Ancient city of Salamis
Our plan for the day was to go to the ancient city of Salamis as early as possible, then swim in the evening. Information on Salamis’s opening hours were hard to find but I guessed it would be 0900. Getting there soon after 0900, I noticed that it was 0800.
While this seaside site dates back to around 1100 BC, most of what we see today are from the 400 AD. Nothing was signposted and there wasn’t a printed guide in any of the languages that I can understand.
We worked out various parts of the site with the aid of online resources, in particular:
- The columns of the gymnasium.
- The amphitheatre.
- The colonnaded walkway.
- The baths with its underfloor heating.
- The public latrine in a semi-circular formation, seating 44 people.
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- Columns of the gymnasium.
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- Mosaic work.
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- Remnants of frescoes.
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- Tiled floors.
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- Amongst the ruins of Salamis.
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- The Amphitheatre.
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- Colonnaded walkway.
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- The ruins of Salamis.
After about an hour, we were done with what we could figure out in the heat and left. We stopped by what seemed to be a large mall in the hope of getting some good deli-meals for lunch and possibly dinner, like we did in Girne.
Unfortunately, the supermarket’s deli section didn’t seem to be operational, so we left empty-handed. We stumbled upon a simple eatery and had our first gozleme this trip along with a wrap kebab.
Swim and Famagusta’s city wall
After a few hours in the aircon room, we ventured out around 1700 for a swim in the “free” beach near Verosha, ie. not the restricted area of Verosha where we were the same time yesterday.
With long shadows cast by the buildings, we were able to swim for longer than normal. We finished the day with a dinner back at today’s lunch eatery. After last night’s over-eating, we wanted lighter meals and they had quite a few such options.
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- Abandoned building on the edge of Verosha as we walk towards the area.
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- Abandoned hotels in the background of the beach and swimming area.
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- Abandoned hotels in the background of the beach and swimming area.
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- Abandoned hotels in the background of the beach and swimming area. The hotel in the centre of the photos is operational and just outside of the restricted area.
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- Since late 2020, visitors may walk around Verosha and swim in its waters. But a fence still remains. Kilomietres of abandoned hotels line the waterfront.
Back after dinner, we explored the city wall near our accommodation. We climbed up Ravelin Gate / Bastion where we could see the thick exterior wall of the fortification, the now grassy area on the inside, and then the thinner inner wall.
This dual-wall construction hadn’t been apparent from tower at the opposite end of the city, the Othello Tower which we had climbed last night.
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- Ramp up to Ravelin Bastion.
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- View from Ravelin Bastion with St Nicholas Cathedral or Lala Pasha Mosque in the centre.
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- View from Ravelin Bastion with the inner wall on the left and the outer wall on the right.
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- The pedestrian mall on which our apartment was located.
