Random Photos

This time I thought I would just publish some pictures that seem interesting. One of them is of the place where we get our drinking water in the Troodos Mountains. It is a beautiful drive into the mountains north of Limassol about 35 kms. The water comes out of the side of the mountain. A couple of pictures are of a Greek Orthodox church in Larnaca. It is called Lazarus's Church. It is the same Lazarus that Christ raised from the dead. He, as legend says, came to Cyprus and was the bishop for 30 years. The Greek Orthodox built a church in the ninth century over the tomb where he is buried. We went into the basement of the church and saw two concrete vaults where he was supposed to have been. The Greek Orthodox church built buildings and monasteries in the ninth to the 14th centuries wherever there was history of the the early Christians throughout Cyprus, Greece, and much of Asia Minor. A couple more pictures are of a new site being built near the Rocks of Aphrodite. It is being advertised as the temple of Aphrodite. It is not quite finished. It has a great view of the sea.

A visit in Antiquity

In other words we went to see some really old stuff. Last week for our senior couple meeting, the three senior couples went to the northeast section of the island. This is a little history lesson, and there is a lot of history about the Island of Cyprus. In 1974 Turkey invaded Cyprus. There was quite a war. Nearly 20,000 people were killed and tens of thousands were displaced. Greek Cypriots living in the Turkey occupied territory were forced to leave everything they owned and move to the south. The Turkish Cypriots who lived in the south moved to the north and left their homes. Today the Turks occupy the northeast 20% of the island. The Greek Cypriots occupy the rest. In between is a buffer zone controlled by the United Nations Forces. People can travel between the north and south, but have to pass through check points.

After getting through the check stations, we hired a seven-person taxi and drove east to the ancient village of Salamis. When you read the Book of Acts, the thirteenth chapter, you will read about Paul and Barnabas landing at Salamis on the Island of Cyprus. They then traveled to the village of Paphos. Barnabas was born in Salamis, but grew up in Jersulem and became a follower of Jesus. Greek Orthodox tradition says he was the bishop of the church in Salamis. He died as a martyr at the stake there. He was buried with a hand-written copy of St. Matthew's gospel. There is now a Greek Orthodox church which is called The monastery of St. Barnabas which has been a museum for decades. Located on the property is a smaller building which is a shrine to Barnabas and the location of his crypt.

The Apostle Paul was in the Village of Paphos

In the thirteenth chapter of Acts it tells of an experience the Apostle Paul had in the village of Paphos on the Island of Cyprus. There are also local legends about the Apostle Paul being whipped or beaten in Paphos. In the old part of the village near the waterfront is an old ruin and a post appearing to be marble called the "Pillar of Paul" where the beating was supposed to have taken place. Friday, after a district meeting in Paphos, the elders from Limassol and we stopped by the "Pillar of Paul." (If you click on the pictures they will enlarge so you can read the information on the signs.)

It does rain in Cyprus

The pictures are taken from the veranda outside our bedroom and one from street level. It did not rain a lot or for a long time, but it sure found its way down the street in front of our building.

A visit to the village of Lefkara

There is a quaint little village 45 km from Limassol. In fact our mission president's family is from there. President Charles was born in England but has an older brother and many cousins who live in the village. The name of the village is Lefkara. It is famous for two things. 1- Silver and 2- Lace handmade tablecloths, runners, napkins, shawls, and other beautiful items.

Sylvia and I visited there yesterday on our P-Day. We did not spend a lot of time there, but we did enjoy the drive through the windy narrow streets and a walk around to take pictures. While I was shooting pictures a very nice woman started to talk to Sylvia and invited us to her shop. She showed us some beautiful lace handmade tablecloths, runners and other things. Of course we bought a couple of things.

When you come to Cyprus to visit us we will take you to this little village in the foothills of Cyprus. there are two sections of the village, one is Pano Lefkara and the other is Kato Lefkara. Pano means "upper" and Kato means "lower".

Cyprus Zone Trip

Missionaries in the Greece Athens Mission are transferred every 90 days, or at least one of the missionaries in the companionship is transferred. So, all the missionaries in the zone will go on a zone trip together sometime during that 3 month period. On P-Day, September 21st, the Cyprus Zone missionaries, 10 young missionaries and 3 senior couples, went to the Troodos Mountains. The tallest part of the mountian is Mt. Olympus. It is 1950 meters, which is about 6338 feet above sea level. In the winter there is snow and they have a ski resort. It is a very beautiful mountain resort. We hiked to the Kaladonia Waterfalls, which as the sign says, was a 2 km round trip. It was a great hike, unless you ask Sylvia. (This is Sylvia speaking: It was supposed to be a little 2 km hike. It was pretty steep in spite of what Paul says, and the slick rock crossings weren't too good for old people. I have to admit though, it was beautiful!) It was not too steep, but had lots of rocks and 5 creek crossings where we had to step on wet slick rocks to get across. When we finally made it we enjoyed a beautiful flowing waterfall. After the hike we went higher up the mountain to a picnic area and enjoyed a sloppy joe lunch.

Aphrodite Rocks near the town of Paphos

Greek legend and mythology say that Aphodite was born out of the foam near the rocks which you see in the pictures. She is the goddess of love and beauty. She is also the mother of "Cupid." Roman legend calls her "Venus." So whatever her name, we all now know where she was born.

Pictures

South toward the Mediterranean

North view from the veranda with the Troodos mountains in the distance

Our building from street level

The Cyprus Experience

We have a few minutes so we have started a new blog. We will update with pictures, articles, and interesting places we have visited. We will include a history of where we go, people we meet, the good times, and the not so good times. So here goes!!!

Our flat or apartment, as it is called in other parts of the world, has two bedrooms, bath, large living room which doubles as a dining room, and a study. It has a large kitchen with a clothes washer (which drains into the kitchen sink). The flat is on the fourth floor of the building. It is numbered as flat #31. The ground floor is numbered as "0". This is the case in all buildings in Cyprus. The ground floor of all buildings is always numbered "0", so if you are on an elevator and want to go to the 5th floor you would push the number "6" button, and when you come down to the ground floor you would hit the "0" button.

We have a beautiful view from our dining room/living room/study area. It looks out over the northern part of the city toward the Troodos mountains. We are high enough to see the beautiful red roof tops and sandy colored stucco buildings which flow up toward the foothills of the city. As we look south we can see a small glimpse of the Mediterranean Sea between the buildings.

As you look at the pictures of the buildings you will see white round tanks on the roof tops. These are water storage tanks. You will also see heating panels next to the tanks. The panels collect heat from the sun to warm and heat the water. The tanks are filled every other day. We have had no problem having enough water, but we can use the clothes washer only when the water is filling the tanks. Enough for today. I will attach some pictures. The pictures are not uploading, so I will try another time. Love you all.

Elder and Sister Kennedy