Paphos, Cyprus - Archeaological Park cont.

The abundance of rain is in evidence here too with puddles and mud.

Many of the mosaics are covered up with a cloth and then sand or gravel to protect them from the winter weather.

There are drawings and descriptions of the ones you can't currently see.

I remember last time, being amazed that they weren't being protected. It was winter then too.

But it's not just about the mosaics. There is a vast number of ornate stone pieces and also pieces that look like they served a practical purpose. But no explanation to any of them. Some of them just sit in the middle of what was obviously a room

others lie in the grass outside of the excavated area.

Some are numbered but there is no evidence that excavations are continuing in spite of the feeling that there is much more to be found here.

Romans had underfloor heating. Tiles placed on these little pillars would construct the floor. A fire would heat the air underneath it.

This looks like a mosaic street

and you can walk on it! Fires up the imagination of who else has walked on these stones.

There are still some amazing mosaics

exposed to the elements.

I remember this one from last time

with it's portraits of the gods in the centre

encircled by an intricate labyrinth.

This picture gives you some perspective of how large these mosaics are. They covered the floor of a good sized room.

As a break from pictures of stones - a hooded crow, lots of them here.

From the initial excavation area I walked over to a long, low, wooden building which, it turned out, protects The House of Dionysos.

Inside was room after room of amazing mosaics with wooden companionways around each one.

On the internet there are pictures of those companionways

crowded with people

but while I was there

there were only 2 other people in the building.

The subjects were diverse; gods, religious stories, hunting, animals, birds, plants, geometric shapes and everyday household items. It is a magnificent collection and must have been a magnificent villa.

Dark clouds were starting to roll in

but I was drawn down a path towards another ruin.

It had been a castle

Considerably newer than the Roman ruins but I was glad for the schematic

because it was hard to tell from the rubble

what it had been.

I hurried out of the area as it began to rain and was able to immediately step onto the 618 bus that took me back up to the "main bus station" (Karavela Square)

I sat with a coffee, at the cafe, and read the Cyprus guidebook, while it poured rain and listened to Greek being spoken all around me. The bus system is largely used by locals.

When it cleared again I wandered around a nearby shopping area. This is a mosaic studio and she offers classes.

This wall art takes

crochet to a whole new level.

There are only 3 buses to Pissouri each day and I caught the last one, at 2:30. There were more of us on the return trip; 6

I stopped at the little supermarket in the village square on may way back and bought laundry detergent as I am supposed to get a few nice days. I got home only to find that the water was just a trickle. Luckily I had enough in the kettle to do the dishes that night.
I will tell you what happened next in tomorrows blog. Only 1 day behind at this point.