Yesterday's Walk

[Anarita John]

Walk most days from Penelope's Church to Lighthouse Beach but yesterday took my camera to photograph the art work on the section from the harbour to Lighthouse Beach.

Some explanation of the artwork and who it was by, in English, would have been nice. The gallery, on the right at the harbour was closed so there was no-one to ask. However, I did find this article.

http://mycyprusinsider.com/cyprus-uncov ... in-paphos/

P1000358 (800 x 450).jpg (109.07 KiB) Viewed 3199 times

[Ams]

I enjoyed walking along that path and looking at all the variations of artwork on the idols, some of them are rather good. I took lots of photos...

[Kili01]

I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder!
But I think that they look weird and tacky! What is their purpose?

Dee

[Dominic]

It is art. I shall pop down and photograph them soon. Let's face it Dee, they are more attractive than the vast majority of 2000 year old bits of pottery that get dug up.

[Steve Matthews]

I think local schools were each asked to produce one for this display. Like them or not, you have to admire the hard work and creativity put into this project by local students.

[Kili01]

Ah, Dominic, usually I agree with you, but the exceptions are
1. My appreciation of modern art.
2. I greatly prefer looking at 2000 year old pottery, mosaics and statues, which personally I find much more interesting!!
Paphos could be promoting its archaeological sites to visitors and encouraging peoples interest in archaeology much more than they are currently.
Dee

[Anarita John]

When the path was first laid, local primary schools were asked to design modern mosaics that could be laid by the builders. Unfortunately there are only a couple left, one, the remains of a rocket and a couple of sets of weights. It provided a really good talking point for families walking along the path and our daughter Rachel,when she was ten, enjoyed discovering them. These likewise have had the same effect.
I really enjoy my walks in the tourist area.

[Kili01]

Incidentalky, these figures look very like stylised versions of Pagan fertility symbols (of pregnant looking women) which were used in temples when sacrifices were made to the gods, Later they were used in churches where they were probably left by young couples hoping to conceive a child.
Numerous examples of them have been uncovered during excavations in Paphos and in Cyprus. Some of the best examples are in the museums.
Dee

[Ams]

The shape is that of the Idol of Pomos.

I found it very enjoyable to walk along the path and look at all the different variations done by the school children. Some are quite basic, others are fun, but many have serious messages. And with many of them you can see a lot of work went into them and I was impressed by the creativity.

I don't think these are meant to be a long-term feature. It was part of Pafos 2017. Some of them are already a bit battered by the elements.

I'm sure many tourists and locals have enjoyed looking at them as they walked along the path.