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Today we crossed the Green Line and headed into the
Turkish north. The Plain of Morphou (or Güzelyurt
as it is known today) has some of the richest agricultural
land on the island and is noted today for its orange
groves. In ancient times the most important city in
the region was Soloi. The surviving
buildings date to Roman times and include a theatre,
part of the agora and the remains of one of the earliest
Christian basilicas on the island. |
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The
ruins of the agora at Soloi |
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Soloi.
Mosaic floor in the Christian basilica |
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rulers of Soloi aligned themselves with Athens her struggle
for control of the island in the fifth century BC while
the neighbouring city of Marion supported the Persians.
In order to intimidate the people of Soloi, the ruler
of Marion built a fortified palace in the Persian style
at the top of a hill overlooking the town. |
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Looking
east from Vouni |
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palace is a sprawling affair with a number of courtyards
and halls—there are said to have been 137 rooms
in all. An elaborate plumbing system supplied water
to a number of luxurious baths, including a sauna. |
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Vouni.
View of the site |
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main courtyard is reached by a flight of broad steps
that lead down from the principal rooms of the palace.
At the far end is a large cistern with a curious, fiddle-shaped
stone object beside it. It looks for all the world like
a stylized goddess figure (and, in fact, the face of
a woman is carved on its central boss) but it is more
likely to be part of a device for lifting water. |
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Vouni.
Cistern and carved stone |
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Vouni.
The northwest terrace |
Vouni.
View east to Soloi |
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Lunch
at Soli. Ron, Lorna & Toni |
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crossed back over the Green Line in the afternoon and
resumed our tour of painted churches. Perhaps the nicest
was the small church of Panagia tis Asinou,
which contains frescoes dating from the12th to 16th
centuries. |
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Panagia
tis Asinou |
Panagia
tis Asinou |
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Panagia
tis Asinou. Interior |
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Ayios
Ioannis Lampadistis |
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