ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE OF CYPRUS SALAMINE

This 5 ^km2 site (Salamis Arkeolojik Sit Alanı, Αρχαιολογικός Χώρος της Σαλαμίνας/Archaiologikοs Chοros tis Salaminas) enjoys a superb natural seaside setting. It is home to the remains of Salamis/Σαλαμίς, which was the most powerful city-state in Cyprus during antiquity.

History. The city was founded in the ^11th century BC as a port for merchants from Greece and the Near East. It came under Assyrian control in the ^9th century BC and enjoyed its golden age under the Greek king Evagoras (410-374 BC). He submitted to the Persians, drove out the Phoenicians, then allied himself with the Athenians against the Persians. The descendants of Evagoras then regularly intervened on the side of the Greeks against the Persian Empire. The city was frequently pitted against Persian ally Kition (Larnaka), and supported Alexander the Great during his conquests. The city reaped considerable benefits, but was soon integrated into the new Greek kingdom of Egypt founded by Ptolemy, one of Alexander's generals. It lost its status as a city-state, but became the first unified capital of the island. After the Roman annexation of Cyprus in 58 BC, Paphos became the new capital. But Salamis continued to prosper, notably under the Emperors Trajan and Adrian. The Roman period also saw the beginnings of Christianity, with the first evangelization of Cyprus led by Saint Barnabas. In 117 AD, a Jewish insurrection led to the destruction of the city. This was followed by an earthquake around 340. Re-founded by Emperor Constantius II in the ^4th century as Constantia, the city was finally destroyed by the Arabs in 647. The first excavations were carried out by the British from 1887 onwards, so that the finest artefacts discovered on site can now be found at the British Museum in London. After independence in 1959, the site was entrusted to the French Archaeological Mission in Cyprus. This enabled a better understanding of the history of Salamis. But the Turkish invasion of 1974 brought work to an abrupt halt, and the site suffered extensive looting. Since then, under the terms of the Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Military Occupation, no further excavations have, in theory, been permitted.

Gymnasium and theater. The tour begins with the gymnasium complex. Built under the Ptolemies of Egypt, it was enlarged and modified in the Roman period, then used as a public bath in Byzantine times. The sculpted decoration is now preserved in the National Museum of Cyprus in Nicosia. At the center of the gymnasium is the palestra - where wrestling was practiced - flanked by 36 surviving Corinthian marble columns. The next stop is the Roman Theatre. Built during the reign of Augustus at the end of the ^1st century BC, and damaged by the earthquake of 340, it was the largest theater on the island, seating 15,000 spectators. It consisted of over 50 tiers, with a stage 40 m wide.

Reservoir, basilica and agora. Crossing the theater, you come to the early Byzantine water reservoir, around which stood the fish market and Roman baths. Water was transported by a 60 km-long aqueduct carrying water from a spring near the present-day village of Kythrea/Κυθρέα (Değirmenlik in Turkish). A pleasant cobbled avenue lined with columns, probably from a Roman stoa (a shopping gallery) leads to the Agios Epiphanios basilica, right in the center of the site. This was one of the largest basilicas in the early Christian world (58 x 42 m). It was built by Epiphanios of Salamis (315-403), theologian and first bishop of the city from 367, considered one of the Fathers of the Church by both Orthodox and Catholics (feast day: May 12). As the city was still predominantly non-Christian, he found it difficult to raise funds for the construction work, and was buried here even though the building was still incomplete. To the south-west of the basilica is the agora. Stretching 230 m long and 55 m wide, it is one of the largest marketplaces of antiquity. It dates back to the Ptolemaic period and was restored during the reign of Augustus. On the south side, large sections of the colonnade (Corinthian capitals) that lined both sides of the agora have survived. It is bounded on the north by a deep reservoir and on the south by the Temple of Zeus, whose colossal base is still visible.

Basilica of Campanopetra. Located some 600 m east of the agora, this is the most beautiful part of the site, offering panoramic views of the sea, Famagusta and the ghost town of Varosha. These are the remains of a late^5th-century basilica that formed part of a vast complex including baths and a monastery located near the harbour coves of the town then known as Constantia. The size and architectural wealth of this complex testify to the Christianization of the upper classes of the population, who financed its construction. The basilica itself, with its three wings, was remodeled and remained in use until the ^11th century, by which time the rest of the city had been deserted for three centuries.