Month: November 2015

Amathous is one of the significant ancient city-kingdoms of Cyprus where, according to mythology, Greek hero Theseus left the pregnant Ariadne to be attended by local women. It was also an important site of worship of the Goddess Aphrodite-Astarte.

There are various, rich archaeological finds at the site, including the Agora, the public baths, the Temple of Aphrodite, early Christian basilicas and several tombs.

The Agora is located in the lower town. In ancient times, it was the traditional hub for commercial and political activities, and the many buildings surrounding it, played an important role in the daily life of the city. During the Roman period, the Agora was organised around a large stone-paved court. Three porticos occupy the other three sides. The west portico opened to the court through 13 Doric columns, and ended at its north edge at a fountain (or a Nympheum), and at a later cistern. Buildings were erected behind the north portico – which is very damaged – and appear to have constituted the most important administrative or religious buildings of the site.

The area south of the Agora is occupied by a public bath (balaneion), which is comprised of a closed circular area and annexes. The bath – along with part of the west portico of the Agora – date to the Hellenistic period, and constitute the earliest indications of human activity in the area.

Also at the site is the Temple of Aphrodite, sat atop of a hill at the Acropolis of Amathous. Evidence of the presence of a sanctuary in the area includes votive offerings going back to the mid 8th century BC. Through the centuries, the Temple of Aphrodite was a sacred enclosed space for ceremonies and votive offerings around an altar. There may have been other buildings in the area, but the cult itself was not housed in a main building.

Two gigantic stone craters (huge monolith vessels) – believed to be of the late Archaic period stood in the area. One was taken to the Paris Louvre in the middle of the 19th century and has now been replaced by a modern replica.

It is also believed that there were two other temples at the Acropolis of Amathous – one dedicated to Adonis and the other to Hercules.

Finds also originate from several tombs and date from the Archaic to the Roman and Christian periods, were found at the Acropolis and the lower section of the town, and in five early Christian basilicas.

The site is also linked to the Aphrodite Cultural Route.

Located on Cape Gata, 15km west of Lemesos (Limassol) and south-east of Akrotiri Salt Lake, the monastery of Agios Nikolaos ton Gaton (St. Nicholas of the Cats) is possibly the oldest monastery in Cyprus. The monastery chapel dates back to the 14th century and was abandoned in the 16th century. It was reinstated by Orthodox nuns in 1983.

According to tradition, the monastery was founded by St. Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine the Great, who left a piece of wood from the Holy Cross at the site. During that period, Cyprus experienced a severe drought, forcing many people to flee the cape and the area became infested by snakes.

Constantine the Great sent a commander called Kalokeros to Cyprus to release thousands of cats in order to rid the area of the snakes, and thus the cape was saved and came to be known as Cape Gata (Cape Cat).

Whilst the monastery has just a handful of nuns now, there are many cats, which are said to be the descendants of those who rid the area of snakes.

* The monastery’s church is termporaily closed due to technical issues.  The rest of the monastery is open for visiting.

The Old Carob Mill was built in 1900, at a time when carobs were a major export of the island, and were used to make a wide variety of products such as photographic film plates, medicines, sweets and chocolates.

Divided into a complex of two distinct areas, the first area consists of the restored Carob Mill – where the machinery used in processing the carobs is preserved and displayed – and the second area houses the Evagoras Lanitis Centre – an arts and exhibition area.