On Saturday Nick Karatjas and I did a little sight-seeing since he was leaving early Sunday morning.After a brief PKAP staff meeting to plan the upcoming week we set off for Kourion. It was a really nice day, the temperature had dropped a bit and there was a nice breeze blowing in off the water. I was very interested to see what the admission prices were at the sites, particularly since they had been so reasonable over the last few years (1 or 2 Cypriot pounds per person, about US$2-4). I was relieved to see at Kourion that it was now 1.71 Euro, about $2.65. I also showed the guard my AIA (Archaeological Institute of America) membership card and he gave me free admission. W spent a couple of hours visiting the site and it was fabulous as usual – I think it is the 2nd best site on the island behind the mosaics at Paphos.
After finishing up the main site, we went up the road and looked at the Roman Stadium and then decided to find a place for lunch. We finally stopped at the town of Zygi which is a small village that used to be an important site for the importation of carobs, but is now collection of collection of fish tavernas along the water. It reminds me a bit of Calabash, SC which is just north of Myrtle Beach. We stopped at the same restaurant we always stop at – Mario’s Fish Taverna, and had some salad, fries, and fresh calamari. The calamari was excellent as usual, and I ate way too much….as usual. Later last night we took Nick out to Melitzes, a restaurant in Larnaka, for his last meal on the island. It was, as usual, a very nicely done Cypriot Meze and a nice send-off for Nick. I got up early this morning and dropped Nick off at the airport at 5:00 AM to catch his flight back to Pennsylvania and IUP. I know this blog makes it looks like I am only on Cyprus for eating and sight-seeing, but I am honestly doing work. For example, we are getting ready to head into the field to check the R8…..after I go get a doughnut…..
RSM
Ancient History Ramblings 