I am going home.....*by JS*

I have been away for about 2 weeks now......and Saint Veeny(my sister) is alas on the road to recovery and should be discharged tomorrow.........there were moments of anxiety but good doctors and faith in god pulled her through at the end of the day......So its now time for me to go home.........and one more post before i start my journey tomorrow. This post will be about some pictures i took and places i visited in Cyprus albeit the tight schedule.

colorful buildings and windows and doors are a norm in Cyprus.

This was Limassol library. It is being converted to Limassol university library. Used to be some sort of palace!

Arnother view of Limassol castle. Remember i told you guys the significance of this castle......well, if you like history around the Byzantine to Crusaders era, then you will enjoy visiting the many historical sites in Cyprus.

well, much of Cyprus is countryside so you do get quite stunning views and landscapes. Its winter now but i assume it would be nicer in the summer.

This is actually a very old prunned olive tree. Cyprus is famous for it's cold pressed virgin olive oil and in actual fact the whole island is planted with olive trees and some of the trees are almost 1000 years old.....and still bearing fruits!!!

This was actually part of the port structure of Amathus. The ancient city of Amathus dates back to BC. It's history is kind of mix of myth and facts but it's existence is real for sure.

On the right hand side you can see the archeological excavation of part of Amathus. Note the Greek columns.

Amathus was actually quite a large city in it's time. On this hilltop you can see find the old mosaic design on the floor and on this very hill was the temple of Aphrodite!!

Limassol is also a popular destination for tourist in the summer as it has a very long beach facing the Mediterranean sea.

do you see what i see???

yes, it's a pussycat!!

Infact the whole island is full of cats!

History has it that St Helena came to Cyprus around 400AD. She noticed the island was deserted(from a long drought) and the place was infested with snakes. On her return from Constantinople (Istanbul today) she brought with her ship loads of cat and left them on the island to get rid of the snakes. Today there is a church called St Nicholas of the cats and it's situated on the southern most tip of Cyprus neat to Kolossi castle........yes, and the church is full of cats which are probably decendants of the cats brought by St Helena.

It was also a known fact that St Helena brought part of the cross of Christ and left it in a church cum monastery which she built in Cyprus.......I have actually been to this monastery which sits precariously on a hill near to Larnaca and it's call Stavrovouni monastery.....and i have personally seen and touch this piece of the cross. It's wrapped in some metal sheet probably to prevent it from decomposing!!

Cyprus is an interesting place don't you think?? i can actually go on and on with more stories.......but it's late now and i need to retire :)