A poster of the ruins of the ancient town of Salamis, Northern Cyprus, seen on a tourism fair in 1998, first brought my attention to the part of the world as a possible holiday destination.
I booked a 1 week holiday in the neighbourhood of Salamis, was smitten by the country, met my - now - husband and moved there within less than a year.
We lived in the small town Yeni Bogazici, right opposite of Salamis, and for the next 1 1/2 years (we moved to another town later on) the ruins were literally "down our street" and our favourite spot for walks.

If you are staying either in Magosa (Famagusta), the Greek part of Cyprus or in Girne (Kyrenia) you will approach Salamis from the south. It is situated about 8 km to the north of Magosa, right opposite to the entrance of the village Yeni Bogazici. The ruins are signposted with a brown arrow that reads "Salamis Haberleri" (Salamis ruins), but this sign is usually halfway hidden in some bushes and trees.
The village is signed out much better, just don't turn to the left but to the right, into a very narrow and unimpressive road with lots of pot-holes. Follow that road along the wire fence until you reach a beautiful beach , a restaurant called Bedi's Bar and a fairly big parking lot. This parking lot serves both, restaurant and ruins, and the parking is free. To find the entrance to Salamis you will have to make your way around the restaurant.

Salamis, not to be mixed up with the island Salamis in the Saronic Gulf where the Greeks and the Persians fought their famous battle in 480 BC, was an important harbour town and city kingdom.
It is situated near Enkomi (Tuzla), the former main trading centre of Alasyia ), not far from the river Pediaeus.
When Enkomi, existing since 1600 BC and famous for trading copper, fell victim to an earthquake in 1100 BC and was totally destroyed, the rise of Salamis began.
To tell the whole history of the town could probably easily fill a book, as it shares the same colourful history as the whole island of Cyprus and it was besieged and taken over by probably every power that ever existed in the near east.
Mythology says, that the founder of the city was Teucer, the son of king Telamon of Salamis (the island this time !). He was exiled and disowned by his father after he failed to take revenge for his half-brother Ajax's death during the Trojan war.
Fact is, that the first findings in Salamis - some burial jars - date back to the 11. century BC. The first coins found of Salamis, and therefore material proof for its existence, date back to the 6. century.
At this time, the Assyrians had the power over Cyprus, Salamis was made capital and the city started to prosper and grew fast.
After the Assyrians it belonged to the Persians, the Greeks, the Egypts, the Macedonians and finally the Romans. Whoever had an empire these days could be sure to take over Cyprus for a while and rule it - until being defeated by whichever ancient super-power followed next.
By the time the Romans came in possession of Salamis the city had lost its status as capital of Cyprus to Paphos but, being a favourite with both emperors Trajan and Hadrian, it was massively extended and most of the most magnificent buildings still existing date back to the Roman era.
What humans couldn't achieve, no matter how often Salamis had been subject to warfare it survived over centuries, nature could. Several severe earthquakes damaged the city between 75 AD and the 4th century. It was rebuilt each time, but the silting of the all-important harbour of the town finally led to its decline. When the Arabs attacked Salamis in the 7th century the last inhabitants left and fled to the neighbouring Famagusta.
There must have been some change in the climate too, as most of the ruins have been found totally covered in sand - which at least saved them from being taken down and used as building material in the centuries to come.

The entrance:

Just around the corner from the gymnasium.

The theatre is still used today and every now and then there are concerts or plays. I always wanted to go and see one but never got the chance for one reason or another. So if one should happen while you are there and you manage to get hold of a ticket, than go and grab the chance. I wouldn't be bothered about the music too much, just the chance to attend a concert in this stunning place would be much more important to me.

Passing from the few leftovers of an old water clock, the even fewer of an old forum and the much better preserved ones of a rather big Byzantine Cistern you'll slowly make your way towards the Agora, the roman market place and centre of social life those days.

Have I already mentioned that the site of the Salamis ruins is rather on the big scale or, to make it very clear - HUGE ! More than one square mile, to be exact.

After leaving the market behind and passing the churches you will walk towards the sea and, about halfway, in between some sand dunes, you will find yourself confronted with another part of Roman history.
Roman villas were very large buildings and very luxurious. To keep a household like this running it needed a lot of people. Only to keep the hot water floating needed several people to constantly keep the fires burning. As paying someone to do these jobs for them somehow didn't appeal to the noble citizens of Rome they "employed" slaves to run their households, baths, official buildings, etc. There were slaves and semi-slaves. While the first usually lived on the same grounds as their owners, the semi slaves lived in a separate area of the town, known as Slaves' quarters, in tiny houses.

These areas were usually as far away from the villas and, if a harbour was existing in a Roman city, mostly not far from it.
In Salamis about 30 of these little houses have been excavated. No under-floor heating and running water here : A bucket, a well and a stone basin in the house to fill it was. Some of the basins are still existing.

The harbour is situated in a beautiful little bay and what is absolutely amazing is, that the sockets of the 2000 year old jetty have survived until today. You can't reach them by foot, but if you want, you can swim out there. Do it only if you are a good swimmer as there is a bit of a current and be careful with children.
If you take your time here and have a good look around the beach, you will realise that it is "littered" with small pieces of marble or pottery. They have been washed out at sea and brought back by it and they can be picked up -and you are allowed to keep whatever you find here.

My main bugbear with the site is, that it is not signed out as it should and, with dozens of small paths in between the ruins, it is incredibly easy to get lost. It also would be very helpful to have some information tableaux at the ruins, as it will be hard for most to guess, what the various buildings had been used for and for which remarkable details to watch out for.

- The ways, often not much more than paths, are very uneven and the ruins overgrown. This is a place for comfortable shoes, so leave the heels in the hotel and put on trainers or hiking shoes. They will also be much more useful if you should really meet a snake. They tend to hide and you won't like to find yourself within inches from a viper with nothing but flip-flops to protect your toes.

- If you haven't gone digital yet, don't forget to bring enough films.

- Be aware that Cyprus can get very hot, even as early as beginning of may or as late as october. There isn't really any shelter from the sun while you are on the site, so make sure to use a sunscreen with a high factor and to wear a hat. As great as the white marble looks in the bright sunshine - this can be very harmful for your eyes, so don't forget your sunglasses!

- If, after leaving the site, you feel like going for a swim at the beach next to the entrance, in front of the restaurant, you will find a small wooden pier there. There are some warning sign that you shouldn't jump from there and not swim around this particular area. Well, there is a reason for this as there is a very strong current and there have been some very tragic accidents. So stay well away and paddle a bit further up the beach where it is perfectly safe.

While in the area go and also visit the tombs of the kings and the monastery of St Barnabas. Both are only a kilometre down the main road and your entrance tickets enables you to see the tombs. Not too much to see here, most of the items that have been found in the graves have been re-located to the museum for national history in Nicosia, but the burial chambers themselves are worth a visit and you can have a glimpse at the bones of a donkey. Or mule - I forgot which one it was.

Outside of the monastery is a small chapel in which you will find the bones of the saint, who had been born in Salamis as a Jew with the name Joseph. From what I read, he has been stoned to death in Salamis around 60 AD and his bones have been found 400 years later. I wouldn't bet too much on whether the bones in the chapel belonged to the real Barnabas or not and it is a smelly and mouldy place, but the exhibition in the monastery is worth to be looked at.