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SAVOURING CYPRUS by
Derrick Hurlin
Larnaca picture
courtesy http://www.alfredrichter.de/
pg. 1 - Intro to Cyprus
and the South East Island journey
Cyprus, an island to be savoured. A
stodgy diet of 10,000-year history? That's what Jenn and I expected
after reading up about Cyprus. We didn't fancy such one-dimensional
fare, so we set out to find the other flavours of Cyprus.
Larnaka, on the south coast, was a good place to start. In our hire
car, we drove from the airport into town past the vast salt lake, dry
at this time of the year, but home to millions of flamingos in Spring.
Our first venture was to explore the coastline East of Larnaka. Not
all that scenic - rather flat and, at the tail end of summer, brown-dry.
At the east end of the south coast, we came to the carefree holiday
town of Agia Napa. Here was the Relaxed Cyprus. Everyone walked around
in tropical things, obviously enjoying the beach and the sunshine.
Round the end of the south-east peninsula, Cape Ghreko, and a stop at
Fig Tree Bay for our picnic lunch. Such a beautiful spot, looking out
over the bay, with water-skiers etching lines of white across the Mediterranean
blue. A few kilometres further north, and we were stopped at the Turkish
Cypriot border. We turned around, and that was the start of an exploration
that took us along the whole south coast, and up the east coast as far
as the other end of the border.
That afternoon, back in Larnaka, we thought we'd better go and see something
old! There is a very good archaeological site right in Larnaka, called
Ancient Kitio. A very well kept and presented excavation, dating back
to 1300 BC. It was here that we savoured the Ancient Cyprus, which is
so rich in ancient and mediaeval sites. I'll select a few of the best
to describe. Kitio is not a very big site, and there are wooden walkways
with explanatory boards - in Greek and English - to guide visitors.
Looking for Kitio, we learned two things. First, streets in Cyprus towns
are sparingly labelled with names, so throughout the trip, we asked
- and asked - for directions. Secondly, Cypriots can't read maps!
next page - pg. 2 -
Larnaka on foot and at Night
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