June 7, 2008 Trip to the Ruins for Laurel

It never rains but it pours! I don't usually do enough to write this often, but today was certainly worth mentioning. I only lament that we weren't allowed to take photos since our walk was actually on the base at Akrotiri.
We met up at 9am to go on to the base (it only took about 40 minutes to drive there from Kouklia), then put half the cars at the end and all drove in the rest of the cars to the archaeological office where we started with a very interesting talk. Apparently there are three important geological sites on Cyprus; two being the Kyrenia Mountains and the other range on the Akamas Peninsula, which are considered to be ordinary. The Troodos mountains in the centre of the island were apparently formed by being pushed up thousands of feet from below the earth, and the top of the mountains have the formations coming from the deepest point. This is why one can find seashells in the mountains.
The walk took us to a pre-Christian temple below ground, Roman settlement ruins, then out to see the tombs carved into the cliffs (all of which have been plundered, but worth seeing). Piling into the cars we had strategically left, we finally got to the Officers' Mess around 1pm for a very welcome cold drink and a lovely lunch before heading back home.
It was such a windy day. The good part is that we didn't get too hot. The bad part is that I was covered in sand from head to foot. So, a quick load in the laundry and for me a refreshing dip in the pool, and all is well.
Again, I wish I could send photos of all we saw, but with all there is around here, there is still tons to see for those of you who venture out.
Tomorrow, after Church, I am out for lunch and dinner (apparently a fisherman's feast - yum) then Natalie is arriving on Wednesday from England, and Adam on Thursday from Cairo. They are here for a week, so I will let you know about some of the places we go. I will definitely take pictures.
Bye for now.
Love,
Laurel