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| After
two nights in Larnaka, we drove west to Limassol, stopping
to examine the extensive remains of the Neolithic village
at Khirokitia. The site was a large
one, consisting of several dozen circular houses crowded
together within a massive stone enclosure wall. |
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Khirokitia.
View of the Neolithic Village |
Khirokitia.
Modern Reconstruction |
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| We
spent the rest of the day exploring the ancient city
of Amathus, which is located just east
of Limassol on the south coast of the island. Amathus
was the most important settlement of the native ‘Etiocypriote’
population of the Classical period—although most
of what survives is Roman in date. |
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Amathus.
View of the Agora from the acropolis |
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| The
dominant feature at Amathus is its acropolis, the upper
city. The easily fortified hill was undoubtedly the
site of the original settlement and the home to the
great goddess who protected it. Her original name is
unknown but by Classical times she was firmly identified
with Aphrodite. In Late Antiquity, the temple was replaced
by a Christian basilica but little remains apart from
the foundations. Like all of the coastal cities of antiquity,
Amathus suffered severely at the hands of Arab raiders
in the 7th and 8th centuries and was abandoned as its
inhabitants sought safety inland. |
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Amathus.
Site of the Temple of Aphrodite |
Amathus.
Opus sectile paving of the basilica |
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| Excavations
in the area of the agora (the city market) have produced
the remains of bath houses and a well-preserved water
system |
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Amathus.
Lorna & Bob at the North Portico of the Agora |
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Amathus.
Stone water conduit leading from the Nymphaeum |
Amathus.
Ron |
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| While
at Limassol, we visited the Archaeological Museum and
explored part of the old Turkish Quarter, including
Limassol Castle where Richard Coeur de Lion is supposed
to have married the princess Berengaria of Navarre. |
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Looking
out of the keep at Limassol Castle |
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