Larnaca

Larnaca

After 12 hours of sleep and a couple hours of conversation with my host, while he prepared and shared breakfast with me, I was ready for some sightseeing. My first stop was the site of Kition - the ancient beginnings of Larnaca and home of the Stoic philosopher, Zeno, who is not the Zeno of Zeno's Paradox, who was from Italy. The archaeological site was closed on the weekends but here's a picture of it. 

Nearby, I found this small church - Ayia Faneromeni

Walking back to the downtown/beach area, I passed this building - eduCyber

Then I found the farmer's market with an interesting mural looming over it. 

Larnaca is known as the home of Jesus' friend, Lazarus. He moved here after he was driven out of Bethany. St. Lazarus Church was built over his crypt in 980AD. The "new" building there now is from the 1700s. 

The church was closed when I first walked around it, but I went in later when there was a service being conducted. I didn't take pictures, but the inside was rather dark and filled with gold adornments, icons, candles, and lots of stone. The service was entirely chanted by a cantor with a very deep voice that was enhanced by the stone structure. During the chanting the priest, with tall headwear and long white beard, processed around the congregation, blessing the congregants and spreading incense. 

Near St. Lazarus church is Larnaca Castle – a small medieval castle built to protect the harbor. Inside were some German WWII artillery as well as other artifacts from Larnaca through the centuries. Here are some pictures of the mosque across the street taken within and on the walls of the Castle.

I always thought that being stationed at Virginia Beach and the Presidio was tough duty, but these guys had to live on a Mediterranean beach. My heart goes out for them.

One of the sites that I wanted to see was the Hala Sultan Tekke Mosque, which is across from the airport, a bit of a distance away. About a block after I boarded a bus to get there, the bus got stuck for about 20 minutes trying to make a sharp turn down a narrow street that had a poorly parked car on the corner. I started this blog as I waited there. Eventually, the driver with the help of several passers-by negotiated the corner without touching the parked car. The driver dropped me off at the beginning of the road to the mosque. The mosque is reportedly the third most holy site in Islam. The Prophet's aunt died here and is buried in a back room in the mosque. 

Compared to the rich decoration of St. Lazarus church, the mosque was very plain, empty, and quiet. Its remote location enhanced its quiet atmosphere. I believe this was the first mosque I had ever visited. 

After busing back to my host's place, we went to a Greek taverna for a late night Greek feast, including fried cheese and grilled lamb.