I was shocked to confer with my classmates after our field trip around some sites near Limassol to find out that they didn’t care about the medieval castle.  

“That was the one I would have skipped,” they said. 

It was truly appalling.  

I, personally, wouldn’t have skipped a single thing, but if forced at gunpoint to pick one of the four places to axe from the roster, it would have been the neolithic site we did last. And part of that decision could be influenced by the fact that it was indeed the last place we visited, and therefore I was the most sweaty while being there, but that’s not the only reason.  

Unfortunately, I am a huge fan of castles. And medieval history. Specifically (hold for gags) English medieval history.  

I won’t pretend that isn’t not a little messed up that a very British looking castle exists in Cyprus, because yes, the colonization of it all, but I’m also not going to pretend like I didn’t think it was sick. The good kind of sick. 

I mean, it was the first place we visited that you could walk inside of. Which was nice because of the heat, but also because it’s just so cool to walk through a place that people fully lived and died in. I admit, I fully imagined which room would have been mine had I lived there. 

I think the presence of the castle really contributes to just how storied the history of Cyprus really is. We spent a lot of time living in the Hellenistic world, which is unfalteringly interesting, but getting to look outside of that is equally as special. This is not a place where time stands still. It evolved with the rest of the world, it got to see the changing of the guard as power moved west. And the castle is a tangible reminder of that very important truth.  

So, if you’re reading this, tzar, DO NOT LET THEM TAKE THE CASTLE OFF THE FIELD TRIP LIST!