Limassol, Cyprus

 

 

Limassol, Cyprus Wednesday, April 10, 2013

After breakfast Larry went to purchase tickets for a bus ride into town. The ship was selling charted bus tickets for 10 Euro each. He talked with a gentleman while in the lobby of the boat who told him about the local bus for just 2 Euro. What a deal! So off we went to ride the local bus that was just a hop from where our boat was docked. It took all of ten minutes to go to the center of town. We decided to ride the bus as far as it would take us....about a half an hour beyond the city center.

 

It took us to the big hotel resorts that are east of the city. Along the way we passed a lovely walking beach promenade that we decided to take on the way back to the city center. The beaches are made up
of compressed soil and pebbles.

 

 

Lismassol is the largest southern harbor. It is the largest business and tourist trade center in Cyprus. The island was divided in 1974 with Turks living in the northern part and Greeks in the southern part. The weather was just perfect. Cool breezes and over 300 days of sunshine making it a desirable vacation spot for traveler from the colder northern European countries.

 

 

Cars drive on the wrong side of the road...opposite of the traditional US traffic pattern. The lettering on the buildings and signs has a strong resemblance to Greek letters with Russian influence. The local bus played music that was customary to the region.

 

 

  When the driver got to a part of the song that he really liked, he turned the sound up really loud. We enjoyed the exotic tunes of flutes, citarrs, accordians, and xylaphone sounds.

 

We visited the Limossal Castle which dated back to 1191. Richard the Lionheart married Princess Beengaria of Navarre in the chapel of the castle. We visited the Orthodox Agia Napa Cathedral and the Grand Mosque.

Limossol Castle

We got back onto the local bus to ride back to the ship enjoying all the views of the city and sea views along the way. We enjoyed our visit to Cyprus .

 

 

Isn't the water in Cypress beautiful?