Another glorious day in Cyprus and this time I had a great time with Catherine Galea and her 9 year old daughter Sophia.

Catherine picked me up at the St. Raphael Resort and Marina and we drove a bit before we got to an ancient city of Cyprus which was Amathous,

What I learned about Amathous is that its first foundation dates to 11th c. BC. It’s position, approximately in the center of the south coastline of Cyprus, ensured its involvement in the wide trading network between the East and the West. Through the movement of people and goods to and from the harbor, the city was host to a wide range of ideas and artistic influences.

Like other autonomous polities of Iron Age Cyprus, Amathous continued until the end of the 4th c. BC when the polities were abolished by the successors of Alexander the Great. After that, Amathous was under the rule of Ptole-mies and then from 58 BC onwards under the Romans.

Following the disastrous earthquakes of the 4th c. AD and the introduction of Christianity, a new era was ushered in, which lasted until the 7th-8th c. AD. At this time, the city was abandoned and turned into a larger ruinous site, known to the locals as “old Lemesos.”

Here are some images of the ancient city. The one thing that bothered me about a visit to the ancient site is that there were no distinguishing labels to let me know what I was looking at. None. I found that very odd and felt that this should be rectified.

The photos….

So I look forward to returning to Cyprus one day and meeting up with Catherine and her lovely daughter Sophia again!