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CYPRUS!

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C YPRUS IS A LITTLE STATE WITH A LONG HISTORY AND A RICH CULTURE. I T S THE THIRD ISLAND IN RANGE IN THE M EDITERRANEAN. I T S SITUATED BETWEEN 3 CONTINENTS :E UROPE, A SIA AND A FRICA. T HIS POSITION HAS PLAYED AN IMPORTANT ROLE SINCE ANCIENT TIMES AND IT STILL REPRESENTS A BRIDGE BETWEEN DIFFERENT RELIGIONS, CULTURES AND LIFE STYLES. S INCE THE P REHISTORIC A GE, LOTS OF FOREIGN POPULATIONS JOINED TO AUTOCHTHONOUS, FIRST OF ALL G REEKS, WHO HAVE SPREAD THEIR CULTURE THAT NOW CHARACTERIZES C YPRUS. I N VILLAGES TRADITIONS AND LIFE STYLES ARE STILL ALIVE. I N C YPRUS THEY CELEBRATE EVENTS DATED BACK TO MANY YEARS AGO, LIKE C ARNIVAL AND F LOWER F ESTIVAL. A CCORDING TO THE LEGEND, C YPRIOTS ALSO BELIEVE A PHRODITE, THE G ODDESS OF BEAUTY AND LOVE, WAS BORN THERE, IN P AFOS SEA.

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LEFKOSIA - NICOSIA LEFKOSIA - NICOSIA L EFKOSIA ( OR N ICOSIA FOR US ) IS SITUATED IN THE CENTRE OF THE ISLAND AND IT S AN IMPORTANT CULTURAL CENTRE. H IS HISTORY HAS STARTED IN THE B RONZE A GE, BUT IT S BEEN THE C YPRIOT CAPITAL CITY SINCE B YZANTINE PERIOD (XI SEC A.C.)

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L EFKOSIA IS THE ONLY CAPITAL CITY IN THE WORLD DIVIDED BY A WALL. I N FACT WE SAW THE AREA OF THE CITY WHERE THE T URKISH PART STARTS AND THE GUIDE EXPLAIN US THE HISTORY OF MONUMENT SITUATED JUST BEFORE THE DIVIDING WALL : IT S DEDICATED TO ALL THOSE PEOPLE WHO DIED DURING THE NUMEROUS WARS BETWEEN C YPRIOT AND T URKISH S ARMS AND THE WORDS AT THE BASE OF THIS MONUMENT TALK, IN G REEK, ABOUT EVERY CITIZEN S RIGHTS.

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C YPRUS MUSEUM C YPRUS MUSEUM : I NSIDE YOU CAN SEE THE C YPRUS CULTURE DEVELOPMENT, FROM N EOLITHIC A GE TO B YZANTINE PERIOD. T HESE COLLECTIONS INCLUDE JEWELS, SCULPTURES, PIECES OF POTTERY, TERRA - COTTA OBJECTS AND OTHER MANUFACTURED. B ETWEEN THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECES, WE MUST REMEMBER THE IDOL IN A CROSS SHAPE, GOLD JEWELS (B RONZE A GE ) AND THE A PHRODITE STATUE (I SEC. A.C.). B YZANTINE MUSEUM B YZANTINE MUSEUM : I N HIS ROOMS ARE EXPOSED MORE THAN 200 ICONS, OF THE PERIOD BETWEEN IX SEC AND XIX SEC A.C. : GOBLETS, BOOKS AND PRIEST S CASSOCKS. T HE PRESTIGIOUS MOSAICS WERE BROUGHT BACK IN C YPRUS AFTER THEY WERE REMOVED ILLEGALLY FROM THE T URKISH ZONE OF THE ISLAND. S AINT J OHN S CATHEDRAL S AINT J OHN S CATHEDRAL : I T WAS BUILT IN 1662 OVER A SITE OF A B ENEDICTINE CHAPEL, DEDICATED TO S AINT J OHN THE E VANGELIST.. THIS ONE WAS TRANSFORMED IN A ORTHODOX MONASTERY. N OW IT S A LITTLE ORTHODOX CHURCH BUT THE ONLY ONE IN N ICOSIA. I NSIDE WE CAN STILL SEE THE ORIGINAL ICONS OF ORTHODOX RELIGION, THE CHOIR WERE, IN THE PAST ACCORDING TO THE COMMON CONCEPTION, MEN STAYED DURING THE CELEBRATION, WHILE WOMEN STAYED UPSTAIRS, DIVIDED.

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LEMESOS - LIMASSOL I T S THE SECOND CITY IN RANGE IN C YPRUS. H ERE WE CAN FIND IMPORTANT RUINS AND MONUMENTS, EVIDENCES OF HIS LONG HISTORY. M EDIEVAL CASTLE OF K OLOSSI M EDIEVAL CASTLE OF K OLOSSI : I T WAS BUILT IN THE XIII SEC. AND IT BECAME THE SITE OF T EMPLAR K NIGHTS.

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K OURION ARCHEOLOGICAL SITE K OURION ARCHEOLOGICAL SITE : I N ANCIENT TIMES IT WAS AN IMPORTANT STATE - CITY ; THE THEATRE IS STILL USED FOR MUSICALS AND SHOWS. N EAR, THE E USTOLIO, A CHILLE AND G LADIATORS HOUSES TAKE THEIR NAME FROM THEIR BEAUTIFUL MOSAICS FLOORS.

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. APOLLO SANCTUARY APOLLO SANCTUARY : I N THE PAST, A POLLO WAS THE K OURION CITY PROTECTOR AND SO THIS SANCTUARY WAS AN IMPORTANT PLACE OF CULT. IT WAS COMPOSED BY THE TEMPLE, ROOMS TO WELCOME PILGRIMS AND A HOLY DELIMITED AREA. I N ONE OF THE MOST VISITED PARKS OF L EMESOS, NEAR THE BEACH, WHILE YOU WALK ALONG THIS PARK YOU SEE LOTS OF SCULPTURES OF LOCAL AND FOREIGN ARTISTS.

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C ENTRE FOR HANDICAPPED PEOPLE C ENTRE FOR HANDICAPPED PEOPLE : H ERE THEY GIVE HOSPITALITY TO MENTAL HANDICAPPED PEOPLE FROM ALL THE ISLAND. S OME OF THEM CAN STAY ALL DAY LONG, BUT THE NIGHT. I NSTEAD, OTHER LIVE THERE CONSTANTLY. D URING THE DAY PSYCHOLOGISTS AND NURSES TRY TO HELP THEM FOR A PHYSICAL AND A PSYCHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT : THEY RE PREPARED FOR P ARALYMPICS GAMES, FOR EXAMPLE, AND PREPARED TO RETURN LIVING INSIDE THE SOCIETY IN THE BEST WAY THEY ARE ABLE TO. O VER ALL, SOME OF THEM HAVE OBTAIN ALSO A JOB. H ERE WE HAVE SOME PHOTOS OF THIS STRUCTURE AND OF THE TIME WE PASSED TOGETHER :.

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R EHABILITATION CENTRE R EHABILITATION CENTRE : I N THE PAST THIS PLACE WAS A CENTRE FOR WAR VICTIMS. N OWADAYS, NURSES AND EMPLOYEES DEDICATE THEIR TIME TO THE PHYSICAL REHABILITATION. I T S VERY SIMILAR TO OURS CENTERS HERE IN I TALY ; IN FACT THERE ARE EMPLOYED PHYSIOTHERAPISTS, SPEECH THERAPISTS AND PSYCHOLOGISTS AND THEY WORK TOGETHER AND IN THE SAME WAYS AS IN I TALIAN REHABILITATION HOSPITALS.

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LARNAKA O F L ARNAKA WE HAVE JUST TALKED ABOUT THE S ALT L AKE. I T S ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT HABITATS FOR WATER BIRDS IN E UROPE. T HEY, OVER ALL PINK FLAMINGOS, FIND SHELTER HERE FOR FEW DAYS IN WINTER, DURING THEIR MIGRATIONS TO WARMER PLACES. I N THE PAST L ARNAKA WAS A BIG AND KNOWN URBAN CENTRE, BUT WHEN THE CITY WAS ABANDONED, THE BED OF THE SEA SLOWLY, DURING VERY MANY YEARS, STUFFED OF RUBBLES AND IN THIS WAY THE LAKE WAS BORN. PAFOS T HE K ATO P AFOS ARCHEOLOGICAL SITE : I T WAS WRITTEN IN THE H UMANITY C ULTURAL H ERMITAGE OF UNESCO. H ERE YOU CAN SEE SITS AND MONUMENTS DATED IN A PERIOD BETWEEN THE P REHISTORIC A GE AND THE M IDDLE A GE. T HE WONDERFUL MOSAICS FLOORS OF THE 4 HOUSES ARE THE BIGGEST ATTRACTIVE THIS PARK CAN BOAST. T HERE ARE 4 HOUSES (D IONISO, T ESEO, A ION AND O RFEO S HOUSES ) AND, IN THEIR MOST SHINING PERIOD, THEY WERE CONSIDERED SOME OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL IN ALL THE M EDITERRANEAN.

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P ERSONAL IMPRESSIONS : D URING THESE 7 DAYS IN C YPRUS WE DISCOVERED A FOREIGN CULTURE, VERY DIFFERENT, WE THINK, FROM OURS. A T THE FIRST, WE OBSERVED C YPRIOTS LIFE STYLE AND WE DIDN T LIKE IT, BECAUSE IT WAS STRANGE FOR US : NO TEENAGERS ALONG THE STREETS, THEIR HOUSES SEEMED VERY POOR. G OING ON WITH THE WEEK, FIRST OF ALL WE HAVE KNOW BETTER EACH OTHER AND WE HAVE ALSO KNOWN BETTER C YPRUS AND WE LIKE VERY MUCH ITS VIEW, ITS SEA AND SUN. B ESIDES, WE HAVE ALSO IMPROVED OUR E NGLISH IN DIFFERENT WAY. S O WE ENJOY IT !

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THANK YOU ALL! Valeria and Beatrice

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