A walk downtown of Λεμεσός, Κύπρος *by JS*

Errrrrrr.......the greek characters above simply means Limassol, Cyprus and it's pronounced Lemesos, Kypros :)

It was not one of the typical days when I feel bored and decide to go out for a walk........yes, this is not KL or Malaysia for that matter.......another holiday so close to the last holiday in France?? Definitely no my friends........i am actually in Cyprus visiting my sister who fell ill unexpectedly. It happened so fast and especially for me i find it difficult to comprehend as we were just enjoying our holidays in Paris about a month ago and today she is still in ICU...can you believe it!!!

Anyway one afternoon i decided to take a stroll around town to snap some pictures.........so here goes.....nothing fancy.

This is a typical Ottoman architecture. The louvre windows and the narrow balcony. The louvre wooden casement window was where the woman folks would peep through as they were not suppose to show their face in public.

BTW the Ottoman empire lasted from 1299 to 1923 hence it is not uncommon to see remnants of the empire in this part of the world.

This is Limassol castle. Its history goes back to the 12th century. King Richard the lion heart then the king of England actually got married in this castle with his fiancee Berengaria from Sicily and this was also where she received her crown and became the queen of England.

They probably celebrated their wedding with commandaria wine which have been known to be around since 800BC and it's origin is the island of Kypros!! :)

Note the mosaics on the foreground. The ancient greeks were good when it comes to mosaics!

the entrance to the castle........for tourist like me :)

yes, its not the main entrance used by king Richard the lion heart!

The coming of King Richard the lion heart this island marked the end of Byzantine rule in Cyprus around the 12th century.

Limassol castle is not big as one would imagine. its actually small but with a commanding and strategic view of the Mediterranean sea.

The view from the top of the castle. In the distant, you can see Mt Trodos the highest mountain in Cyprus.

This olive tree grows in the compound of the castle. I would estimate this tree to be at least a couple of hundred years old.... probably 500 years old and it's still bearing olive fruits as you can see on the ground!!

The olive tree is symbolic to ancient Cyprus and Greece and the sprigs and leaves are used as a peace offering when there is war or quarrels and one party or both parties want to resolve their differences.......now you know why there are two sprigs of olive leaves on the united nation emblem :)

Talking about marriage, this is the Ekklisea Katholiki which simply means catholic church and this was the church that Dinos the great and Saint Veeny got married :)