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FEATURES
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CYPRUS
78
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TRAVELLER
HEWEARS
Opposite page
Panama hat, Paul Smith, £130; glasses, Ray Ban, £135; neck-tie, Wrangler,
£50; bag, D.S. Dundee, £199; chinos, Topman, £34; vest, Topman, £7; gardening gloves, Amazon,
£4.95; boots, stylist’s own
SHEWEARS
Shirt, Zara, £39.99; military-style jacket, Tommy Hilfiger, £150; belt, Paul & Joe, £120;
trousers, Zara, £35.99, gloves, G-Star RAW, £69
TEMPLE OF APOLLO
The Temple of Apollo Hylates
(or Ylatis, as it’s also known) can
be found a five-minute drive
from Kourion on the south coast.
It was once one of the most
magnificent religious shrines in
Cyprus, a place of worship and
refuge. Even today, as you stroll
through the ruins, there is a sense
of calm here. Worshippers came
to honour Apollo, god of the sun,
as far back as the 8th century BC
and brought with them offerings,
such as terracotta figurines.
These would have been placed in
a votive pit, the remains of which
can still be seen in the gardens of
the temple complex today.
The present temple is Roman
and stands on the site of much
earlier structures. You can see the
remains at the end of an ancient
cobbled street that passed, south
to north, through the sanctuary
complex. The original temple
would have been a mighty
structure. Today, you can still
find there the tall unfluted
Corinthian-style columns topped
with elaborate architraves that
would have surrounded an inner
cella
(small chamber) housing the
cult figure of Apollo. They give
a great idea of how it would have
looked in early Roman times.
Right
Panoramic view of
the distinctive Corinthian-
style columns found at
the Temple of Apollo
Hylates (also
above
);
opposite page
The Tombs
of the Kings is a maze of
courtyards and ancient
stairwells