History
Cyprus has one of the oldest recorded histories in the world including many episodes of invasion and settlement. It was claimed by Alexander the Great in the fourth century and then came under Roman possession. In 1191, Richard the Lionheart took control while on crusade. He later sold the island to Lusignans who ruled for 300 years. It then fell under the Ottomans until the British arrived in 1878. Shown below (from top left clockwise) are some of the historical places I enjoyed most. The Cyprus Museum in South Nicosia (Lefkosia) boasts this semicircle of terracotta figures from the seventh century BC showing tall warrriors at the back reducing in size down to tiny demon-servants and snakes. We enjoyed a few hours at the ancient city of Salamis which had all the trappings of a Roman settlement including a colonnaded Palaestra (middle). The ruins of the medieval abbey at Bellapais were very evocative (much more so than the now dilapidated house where Lawrence Durrell wrote about life on the island in Bitter Lemons of Cyprus). Poor Hippolytos looks embarrassed while reading the love letter from his stepmother Phaedra in this wonderful mosaic at Pafos.
Food and drink
The Cypriot diet is somewhat determined by whether you’re in the north or the south of the island. In the north it’s possible to get slightly bitter black Turkish tea, whereas in the south you can easily order a pot of Earl Grey. The photos show a seafood platter served in Polis, a feta and dill scone taken in the garden of a north Nicosia bookshop, a cake from a patisserie in Famagusta, a market stall supporting the Mediterranean diet, an Turkish coffee served with a glass of water, Ottoman sherbet (and under the middle pot were two cubes of Turkish delight).
the writer is a lonely hunter 