After Kourion I headed over to the Sanctuary of Apollo Hylates in Limassol. I have always felt that this is one of the best-preserved Greek monuments in all of Cyprus, along with Curium and Ancient Salamis. Considering that this location was used to worship Apollo as early as the 8th Century BC and the buildings and expansions carried on during the next 12 centuries, it is in fantastic condition. I have to wonder how many structures in the world are still standing after more than 2,000 years and of those are there many with this much significance?
It is like stepping back in time, and the extreme feeling of sanctity is still intact, exactly as it must have been under the same sky and those few tiny billows of clouds looking down 20 centuries earlier. The wall was built to surround the sanctuary, and it could be entered from the Kourion Gate and the Pafos Gate. During the Roman Period, the addition of the North and South buildings was believed to be used for accommodating visitors. Many of the monuments and structures standing today were from the first century when the site was completely changed into a different architectural style. Over the course of the early centuries, many restorations took place, and each was designed to improve the highly revered place of worship for the god of the Woodland.