Cyprus my island

The medieval castle of Kolossi.
In the heart of the richest valley in the south of Cyprus, western the environs of the city of Limassol, comes up one of the most important forts of the Medieval Cyprus, photo 2, that is the famous Kolossi Castle. This fertile valley to the mouth of the river Kouris was often mentioned by the sightseers of the Middle Ages because of its immense sugar-cane, olive, cotton, locust-tree and cereal plantations as well as its vineyards; it constituted one of the most important feuds of the noble Franks during their dominating Cyprus.

In 1210 Hugues I, the sovereign of the de Lusignans’ dynasty, granted this rich feud to the friars of the Order of Saint John. The name of the area derives most probably from Gerinus de Colos, former feudal lord of the region.
It remains uncertain when the first fortress, of which the ruins round the later monument eastern and western, which escaped destruction, was exactly constructed. The only thing that can safely be mentioned is that it was constructed in the 13th century.

After the fall of Acre (1291), circa 1301/2, the knights of the Order of Saint John transferred the seat οf their activities to Kolossi.

According to the sources, in 1306 Kolossi came under the occupation of the friars’ Order of the Knights Templars, which became a major political force. In 1308 the Knights of the Order of Saint John dominated it again, after Pope Clement issuing the provisions by which the Order of the Knights Templars was declared illegal.

In 1310 the administration seat of the Knights of the Order of Saint John was transferred to Rhodes; however, their already erected fortress in Kolossi remained the seat of Commanderie, the powerful military administration. This regime was confirmed by a relevant decision made by the Order in 1380. The fortress was mostly used as a residence and an administration seat of the leaders of the Order of friars, who organised, controlled and exploited the production of the big plantations in the valley of Kolossi indeed and in the major region, covering initially about 60 villages according to some estimates.

The Commanderie of Kolossi gave its name to the traditional sweet Cypriot wine, which is known until nowadays under the name of commanderie. Obviously, the Order promoted the mass production and marketing of this wine under its name.
In 1373 disastrous raids by the Genoese and in 1402,1413,1425 and 146 by the Mamelukes seemed to leave the initial fortress in ruins.

In 1454 the major commander of the Order, Louis de Magnac B (the blazon in the photograph representing the dynasty of Magnac taken from the great blazon of Kolossi, on which the emblems of the kingdoms of: de Lusignans, Jerusalem, Cyprus and Armenia C in a copy sample are illustrated) had a new and more powerful fortress constructed, the one that still exists today. Photo 3

It is a stone made fortress with walls of a 1.25 m. depth, with three walls of a 21 m. height. The baseground was most probably used as a store with two underground cisterns. One can enter the first floor via a suspended bridge. On the south wall of one of the two big rooms of the baseground there is a wall painting representing the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the blazon of Magnac photo 4, which is the testimony of the devotional use of this room while the next room with the fireplace was likely to be the main dining and reception room.

On the second floor there are two more rooms, which were used for lodging. On the roof of the monument, a scalding bowl and loopholes bring the thought of the visitor back to medieval sieges.

In 1488, George Cornaro, brother of Catherine, the last Queen of the Franks, was compensated with obtaining 14 out of 41 villages, which were still under the control of the Commanderie of Rhodes, after persuading his sister to waive her sovereign rights over the island to the benefit of the Venetians, and each Cornaro Family’s leader was granted the title of the High Commander of Cyprus.

This title remained a family distinction even after the Ottomans seizing Cyprus and in 1799 it was granted to the Mozzenigo family, after the marriage of a Mozzenigo with an heir from the Cornaro family.

In the east side of the monument, a big arched room sheltered part of the facilities for the processing of sugar. The Department of Antiquities conducts there an excavation research, on a regular basis over the last five years.

Ancient Amathus
The history of Cyprus dates to the early years and near Ayios Tychon there are the ruins of Amathus, one of the biggest ancient kingdoms of the island. Amathus, one of the most ancient royal cities according to the legend, was settled by one of the sons of Heracles, who was worshipped there. According to other legends, Ariadne, the beautiful daughter of Minos, who fled from Labyrinth in Crete with Theseus, was later abandoned in Amathus. She died there while giving birth to her child and was buried in a sacred tomb.

What is certain, which is undoubtedly historical evidence, is that the area was populated at least 3000 years ago. The city took its name from Amathusa, the mother of King Kinyras from Paphos.

Amathus was built on the coastal cliffs with an amazing view to the sea. It flourished and became a rich kingdom since the early years of its settlement. During the Post Phoenician Era (800 B.C.) a port was also constructed there, which served the trade with the Greeks and the Levantines. High on the cliff a temple was built, which became a special worship site to Aphrodite, the goddess of Beauty and Love. The excavators discovered the Temple of Aphrodite, which dates approximately to the first century B.C.

According to the legend, it was where Adonia took place, in which athletes competed in hunting wild boars during sport competitions. They also competed in dancing and singing to the honour of Adonis.

Amathus was a rich and densely populated kingdom with a flourishing agriculture and mines situated very close northeast Kalavasos. In the Roman Era it became the capital of one out of the four (4) administrative regions. Later, in the 4th century A.D. it became the Episcopal See and continued to flourish until the Byzantine Period. At approximately the Late 6th century A.D., Ayios Ioannis Eleimonas (Saint John Charitable), protector of the knights was born in Amathus.

Until 1191 when Richard the Lionheart arrived in Cyprus, Amathus had declined. The tombs were plundered and the stones from the beautiful edifices were brought to Limassol to be used for new constructions. Much later, in 1869, a great number of blocks of stone from Amathus were used for the construction of the Suez Canal.

Archaeological excavations in the area by parties of Cypriots and French archaeologists started in 1980 and continue until today. The Acropolis, the Aphrodite’s Temple, the market, the city’s walls, the Basicila and the port have all been excavated.

It is an amazing opportunity for the visitor to ramble over the area and have the feeling of living as they used to live. The visitors have a wonderful chance to explore the area and see rare and beautiful archaeological treasures, which are buried in the soil for centuries.

In the market there are marvellous marble columns decorated with spiral ornaments and huge paved precincts. At the coastal side of the city there are indications of an Early Christian Basilica with floors decorated with precious gems. Farther, near the terraced road leading to the Temple, situated on the top of the cliff, several houses built in a row dating to the Hellenistic Period have been discovered. In the east and west extremes of the city the two acropolis are situated, where a number of tombs have been found, many of which are intact.

You might admire many of the interesting hand-made items with an archaeological value, which have been found during the excavations and are actually exposed at the Cyprus Museum in Nicosia as well as at the Limassol District Archaeological Museum or even at the New York Metropolitan Museum. The biggest treasure of Amathus is exposed at Paris Louvre Museum. It is a dim made from limestone, which dates to the 6th century B.C. It is 1.85 m. high and weighs 14 tons. It was made from a single big stone and has four (4) curved handles decorated with the head of a bull. It was used for storing the must from the grapes, which after the fermentation it became wine, which Cyprus is famous for.