the rest of my time with friends walking around Paphos and we happened upon a wonderful restaurant on the coast that permitted us to watch a picturesque sunset:
The ship and the sunset and the coast and the clouds...just too beautiful.  This looks like the beauty that I imagine will be in heaven someday.  The breeze was amazing and the view and the food and the time I had with my friends!
After this 2 day excursion to Paphos, we started to head back to Nicosia, but not before stopping in the village of Lefkara in the Troodos mountains!
The picture above was the most popular one from the album I posted on facebook, and it really sums up how beautiful and peaceful this village was.  It was not crowded like the tourist towns of Paphos, Ayia Napa, Limasol, and Larnaca.  There were few visible inhabitants, but the culture was apparent.  The streets were narrow and the buildings were archaic but beautifully preserved and still in use!
The coolest thing about Lefkara, however, was the beautiful lace, called Lefkara lace because it originated here in this mountain village of Cyprus.
The designs are intricate and beautiful.  This is just one example of the many pieces that are sold by traditional craftspeople here in the village.  From a young age, the women of Lefkara are taught this ancient art.  I would really like to learn some of the key techniques of Lefkara lace, being a craftswoman myself (knitting specifically but I love all crafts that allow me to create clothing, bracelets, purses, etc.).  However, my internet research has been pretty fruitless and I have seen no books here in Cyprus about it.  Perhaps, it is meant to be secret.  Unfortunately, I have learned that the art of Lefkara lace is dying out due to cheap production of replicas using machines and imports from China.  It is too sad that this is happening.  The skill of the production of the lace is apparent just by looking at it.  It is quite delicate as well.  It is truly amazing that the women of Lefkara are able to make such wonderful pieces of art by hand.  To lose such a craft to machine-made knock-offs would be quite a shame.  I hope I can learn some Lefkara lace techniques someday, not just for self-enjoyment, but to preserve this wonderful craft/art.
So that is a summary of the second excursion I had on my Cyprus trip, just after my second week on the island!  I have much to talk about in entries I will write soon, so stay tuned for more history, archaeology, volunteer-work, information about health-care systems and anatomy, and North Cyprus!
For now, goodnight from Cyprus!
-Julia 

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