Sky Hawk

Looking at Earth from sky, at least for me, is always an excited experience. Griffon Aviation (http://www.griffonaviation.com/, operating on Paphos airport) gives you the opportunity for a pleasure fly to admire the island. (They are organizing also training flights.) You’ll realize how arid Cyprus is. Despite this, many villas plots are erected everywhere. (And even a wind farm was constructed – a little strange thinking that here the sun is on the sky almost all year round.) And if you are lucky, you can see the landing of a commercial plane from the tarmac and the takeoff from the air, being close to airport.

Limassol Castle

The Medieval Castle of Limassol is situated near the old harbor in the heart of the historical centre of the city.

The original castle was built by Guy Lusignan in 1193 and was surrendered to the Knights of Jerusalem in1308. The castle suffered serious damage in 1373, when Genoese conquered the castle and burnt the city. It was sufficiently restored at the end of the 14th century to withstand renewed attacks by the Genoese in 1402 and 1408. In the 1413 the castle survived the first attacks of the Marmelukes. Severe damage, however, caused by earthquakes a little later, resulted in its conquest in 1425 by the Marmelukes in their second attack of the city. In 1491 a new intense earthquake seriously damaged the castle. Extensive reconstruction was undertaken at beginning of the 16th century. In 1538 the Turks captured Limassol and the Castle. The Venetian governor of Cyprus, Bragadino, after winning the battle, decided to demolish the castle to prevent its possible recapture. The earthquakes of 1567/8 speeded up its gradual destruction. After the Ottomans acquired Cyprus in 1576 the remains of the Castle were incorporated in the new Ottoman fort which was strengthened its walls measuring 2m. in thickness. The underground chamber and the first floor were transformed into prison cells and remained in use until 1950.

The castle is a must stop when you visit the Limassol old town.

Kykkos Monastery

The Holy Monastery of the Virgin of Kykkos was founded around the end of the 11th century by the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos (1081 - 1118).

According to tradition, hermit Esaias was living in a cave on the mountain of Kykkos. One day, the Byzantine governor of the island Manuel Voutoumites, who was spending the summer at a village of Marathasa because of the heat of the season, went into the forest to hunt. Having lost his way in the forest he met Esaias and asked him to show him the way. The hermit who was not interested in the things of this world would not answer his questions. Voutoumites got angry at the monk's indifference and maltreated him.

Not long after, when Voutoumites returned to Nicosia, he fell ill with an incurable illness. In his terrible condition he remembered how inhumanly he had treated the hermit Esaias and asked God to cure him so that he might go to ask the hermit personally for forgiveness. And this came to pass. But God had appeared in front of the hermit and revealed to him that the very thing that had happened had been planned by the divine will and advised him to ask Voutoumites to bring the icon of the Virgin, that had been painted by the Apostle Luke, to Cyprus.

The icon was kept in the imperial palace at Constantinople. When Voutoumites heard the hermit's wish he was taken aback because he considered such a thing impossible. Then Esaias explained to him that it was a matter of divine wish and they agreed to travel together to Constantinople for the realization of their aim.

Time was passing and Voutoumites could not find the right opportunity to present himself in front of the emperor and ask for the icon. For this reason he provided Esaias with other icons and other necessary things and sent him back to Cyprus, at the same time placating him that he would soon see the emperor. By divine dispensation the daughter of the emperor had fallen ill with the same illness that had struck Voutoumites. The latter grasped the opportunity and went to see the emperor Alexios. He recounted to him his personal experience with the monk Esaias and assured him that his daughter would be cured if he sent to Cyprus the holy icon of the Virgin. In his desperation the emperor, seeing that he had no other option, agreed. His daughter became well instantly. The emperor, however, not wanting to be parted from the icon of the Virgin, called a first-class painter and ordered him to paint an exact copy of the icon with the aim of sending this one to Cyprus.
In the evening the Mother of God herself appears in a dream of the emperor's and tells him that her wish is for her icon to be sent to Cyprus and for the copy to be kept by the emperor. On the following day the royal boat with the icon of the Virgin departed for Cyprus where Esaias was awaiting for it. During the procession of the icon from the coast to the Troodos mountains, according to legend, the trees, participating in the welcoming ceremonies, were piously bending their trunks and branches. With patronage provided by the emperor Alexios Komnenos a church and monastery were built at Kykkos, where the icon of the Virgin was deposited.

The Town of the Cats

Over time, I have had the chance to visit several towns around the world. You can find, in many of them, unknown emblems: the “community pets”. Let count: dogs in Bucharest, swans in Prague, rabbits in Dresden, crows in Tokyo, and so on. Limassol is the town of the cats.

Camel Park

No so long time ago, camels were common in Cyprus. Even today you can take a short ride at Camel Park, near Mazodos (on Larnaca-Limassol shore road). You can spend here a nice day, enjoying not only the ride, but also, a small museum, farm friendly animals, Cypriot food and a cooling pool.

Limassol Art Promenade

Molos is the well-known Limassol Promenade. It is a place usually crowded by tourist and locals. Many attractions are on this 2 km-long esplanade (ideal for walk, fishing and relax). Here is a big open-air art exhibition. Stone, metal, wood, water and even air, gray and colors, strange and usual, all are present. Take a walk and look around! (See more photos at Art Promenade.)

OMODOS - The Village of the Holy Cross

Omodos is a wine-producing village. It can be admires for its gravel-paved central square and its rich architecture.

According to tradition, the village accepted the Christian faith around 150 AD. One night, the inhabitants saw a great fire and after search the area, they discover a small cross hidden in a cave. A chapel was build near the cave and with the passing of time a monastery was built to accommodate the pilgrims who sought cure from the Holy Cross. The history of the Monastery of the Holy Cross is long and dates back to 327 AD when Agia Eleni (Saint Helen) visited the island.

Eastern Mediterranean See

A culture which draws on Mediterranean Europe, the Middle East, and 9000 years of constant invasion: Phoenicians, Assyrians, Egyptians, Persians, Greeks Romans French crusaders, Genoese, Venetians, Turks, British… Crusader castles rub shoulders with ancient vineyards, frescoed monasteries overlook citrus orchards, and sandy, sun-soaked feet tread Roman mosaic floors… The birthplace and centre of worship of Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love and Beauty… Picturesque harbor, long, sandy beaches, charming villages in its mountains (here life has gone unchanged over the years), famous monasteries… 800.000 inhabitants and many more tourists every year.

Kopiaste! Welcome to Cyprus!

Seven

Our lives are made up of Seven Vital Areas: Health, Family, Financial, Intellectual, Social, Professional, and Spiritual. If (not daily), we spend a sufficient quantity and quality of time in each area, our lives will be in balance. But if we neglect any one area, never mind two or three, we will eventually sabotage our success. Much like a table, if one leg is longer than the rest, it will make the entire table wobbly. If we don't take time for health, our family life and social life are hurt. If our financial area is out of balance, we will not be able to focus adequately on our professional goals, etc. Each of us as going around with a big book under our arm, and it has seven chapters, on each of the seven vital areas. And every day we add a new page to each chapter. We are writing the story of our lives. What do we like to say about our health life, on the last day of our life? What would we like to say about our family life on the last day of our life? … And the only reason we focus on the last day of life is that on that day, we cannot change the book. Time heals all wounds. It doesn't matter what's "broke" in our lives; maybe you have some social issues, some financial issues, with time, we have a high probability of fixing those deficiencies. But on the last day of our lives, there's no more time, and the story has been told.

Love

Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others include Love. One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all repaired their boats and left. Love wanted to persevere until the last possible moment. When the island was almost sinking, Love decided to ask for help.

Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said, "Richness, can you take me with you?" Richness answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you."

Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel, "Vanity, please help me!" "I can't help you Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat." Vanity answered.

Sadness was close by so Love asked for help, "Sadness, let me go with you." "Oh... Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!"

Happiness passed by Love too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her!

Suddenly, there was a voice, "Come Love, I will take you." It was an elder. Love felt so blessed and overjoyed that he even forgot to ask the elder his name. When they arrived at dry land, the elder went his own way.

Love realizing how much he owed the elder and asked Knowledge, another elder, "Who helped me?" "It was Time," Knowledge answered. "Time?" asked Love. "But why did Time help me?" Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, "Because, only Time is capable of understanding how great Love is."

[Source: Internet]