Trip to Cyprus

[Kasia]

Hello everyone

As my last vacation turned out to be quite a challenge in terms of weather, I decided to try another destination – this time the one that guaranteed good and warm climate, namely Cyprus.

The summer months mean temperatures around 35- 40 C, so the dominant colour all over the island is now orange and all the rivers are completely dry

In several parts of the island you can see the traces of wildfires – here the residents managed to put out the fire right before the ancient monastery

 

 

Cyprus is a great place to see ancient archeological sites with beautifully preserved mosaics

 

 

as well as pretty coast and lagoons

 

 

The most green part of the island is the Troodos Mountains

 

which have some hidden gems, like waterfalls

 

 

and inland lagoons

 

 The first fossil site we visited is situated near Peyia, close to the Edro III shipwreck:

 

There are some beautiful sea caves along the shore

 

 

The rocks come from the Upper Miocene period and are full of fossils

 

Here are some close-ups of the rocks

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next location, Salamiou, was described online as the place, where (I quote): “ecological treasure has been discovered, including fossils of trees and corals dating back 423 million years ago.”

Once we arrived in the village, we started asking around, however the local residents (including people who spent their whole lives in there ) had absolutely no idea, where anything like this could be located. After a brief council over ice coffee, with a participation of the village mayor, one resident – Frionis – was delegated, to take the crazy tourist around in his 4x4 car to look for fossils. We went to the rock which the villagers thought could be the right one – it looks like this

 

 

To get there, we crossed river bed

 

 

but the rock turned out to be just the rock – and there was nothing interesting among the rocks in the river, either. Anyway, we were happy to do an off-road tour – here is a picture of our accidental guide – Frionis (armed with a stick against snakes)

 

 

The next location was fairly easy to find – its name is Kakkaristra Gorge and it’s located within a 10-minute drive from the capital city, Nicosia.

 

 

 

Again, it’s Miocene site – and you literally walk on fossils

 

 

 

 

 

 

The fossils cover all the walls of the gorge

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next site was near Agrokipia – it’s called Kottaphi Hill. It looks like this

 

The top is covered with a lot of small rubble – some pieces comprised indeed remains of Miocene corals and shells

 

 

 

 

 

 

I will finish the report with a typical vacation picture – a beautiful sunset I hope you enjoyed the report!

 

 

 

[sharkdoctor]

Wow! Great report and great photos! Thanks for sharing!

Did you take any fossils for your collection?

[Kasia]

2 minutes ago, sharkdoctor said:

Wow! Great report and great photos! Thanks for sharing!

Did you take any fossils for your collection?

Thanks!

Nope, it's not allowed

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Great report once again, Kasia, and very interesting as well. 

Super photos too. 

Thanks for sharing. 

[Kasia]

2 minutes ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

Great report once again, Kasia, and very interesting as well. 

Super photos too. 

Thanks for sharing. 

Thanks!

[Paleorunner]

As always, nice and complete reportage. 
Thanks for sharing. 

[Kasia]

2 minutes ago, Paleorunner said:

As always, nice and complete reportage. 
Thanks for sharing. 

Thank you