“Olketa Sail Go Long Cyprus”

HEM nao firstfala toktok long story long buk bilong Acts abaotem experience bilong Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark, olketa Christian missionary wea visitim Cyprus long samting olsem 47 C.E. (Acts 13:4) Long datfala taem and long distaem tu, Cyprus garem important position long east part bilong Mediterranean Sea.

Olketa bilong Rome kavetem datfala island, and olketa start for rul ovarem long 58 B.C.E. Bifor datfala taem, staka interesting and important samting happen long Cyprus. Olketa difren pipol wea bin kontrolem hem insaed long history hem olketa from Phoenicia, Greece, Assyria, Persia, and Egypt. Long Midol Ages olketa Crusader, Frank, and Venetian tekova, and bihaen, olketa Ottoman. Long 1914, Britain nao tekovarem datfala island and rulim go kasem taem olketa kasem independence long 1960.

Main wei wea olketa kasem selen distaem hem from tourism, bat long taem bilong Paul, Cyprus garem staka natural resource, wea olketa long Rome mekius long hem for mekem taon bilong olketa seleva rich. Olketa faendem copper long there longtaem bifor, and kasem end bilong taem wea olketa bilong Rome stap, olketa aotem finis samting olsem 250,000 ton bilong copper. Bat, for kasem datfala copper olketa katem daon staka bush area. Taem Paul  kasem datfala island, olketa katem daon finis planti bush area.

Cyprus Anda Long Rul Bilong Rome

Encyclopædia Britannica talem hao Julius Caesar givim Cyprus long Egypt and, bihaen long hem, Mark Antony duim sem samting. Bat, anda long rul bilong Augustus, Rome kasem bak Cyprus and wanfala governor wea stap anda long Rome hem rulim—olsem Luke, wea raetem buk bilong Acts hem talem. Sergius Paulus nao governor taem Paul hem preach long there.—Acts 13:7.

Datfala international peace wea olketa kolem Pax Romana and wea Rome mek sure hem go ahed, hem mekem chance for pipol waka long mine and wakem samfala samting wea mekem saed long selen hem kamap gud. Cyprus kasem samfala moa selen tu bikos army bilong Rome stap and staka pipol travel kam for showimaot respect long Aphrodite, spesol god bilong datfala island. From diswan, olketa wakem olketa niu road, harbor, and olketa naesfala pablik building. Olketa keepim Greek languis olsem main languis, and staka pipol long there worshipim Aphrodite, Apollo, Zeus and tu, emperor bilong Rome. Pipol garem barava gudfala living and interesting laef.

Hem nao living bilong pipol long Cyprus taem Paul travel akrosim datfala island and teachim pipol abaotem Christ. Bat, Christian Wei hem kasem Cyprus bifor Paul hem arrive. Buk bilong Acts storyim hao bihaen dae bilong Stephen, datfala firstfala Christian wea dae for faith bilong hem, samfala Christian ranawe go long Cyprus. (Acts 11:19) Barnabas, wea go witim Paul, hem from Cyprus, and from hem savve gud long datfala island, hem best man for leadim Paul long disfala preaching gogo.—Acts 4:36; 13:2.

Followim Gogo Bilong Paul

Hem hard lelebet for barava savve long gogo bilong Paul long Cyprus. Nomata olsem, olketa man wea studyim oldfala samting savve hao long taem bilong Rome, olketa garem olketa gudfala road. From olketa maunten and river and samting olsem stap yet, olketa main road distaem stap long sem ples wea olketa stap taem olketa missionary wakabaot followim olketa.

Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark sail kam from Seleucia kasem harbor bilong Salamis. Kapitol taon and main harbor hem long Paphos, so why nao olketa kam long Salamis? Wanfala reason hem bikos Salamis hem stap long east saed bilong datfala island, 200 kilometer nomoa from Seleucia, wea stap long mainland. Nomata olketa bilong Rome mekem Paphos changem Salamis olsem kapitol, Salamis hem go ahed olsem main ples bilong education and bisnis long datfala island. Staka Jew stap long Salamis, and olketa missionary hia start for “preachim word bilong God long olketa synagogue bilong olketa Jew.”—Acts 13:5.

Distaem Salamis hem pisis evribit. Nomata olsem, olketa man wea studyim oldfala samting luksavve hao bifor datfala taon hem ples wea important and garem rich living. Main ples bilong politik and religion hem long market, and  luk olsem market bilong olketa hem big winim eni narawan wea olketa faendem long full Mediterranean area. Taem olketa lukluk gud long olketa oldfala samting long there, wea stap from taem bilong Augustus Caesar, olketa faendem olketa floor wea garem spesol design, olketa ples for duim exercise, olketa spesol ples for swim, tufala stadium, olketa spesol grev insaed rok, and narafala maeti stadium wea 15,000 pipol savve sidaon insaed! Klosap long there hem samfala old samting from wanfala maeti temple bilong Zeus.

Nomata olsem, Zeus no garem paoa for stopem olketa earthquake wea spoelem datfala taon. Wanfala maeti earthquake long 15 B.C.E. distroem klosap full taon bilong Salamis, bat bihaen, Augustus buildim bak. Long 77 C.E., narafala earthquake distroem Salamis and olketa buildim bak moa. Long mek-foa century, staka earthquake finisim Salamis and no enitaem bihaen datwan hem kamap gud olsem bifor. Kasem Midol Ages, harbor bilong hem fulap witim sand and no eniwan iusim moa.

Bible no talem tingting bilong pipol bilong Salamis abaotem preaching bilong Paul. Bat Paul mas preach long olketa nara community tu. Taem olketa lusim Salamis, olketa missionary hia savve followim thrifala main road: wanfala long north, wea katkros long olketa Kyrenia maunten; narawan wea go west thru long area bilong Mesaoria thru long midol bilong datfala island; and mek-thri road wea followim saedsea long south.

Olketa kastom story sei Paul followim mek-thri road hia. Datfala road hem go thru long gudfala farm area wea garem red graon. Long samting olsem 50 kilometer long southwest, datfala road hem kam long taon bilong Larnaca then hem tan go long north go long midol long island.

“Thru Long Full Island”

Gogo, datfala road kasem oldfala taon bilong Ledra. Distaem, taon bilong Nicosia, kapitol bilong Cyprus, hem stap long there. No eni samting stap from datfala taon bifor. Bat insaed olketa wall wea olketa buildim long mek-16 century raonem Nicosia hem wanfala busy road wea no waed wea olketa kolem Ledra Street. Iumi no savve sapos Paul hem kasem Ledra or nomoa. Only samting Bible talem iumi hem hao Paul and olketa wea go witim hem go “thru long full island.” (Acts 13:6) The Wycliffe Historical Geography of Bible Lands hem sei diswan “maet minim olketa kasem klosap evri community bilong olketa Jew wea stap long Cyprus.”

 Paul hem barava interest for story witim evriwan wea hem fit for story witim long Cyprus. For duim olsem, maet hem go south long road wea go from Ledra kasem Amathus and Kourion—tufala big taon wea garem staka pipol from planti difren ples.

Kourion hem stap long olketa hae cliff wea drop go daon long sea. Datfala sem earthquake wea distroem Salamis long 77 C.E. hem kasem tu disfala nambawan taon wea stap anda long Greece and Rome. Samfala part bilong wanfala temple wea dedicate long Apollo from samting olsem 100 C.E. hem stap. Stadium wea join witim datwan garem spes for 6,000 pipol sidaon. Rich living bilong planti pipol long Kourion hem showaot long olketa spesol design long floor nomata insaed olketa private haos tu.

Gogo Long Paphos

From Kourion road hem go west thru long area wea olketa growim grape for mekem wine. Hem isisi go ap followim hill and then hem go daon and benben followim olketa cliff go kasem olketa gravol sandbis long daon. Olketa kastom story bilong Greece sei diswan nao barava ples wea sea bornem datfala woman god Aphrodite.

Winim evri nara Greek god long Cyprus, pipol laekem tumas Aphrodite, and worship bilong hem go ahed strong go kasem mek-tu century C.E. Main ples for worshipim Aphrodite hem long Paphos. Evri spring season, wanfala big festival kamap long there for honorim hem. Pipol from Asia Minor, Egypt, Greece, and from farawe long Persia kam long Paphos for worshipim hem. Taem olketa Ptolemy rulim Cyprus, pipol wea stap long there start for savve long wei bilong olketa long Egypt for worshipim olketa Pharaoh.

Paphos hem kapitol bilong Cyprus wea Rome rulim and ples wea governor hem rul from, and hem ples wea olketa wakem olketa copper selen. Long 15 B.C.E. wanfala earthquake distroem hem tu, and olsem hem duim long Salamis, Augustus provaedem selen for buildim bak datfala taon. Taem olketa man for digim old samting lukluk long there, olketa luksavve long richfala living bilong samfala pipol long Paphos long first century—olketa waed road, olketa private haos wea olketa decoratem witim enikaen spesol samting, olketa music skul, ples for exercise, and wanfala bigfala stadium.

Diswan nao Paphos wea Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark visitim, and long hia nao datfala governor Sergius Paulus—“man wea kleva tumas”—“hem barava laek herem word bilong God” nomata datfala kastom man Elymas hem strong for againstim. Datfala governor “hem sapraes tumas long teaching bilong Jehovah.”—Acts 13:6-12.

Bihaen olketa finisim preaching waka bilong olketa long Cyprus, olketa missionary hia go ahed long waka bilong olketa long Asia Minor. Datfala first missionary gogo bilong Paul hem wanfala important part long wei for spredim tru Christian Wei. Datfala buk St. Paul’s Journeys in the Greek Orient kolem diswan “really start bilong Christian waka and . . . missionary waka bilong Paul.” Hem sei moa: “From Cyprus hem stap long ples wea evri ship mas go pas for kasem Syria, Asia Minor, and Greece, hem fitim for hem kamap first ples for startim missionary waka.” Bat hem first step nomoa. Klosap 2000 year bihaen, Christian missionary waka hem go ahed, and hem stret for sei gud nius bilong Kingdom bilong Jehovah hem barava kasem “evri farawe ples long earth.”—Acts 1:8.

[Olketa Map long page 20]

(For formatted text, lukim pablikeson)

CYPRUS

NICOSIA (Ledra)

Salamis

Paphos

Kourion

Amathus

Larnaca

KYRENIA MTS.

MESAORIA PLAIN

TROODOS MTS.

[Piksa long page 21]

Long Paphos, Paul wea fulap witim holy spirit, mekem datfala kastom man Elymas blind