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| Shopping for a Greek Orthodox Monastery |
Cyprus lays almost equidistant from Asia (Turkey), Africa
(Libya), and Europe (Greece). This location subjected it to numerous battles
for ownership of the strategic point in the Mediterranean Sea.
The name Cyprus originates from Coupros, which is Greek for
copper. Cyprus was the largest producer of copper in ancient times, and its
fame as major copper mine translated in the name that has outlasted ancient
civilizations. Cyprus is also covered with – guess what – Cypress trees!
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| Persian Lilac Tree |
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| Tulip Tree |
Cypriots speak Greek since 3000 years; however the Island
has been inhabited since over 10.000 years with evidence of habitation dating
from Stone, Copper and Bronze Ages. Cyprus has suffered through major wars,
lately WWII and its destruction; and today Turkey and Cyprus still do not agree
who owns what. Cypriot is mostly Greek, with a minority of Turks, and a whole
melange of other nationalities mixed in today.
In 1191 Richard the Lionhearted married his Queen Berengaria
in Limassol, his castle still stands albeit somewhat re-constructed. The prison
cells of the castle were in use until 1950 – not that long ago.
The Byzantines built numerous churches and monasteries in
the mountains of Cyprus; many almost perfectly preserved icons and frescoes
adorn their cool and dark interiors.
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| Stone Roof Structure of Byzantine Church |
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| Ancient Woodcarving and Icons |
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| Frescoes telling the Life of Jesus |
Roman and Greek tombs form a necropolis, where deep
underground temples and tunnels make for eerie exploring.
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| Necropolis on the Beach |
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| Tunnels to Eternity |
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| Entrance to Hades |
A little further back in time, when the Greek Gods still
cavorted in this glorious part of the Mediterranean, Aphrodite/Venus – Goddess of Love and Beauty –
emerged from the sea foam on Petra tou Rominou, a pebbly and rocky beach on the
West side of Cyprus.
It was not a gentle and peaceful impregnation and pregnancy
of the lovely lady, eternalized in Botticelli’s famous painting, where she
stands on a sea shell surrounded by her maidens. Her long hair is seen
cascading over her freshly born body.
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| Aphrodite/Venus was born right there on that little rock on the beach |
Uranos, God of the heavens, and Gaia, Goddess of the Earth,
(hence: gaiagraphy, or better known as geography the science of the earth) were
married. He, like his son Chronos of Zeus’ daddy’s fame, was in the habit of
eating his children, the Titans, whom he kept in his belly. Gaia had enough of
that, and literally cut this habit short by cutting off Urano’s offending body
part. She threw the God’s penis into the sea, and the blood formed foam which
floated around in the Seas for ages, until it found lovely Cyprus. There, on
the beach of Petra tou Rominou, the foam transformed itself into Aphrodite, the
loveliest Goddess of them all – until she was defeated in a beauty contest,
where Paris judged Helen superior in beauty. Aphrodite was not amused. But
Paris and Helen went off to Gydion, where I spent some time a couple of days
ago, to consummated the victory under the pine trees of a small island.
As I said earlier, one has to travel with a book of Greek
Myth, as all these seductive islands are the living backdrop of ancient tales
of love, glory, death and magic.
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| Party Boy Dionysos |
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| Hunting BBQ Beef |
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| Hunting for One Horsepower Car |
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| Hunting Kitties |
Dionysos, the God of Wine, Women and Song, cavorted around
here as well – no wonder, the Cypriot wine is delicious. A luxurious mansion in
an ancient Roman city in the village of Pafos shows his partying mood in almost
perfectly persevered stone floor mosaics. It also proves that Cypriots – or their
Gods – were accomplished hunters and ball players – apart from always falling
in love, spurned or otherwise, with all kinds of Goddesses and Earthlings. Cupids
fly around among the mosaic carpet, seducing everything in sight. Almost all
Godly ‘objects of desire’ finally succumbed, except for one example: The Nymph Daphne,
whose father turned her into a tree, to save her, a sworn virgin, from the
amorous advances of Triton – the fellow with the three pronged fork who rules
the seas. Since then we have the Daphne tree, otherwise known as Bay Leaf,
which we now use to season stews.
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| Do you come here often??? |
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| Got another one!!! |
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| Daphne with her Tree Trunk Bottom |
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| Delivering Groceries |
Priapus, the God of Virility I guess, the one with the big…….,
is always preceded by his perpetually exited body part. Viagra of Olympus must
have been working and produced very much desired permanent side effects. His
stories are mostly X-rated, but I am sure, Wikipedia will enlighten interested
parties.
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| Oxens looking bored |
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| One for the Road to Olympus! |
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| Goddess with Red Shoes |
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| Where is the Aspirin? |
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| House Pets |
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| Dionysos Cruising around with his buddies, including his Satyr on the left... |
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| Priapus and Venus on the Half Shell |
These Gods are deliciously confusing, and intriguingly interconnected,
and appear just about on every speck of island in the Mediterranean.
