Tombs of Kings

I walked in the site Tombs of the Kings for hours, and saw many cave-cut tombs of high officials and rich citizens back in the fourth century. The tombs have been plundered, and some larger tombs were carved out of solid rock. I really enjoyed exploring the ruins. I spent over 2-hr going through the eight tombs, all of which are unique. Some have columns and arches; others are hole-in-the-wall crypts. Hope one day there are interpretive signs about whom were buried. 

On the way back to hostel, I stopped by Agia Solomoni Catacombs, a compact shrine & series of stone tomb chambers with remnants of 12th-century religious paintings. It has an open courtyard surrounded by five rooms carved into the rock, one of which has a spring. There is a huge Terebinth tree above the catacomb, which branches are full of coloured rags and pieces of fabric left by visitors as offerings to Saint Solomoni to cure eye problems. 

“The Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes, who ruled over Cyprus during the period 170-168 A.D, decided that he would humiliate the Jews including those who had adopted the Christian religion. He gathered Saint Solomoni’s children along with some others and gave them pork to eat saying that they would be spared from death if they ate it. Eating Pork was forbidden by Jewish law, as unclean. This prohibition continued in much of early Christianity. The children replied that they would rather die than eat pork. Antiochus was furious and killed them all. St Solomoni threw herself into a fire in protest.”