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Kourion
An entry from journal, by Helen Tanhaie
About this visit
Short summary:
Kourion is an archaeological ruin of an ancient city set on top of a breath taking cliff top with views over the turquoise waters of the Mediterranean sea and the city of Limassol. The site includes an Amphitheatre with views over the sea and beautiful Roman mosaics.
What I experienced here
Kourion is an archaeological ruin of an ancient city set on top of a breath taking cliff top with views over the turquoise waters of the Mediterranean sea and the city of Limassol. The site is very large covering about a quarter of a mile square and the site lies within the Aktrotiri Sovereign Base Area, which forms part part of the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia. Much of it is in ground level ruin condition but there are a few columns that remain erect. The main part to see is the Amphitheatre which has about the best sea view of any other in the world. There are a lot Roman mosaics which in many cases have been protected from the Sun by a cover which provides welcome shade for the visitors from the mid day sun.
Many artifacts were removed from Kourion by , Luigi Palma di Cesnola, in the late 19th century who served as Consul to Cyprus for the United States. These were transported to the U.S. where they formed the bulk of the first exhibition of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art Some are still on exhibition today. Thousands of other pieces however were sold to Stanford University and were destroyed by an earthquake that hit California in 1906. A third portion of this collection ended up at the Semitic Museum at Harvard University.
Photos
Last updated date
Friday, September 20, 2013 - 09:21
