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If ever there was a destination made for me, this was it. Cyprus is cram packed, almost to embarrassing levels, with history. Every mile there is a site that most countries would be happy to have one of. The name Cyprus actually comes from the word for copper, again a source of wealth for a whole island. It has a population of 752,000 in an area of 3,572 sq miles and most importantly all year round sunshine.
Here's just a taste of its rich past. 8,500BC the first humans appear on the south coast, 3,500 BC they were mining copper, 2,500BC the Bronze Age was off and running, 1,600BC fortresses were built, 1,400BC Hellenisation started, 1,000BC the Assyrians arrive. Then the Egyptians, then the Persians. 56BC the Romans move in, give it away and then take it back again but in 4AD Christianity took hold. 350AD the Byzantine period flourished, 1191 the Crusaders came and went, 1878 Britain buys it for a rent of £92,799 but in 1960 it becomes independent. Not bad eh?
We travelled from east to west along the southern coast of the island, starting in Larnaka. The fort there has changed hands more times than a pound coin. Built by the Turks in 1625 it was once used by the British as a prison. Executions were carried out in the court yard. Today it is a museum.
Just around the corner is the 9th Century Agios Lazaros or the church of St Lazaros who, having been raised from the dead, is said to have become the Bishop of Larnaka. It is also the only church that the Moors allowed to have a taller tower than the surrounding mosques.
West towards Lemesos or Limassol stripped down the side of a steep hill is the Aceramic village of Khirokitia near Choirokoitia. THIS IS FANTASTIC (although why am I saying that, I haven't even got to Paphos yet!). The Aceramic people, as the name suggests, lived without pottery 5000 years ago. They built simple round stone huts and buried their dead under the living room floor. It is almost unbelievable how much of this village is still there today and in a typically Greek way it is almost totally ignored. There is a strange wide stone wall that runs up the centre of the village. Your guess as to why is as good as mine. Perhaps they kept the Greeks and Turks apart even in those days! Not.
Just outside Limassol is Kolossi Castle. The castle has always had a strong connection with the Crusaders. Built in 1291 by the Knights Hospitaller of St John of Jerusalem (they crop up time and time again don't they? See Malta). They engaged in a tug of war over the castle with the Knights Templar and finally won with a bit of help from the Pope in 1311. The whole of Cyprus was taken and later sold by another famous Crusader Richard the Lionheart in 1191. Kolossi was renovated by the British during the last century and stands today one of the finest castles you might happen across anywhere.
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