2019 Cyprus - Day 7 Really Old Ruins and Crafty Villages

We did not have far to drive today, so decided to wind our way slowly back to Larnaka, visiting villages and an archeological site.

The Old Town harbor is fringed with hotels serving the beach-loving Europeans who flock to Cyprus for surf and sun. The historic core is wrapped around a castle that, according to tradition, hosted the wedding of Richard the Lionheart to Berengaria of Naverre after he conquered Cyprus in 1191. The current 14th century structure was built over a Byzantine castle, which in turn was built over an early Christian basilica. (I know, I know. So Cyprus.)

A fine highway connects Lemesos and Lanarka, but we veered north off of it about 20 miles out of Lemesos. 

Des

DescriptKhirokitia is aeolithin Site

The Neolithic Site of Choirokoita (Khirokitia), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of finest and most important prehistoric sites in the Mediterranean. It was occupied from the 7th to 4th millennium BCE. The late Stone Age settlement shows evidence of an organised society with a surrounding wall for communal cohesion. The strong stone wall enclosing the village was about 8 feet thick and at least 10 feet high. 

The Neolithic site is high on a ridge over the present village of the same name. 

Remains of round buildings lie within the protective walls. Some had hearths for cooking and heat, benches or storage areas. There is evidence of window openings and structural posts which may have supported upper stories. The buildings have exterior walls wildly out of proportion to their interior space, as the builders repeatedly added additional wrappings of stone onto their outer walls. (Guess they don't call it the Stone Age for nothing!) The final result has exterior diameters of 7.5- 30 feet, and interior diameters of 4.5 - 15 feet. 

Archeologists have reconstructed  a few huts to show how the inhabitants may have lived. The site has excellent signage explaining the careful replication of materials and techniques to build the replica houses. Cypriot craftsman familiar with straw roofing, for example, were brought in to build the roofs for the houses.

The dead were buried in a crouched position beneath the floors of the homes. The people were short (around 5 ft), and died young (average age early 30s). There was a high mortality rate for babies and young children. The inhabitants were subsistence farmers, herders and hunters, raising cereal crops, sheep, pigs and goats. They made containers of bark, leather, baskets and gourds, but the culture predated the use of fired pottery.  

The signage also details how the archeologists determined how long the people lived, why they died, what they ate, what tools they made and used, etc. I found this to be the best historical site we visited during our time in Cyprus.

A smattering of old traditional villages are in the hillsides between Limassol and Larnaka. We stopped first at the twin villages of Lefkasa. It's hard to imagine that these sleepy mountain villages (pop. 900) boasted an affluent population of 5,000 during the Renaissance. It’s been famous since medieval times for exquisite locally made lace, as well as for fine silverwork made by silversmiths incorporating lacing techniques. It’s population dropped with mass emigration about 100 years ago, but the lace and silverwork traditions carry on, largely thanks to tourism. 

The village was largely a tidy ghost town of shuttered windows above narrow cobbled streets. Some fine merchant houses remain from the Venetian era, with hidden courtyards and finely carved doorways.

Our last stop was Kornos, the Village of Clay. 

This quaint village is famous for its traditional red clay pottery. Though no longer the main occupation of the village inhabitants, the tradition continues, along with many other handicrafts. Besides potters, one can visit workshops where porcelain dolls, cheese, icons, mosaics, jewelry and baked goods are produced on site. The village is surrounded by olive, pine and eucalyptus trees. Unfortunately, the village has no signage to help visitors locate the workshops. We had a map from the internet, but with no reference point, it wasn't much help. We drove through town twice, took an impulse turn down a narrow ramshackle street and stumbled upon a pottery cooperative. But it was locked and had no operating hours posted. We shrugged and headed on to Larnaka.

We had detailed instructions from our host in the city and were able to park right next to our lodging. Yea! We packed everything up for our 4 AM departure and took a brief walk around town to search for one last (but elusive) geocache and stop at a kabob place for dinner. Then to bed and home tomorrow.