We had a surprise this morning, as the time changed during the night.  We had no idea that other countries in the world did that.  We thought the US was the only one silly enough to change the time around, but no it happens here too.

After we had breakfast, we went back to the room to begin our packing.  We leave very early tomorrow morning and we were spending the day with Giota, one of our former MA students.  Giota arrived about 10 a.m. to take us to Larnaca for a tour. First stop was to try to see the flamingoes on the Salt Lake.  Some of you may know this will be the 4^th time we had attempted to see these flamingoes, but once again it was to no avail.  Flamingoes arrive here in the Fall and usually spend their winters on the large Salt Lake in Larnaca near the airport and the smaller Salt Lake in Akrotiri.  We have tried to see them at both places.  For some reason we will be told they have arrived and there are thousands of them on the lake, but when we get there they have disappeared.  It is a mystery!  Oh well, we shall just have to keep returning until we finally are able to see them. 

After our unsatisfactory flamingo search, Giota took us to Hala Sultan Tekke which is on the edge of the Salt Lake.  This is a Muslim shrine considered to one of the holiest places for Muslims in the world.  It was recently renovated through the assistance of the bicommunal development program in the U.S. and various government groups in Cyprus.  The complex of buildings includes a mosque, the mausoleum of Hala Sultan, a minaret, a cemetery, and living quarters for both men and women.   The term tekke means convent and specifically refers to a gathering place for members of the Sufi form of Islam. 

Hala Sultan, also known as Umm Haram, was the wife of Ubada bin al-Samit, who was a companion of the Prophet Muhammed.  It is said that she died during the first Arab raids on Cyprus under Caliph Muawiyah sometime between 647 and 649 a.d.  According to the stories she was very old and died when she fell from her mule.  This is supposed to be the site of her death and is where she was buried, although according to some Muslims she is actually buried in Madinah in Saudi Arabia.  Inside the tomb there is a coffin that is revered as hers.  On a side porch are two adult coffins, said to belong to two former sheikhs, and two children sized coffins for which no information was provided.

There were also remains of a late Bronze Age cemetery and a major Bronze Age urban center being excavated behind the mosque.  Excavations by various groups continue to reveal different buildings including remains from the 6^th to the 1^st century BC.  

As this was a holy place, we had to make sure we were modestly dressed.  Giota, Jody, and I had on shirts with short sleeves and pants that covered our knees, so we were fine.  Mike, though, had on shorts so was required to wear a large robe that was provided.  After entering the mosque, seeing the graves, walking to the excavations, and then walking in the garden area, we headed to the car to go on into Larnaca proper.

After driving around in Old Larnaca, we finally found a place to park. It is often difficult in these old cities to find areas where parking is possible.  We walked by the Grand Mosque of Larnaca but decided not to go in today, so we walked on down to the Larnaca promenade.  Larnaca has a beautiful walkway along the seaside with palm trees down the middle and shops and restaurants on one side and the Mediterranean on the other.  We walked to the end of the promenade to a hotel where Giota wanted to take us for Sunday brunch.  Sadly I have forgotten the name of the hotel.  Wow there was tons of food!  Salmon, beef, all kinds of vegetables, many kinds of salads, Cypriot potatoes, olives, beets, various dips, and of course many delicious desserts.  Well as you might guess, we stuffed ourselves—it was so difficult not to just try a little of everything as it looked so good.

Once we had finished, we walked up the streets window shopping and then to the Church of St. Lazarus.  We had hoped to go in (the skull of St. Lazarus is on display here), but there was a service going on so we could not enter.  One of the interesting shops outside the church was selling all kinds of beautiful icons.  Thanks to Giota we now have a small icon of St. Lazarus.  Then as it appeared a storm was heading our way, we hurried to the car.

On the drive back to Limassol, a huge rain storm occurred.  This was one of those storms where you cannot even see to drive.  It was very scary as the traffic was heavy and you often couldn't see the cars in front of us.  Finally, after a harrowing drive we reached Limassol.  But Giota wanted to have coffee before she dropped us off at the hotel.  We searched for a place where we could have coffee and not have to park too far away, as it continues to rain a little bit.  We ended up at Slavinikis, which used to be Carrefours Department Store.  Do you all remember that place?  The new Greek version does not have as much variety in their stock and the prices are much higher.  They do have a small coffee shop on the 2^nd floor, though, and there was easy parking near the front door.  So that’s where we went. Giota, Mike, and I each had a filter coffee while Jody who isn’t fond of coffee had a Coke Light.  They don’t have Diet Coke in Cyprus so this was the closest one could come to that.  They always offer Coke Zero in lieu of Diet Coke, but if you are a Diet Coke aficionado you know they are not the same! Finally, about 5 p.m. after many hugs and saying we would see her in the fall (we hope), we headed into the hotel.

Now it was time to finish our packing.  It is going to be difficult for sure.  Did our suitcases shrink?  What happened?!  About 7:30 p.m. Jody came over to our room for dinner.  We drank the rest of her fruit wine and ate fruit, cheese, and nuts.  After the lunch we had, we definitely did not need a large evening meal. Then it was time that we all finish packing and set our alarms for the hideous hour of 2:30 a.m.