Blogs from Limassol, Cyprus, Middle East - page 2

Yes, this is my first visit to Cyprus....discovering the most I can in a truly packed 48 hours...even drinking some local wine! You will not see me lying on any of those beaches....I'm sure they have better one than those I saw, but what I witness here is truly not for me. No luxury hotel here for me, just decent one, as I'm waking up early, go to sleep late, and pack a lot in the middle. I picked my rental car at midnight from Avis. For once over the last few weeks, this car doesn't look like a wreck. My first stop, the little city of Larnaca...interesting place to drive in, most roads are one way, and finding my hotel in the Old Town in the middle of the night is an interesting game! Once ... read more

This was our first trip to Cyprus. This, like Israel, is another divided country. We docked in Limassol, which is the Greek part of the island. The northern part of the island is controlled by Turkey. Our guide, Naflia, said that it has been occupied by the Turks since they invaded in 1974. Even the capitol city of Nicosia is divided by The Green Line which separates the Turkish Cypriots from the Greek Cypriots. Cyprus has fallen on hard times and is in the throes of a terrible financial crisis. This is not so evident to the visiting traveler. We had a private van tour with John and Brooks and Bert and Lani. We went up into the foothills to the lovely village of Omodos, which is a well preserved country town. We ... read more

SEE TEXT IN ENGLISH BELOW 7 de diciembre de 2011 Limasol es la segunda ciudad más grande de Chipre, pero según entraba el autobús en la ciudad, tuve la sensación de que era la primera. Tras pasar las ruinas de la antigua Amathus en una colina junto al mar, se comenzaban a ver los bloques de edificios, y bloques, bloques durante kilómetros. Muchos, se veía, se habían construído para el turismo. Cuando pasamos por el centro histórico ni me enteré, así que me bajé a medio camino del puerto nuevo y tuve que andar hasta el centro, donde estaba el hostal en el que me quería quedar. En realidad era un albergue, de hecho el único albergue de mochileros en el que estuve en la isla. Atendía la recepción un hombre mayor con un tono de ... read more

KOURION There are several sites of interest for visitors around Limassol (15-30 minutes driving distance). First and foremost is the Kourion classical archeological site, one of the best-preserved and most striking remains not only of Cyprus but the Mediterranean in general. Kourion was one of the ancient city-kingdoms of Cyprus, and has remains from Mycenean, Classical Greek, Hellenistic, Roman and Early Byzantine times. ' As one approaches Kourion, one immediately notices its prominent location: on top of a mount, facing the sea, where cliffs meet a beach down below. One of the pictures shows a view from the Kourion site atop the bluff, looking westwards and south; Kourion beach can be clearly seen (not a bad beach from most accounts either). Besides its location, Kourion posseses other attributes, starting with a beautifully preserved (ahem…, well reconstructed) ... read more

Yesterday we did manage to get to a water park. Bill and Wayne did not join us, because they had been up late gambling and drinking the night before and were too tired. So, it was just the girls and the kids. We were a little unsure about the currency in Cyprus, as I don’t think they have totally thrown away their old currency in favour of the Euro. I had nothing to fear, the taxi’s and the water park both gave me prices in Euros right away. I even paid the admission to the park by Visa. The morning was beautiful. The sun was out and it was quite warm with a bit of a wind. The kids had a great time. It is an awesome waterpark. There is a wave pool, and several slides, ... read more