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In 2006, when we visited Cyprus, we spent four days at Paphos, which the Lonely Planet Guide described as a beautiful and interesting place. We were very disappointed: no beach, whatever charming old areas had once existed had been replaced by nondescript post-World War II urban sprawl, scarcity of parking, no transit, little Greek food in the restaurants but plenty of bacon and eggs and shepherd's pie, and great heat. Roman Paphos was the exception. We love to explore ancient ruins, and it was fascinating, as in the photo, to watch archaeologists working at such close range. There are also beautiful Roman mosaics to see at Roman Paphos.
Here we are in 2001 at Xanthos, a famous ancient site in Turkey near Antalya on the Mediterranean coast. Xanthos has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988. It was first developed as a city by the Lycians and captured around 540 BC by the Persians. Later, the Greeks and then the Romans took over. The lady on the left is Nadine, the archaeologist in charge of the dig. We were delighted to meet a fellow Canadian, and she was very kind, taking us on a tour of the large site, describing what we were seeing, and explaining the purpose of the current excavations. We love to explore ancient sites. This was a very special occasion, the only time we had the privilege of speaking to the archaeologist.
