The museums of Cyprus are loaded. I didn’t take many photos because most of the museums didn’t allow photos. And I didn’t go to all of the museums because I just got tired of them. You see lots of the same stuff. But it’s still quite amazing just how much stuff there is, from such a small island. And it’s also impressive how advanced the cultures were.

The material culture in Israel is quite primitiv e in comparison – in Cyprus they had beautiful pottery, with lots of decorations and fancy designs. The best pottery in the Israel Museum is not as nice as the average material here, from the same periods. The books mention that a lot of the pottery has been removed from the island to other museums around the world (especially the Met in NY). The hotel owner this morning told us that there are no museums in the world that don’t have something from Cyprus. That may be an exaggeration, but it certainly says something about the culture here. It also is telling that very few people could tell you anything about the history of Cyprus.

Idols from Archaic and Hellenistic periods