At the suggestion of several friends, we recently took a bus trip to the ancient site of Kourion. Our guidebook made it sound not worth it, but lots of Cypriots have told us they love it there. (Pro tip: always have friends to tell you stuff!) Kourion has been occupied from Mycenean times (ca. 1400 BCE), and probably much earlier. Located high on a promontory, the view is amazing. There’s a (reconstructed) theatre, a big and beautiful agora with an early Christian basilica, an impressive bath complex, and several underrated mosaics. Plus, you can’t beat the views. Which – thanks to not having our own car – we were able to enjoy the whole hike up!
We are not professional archaeologists, but – by accidentally hanging out with them – we do know more than most people visiting Classical sites. So it is always fun for us to eavesdrop on other tourists who make things up to tell each other. (This is what we do in non-classical sites, so no judgment from us!) We followed around an especially energetic group of Spaniards who assured each other that they understood everything about the mechanics of under-ground water heating. And then we lost interest in them, and focused our attention on the mosaics.
The mosaics are not as famous as many, even others in Cyprus, but we loved them. And the House of Eustolius – built earlier, and altered in the third century CE was fantastic, with lots of great inscriptions, courtyards, and a small bath complex. It’s a great example of religious syncretism, with an Apollo inscription plunked right next to Christian imagery.
We also enjoyed the bath and the arches, both pictured below.
And then – because pretending to be archaeologists is thirsty work, we walked down to Kourion Beach. And there, we had a lovely seaside lunch. We’re suckers for fish meze, but this time we had a ‘fish platter’ which is more or less fish meze brought out all at the same time. Helpful, actually: this setup provides more up-front data for calculating how much circumference you will be adding to yourself. There are several restaurants right on the water, so you can eat near the salt spray. The views of the nearby cliffs were spectacular, and we felt well-rewarded for our efforts.
