A group of Erasmus students were caught climbing an ancient monument in Limassol on Sunday, prompting outrage over tourists flagrantly disrespecting local cultural heritage.
The students climbed atop the Sanctuary of Apollo Hylates, an 8th-century BC monument, to take photographs, ignoring the site’s protection rules.
The incident was documented by architect Sotiris Giannakou, who told Kathimerini that the students ignored repeated calls to step down from the ruins.
Giannakou said he witnessed the scene along with around 40 other visitors, several of whom posted about it on social media, describing the behaviour as “a trampling on our very relationship with the past.”
“They got down only after persistent shouting,” he said, noting that staff on site attempted to intervene while British bases (SBA) police collected statements.
The Department of Antiquities is expected to take further action and has contacted the Erasmus committee, emphasising that the students had been granted free entry yet still showed no respect for the site or the state.
In his post, Giannakou wrote: “It is not just an ancient monument; it is part of our identity, our heritage, and it hurts to see it treated with such recklessness.”
The Cyprus Mail attempted to contact the Department of Antiquities and SBA police but received no response.
