✈EARLY SUMMER ROAD TRIP 4/5: CYPRUS

I never heard about the archeological site of Kourion before to come to Cyprus. Maybe you have not either. But you should! Because what I discovered up there on that hill facing the sea is amazing and a rival to all the ancient city states of mainland Greece, Troy, Egypt and the Middle East.

According Herodotus, the antique kingdom of Kourion was founded by colons from the Greek city of Argos. However, from that time nothing much remains, and the oldest parts you will see in the area belong to the Macedonians kings who swept through the island after the conquests of Alexander and integrated the island into the Hellenistic world.

^{I went to that beach afterwards. Splendid!}

The site of Kourion is huge and, had it not been for the scorching sun, I would gladly have spent five hours there walking around those remains of a once formidable and prosperous city, which, as you can see, had an enviable control over the sea and over the fertile plains below.

^{Entrance of the site}

As soon as you pay your ticket and enter the site, you are confronted by a huge canopy, which protects the visitors and the ruins of the so-called House of Eustolios.

It dates from the early Roman period (IIIrd century BC) and Eustolios seemed the master of the house, as indicated by a mosaic inscription, and his abode had nothing humble: it had its own drainage and sewage system and was richly adorned with mosaics representing christian and pagan symbols at the same time.

As soon as you go out, you will be attracted by the Amphitheater. A small one, by all account, which can host 3000 persons. However, it has almost nothing left from the original amphitheater, destroyed at regular intervals (like many buildings here) by the earthquakes which rock the island periodically.

Then, it's up to you. As you can see, the site is rich. Kourion under the Macedonian and Roman rules was a self-sufficient city, with its own agora, baths, stores and houses.

Due to the earthquakes and the socio-political changes, Kourion changed a lot over the ages, hence the christian basically. You can still see its foundations and walls. It proudly faced the sea.

And its ground was covered with rich and intricate mosaics.

The baths were donated by the same Eustolios as before. You can see them there: the flat bricks pillars supported the ground of the baths.

At the far end of the site, you can also find the House of the Gladiators. It was maybe really a house to train gladiators, or maybe just a private house decorated with the striking mosaics of gladiators.