Female: The atmosphere of Limassol, the second largest city of Cyprus is Turkish rather than Greek. Besides the traditional fruit and grape processing, tourism plays an ever growing part in the life of the community. This is where the ship carrying, the fiancé and sister of Richard the Lionhearted was shipwrecked in a storm in 1191. The treatment that the princess received prompted the king to disembark and avenge it on the Byzantine ruler. Richard and Berengaria were married in the chapel of the port of Limassol. Although at that time they didn’t have video recordings, we can still see the event on film in one of the main attractions of the city, the so called time elevator that was built in the – complex behind the fort. The time elevator is basically a panorama movie with surround sound and moving seats. The cars in which we embark on our time travel move in accordance to the 45 minute story. Of course, we can see the resurrection of Lazarus and Aphrodite rising from the sea.
After portraying the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine eras, the film shows us how Richard the Lionhearted sold the island to Guy de Lusignan in 1191. This marked the beginning of the Franc era which was followed by the Venetian rule from 1489. 1571 marked the beginning of the Ozman era that was followed by English rule between 1878 and 1960. The rest is the recent past that can still be witnessed today. Opposite the time elevator is a huge shop called the Sea Sponge Center. We can see here everything and anything that the sea has to offer as well as live performances.
Male: The sponge has this black coloring, like this one here. It’s part of the sponge otherwise, we keep them in – with the sponge out of the sea, it destroys the sponge. It’s very hard. For this reason we – it’s very difficult for us to bleach. After we have to remove the stones and shells from the root, put in the bleach about seven to eight hours and destroy the stones of the shells. After when we take it out, it’s like this one. No stones, no shells in the roots. If you want to change the natural color, we put in the bleach.
Female: An incredible amount of sponges and sea cucumbers are on display here. These are later disinfected, whitened in a chloride solution and then turned into bathing sponges. They also sell seashells and other shelled creatures, treasures found in the sea, souvenirs and natural cosmetics made of natural marine materials. Among the items exhibited, we can fine ships propellers, petrified anchors and 200 year old scuba diving gear. Captain Cousteau himself smiles at us at the entrance. If you’re looking for something more useful than the good old boring souvenirs then this is the place for you.
Kourion only 19km from Limassol has been the most spectacular archeological site of Cyprus since excavations started in 1880. The ancient city was already mentioned in Egyptian inscriptions in the 13th century BC. According to Homer, it was founded by soldiers returning from the Trojan War. The archaeological excavations confirmed the island’s connection with the Greek mainland. There are signs that there was a cult of Apollo here. Kourion remained a significant city even under Roman rule but due to multiple earthquakes later became desolate. From the seats of the theater nesting amid the slopes of the hill, you can see the surrounding landspace and the sparkling sea in the distance.
Further interesting sights of the vast excavation can be seen in the former city center northwest of the theater. This is where the ruins of the 70m long paleo Christian basilica with three aisles and a christening chapel on its eastern side can be seen. The Nymphameau stands close to the old Roman forum. This is where the well house and the indispensable public bath stood. Although it’s hard to tell from the ruins, archeologists swear that they have found signs of floor heating, pools with cold, lukewarm and warm water and many massage and changing rooms. The foundations, flooring and magnificent mosaics of several ancient houses can still be seen today.