There were two cool things about the couple of days we spent around Paphos and the west coast. The first was the accommodation that we stayed in, about an hour north of the city in the hills. The little village of Droushia has winding streets, a little taverna, and this beautiful renovated farmhouse.
Second, the archeological sites to be found along the west coast are important and stunning. First on our list were the tombs of the kings, not that the tombs were actually used by royalty. Members of the higher social classes were buried there, but they got their name due to their grand appearance. It's another UNESCO world heritage site, but grave robbers spirited away tomb treasures a long time ago.
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| It's right on the coast so all you can see is a desert landscape and all you can hear are the crashing waves |
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| The tombs from above |
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| Stairs took you down into them |
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| The burial chambers |
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| View from a tomb |
The rest of Paphos smacked to us of Aiya Napa..lots of bars, clubs and restaurants. Not much beach space. Too many fat, sunburned, drinking people. So we kept on going. Next stop, the Paphos Mosaics. The mosaics are found in the Paphos Archealogical Site. The city that lies in ruins now was originally founded in the late 4th century BC. At that time, Cyprus was part of the kingdom of the Ptolemies, the Greco-Macedonian rulers of Egypt whose capital was Alexandria. Paphos was an important strategic outpost for the Ptoleies and the settlement grew quite large over the subsequent seven centuries. The city was originally encircled by massive walls and occuped an area of about 950 000 sq metres. Despite being ceded to the Romans in 58 BC, it remained the centre of all political and administrative life in Cyprus until a major earthquake in the 4th century badly damaged it. Salamis in the east became the new capital. Arab raids in the 7th century further contributed to the city's demise and neitehr Lusignan settledment (1192-1489) nor Venetian and Ottoman colonisation revived its fortunes.
The intricate collection of mosacis was discovered by accident in 1962 when a farmer ploughed his field. They originally decorated the floor of a large, wealthy residence from the Roman period. They are mostly based on ancient Greek myths.
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| The wooden roof provided some respite from the burning heat and sun |
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| Descriptions were also provided in Braille. Which is cool, and which we only found in this location in Cyprus, but I wonder if there is really a big market for people with vision difficulties visiting mosaics? |
Outside again we discovered the heart of the original complex, built in the 2nd century.
Clearly needing our daily fix of ancient ruins, our first stop the following day was the Temple of Aphrodite, closely followed by Aphrodite's Rock and beach.
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| Ruined temple |
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| The museum near the ruins |
Probably the most famous beach in Cyprus, legend has it that Aphrodite, ancien patron goddess of Cyprus, emerged here from the sea in a surge of foamn, before no doubt going off to entertain some lovers. And, well, that's it! It was more about the nostalgia for me...and the beautiful location. But Small Fry was napping and we drove on...
...to ancient Kourion. It was most likely founded in neolithic times and held a strategic position high on a bluff overlooking the sea. It became a permanent settlement in about the 13th century BC, when Mycenaean colonisers established themselves here. The settlement also prospered under the Ptolemies and Romans. Pirate raids in the 7th century eventually forced the Bishop of Kurion to move his base to nearby Episkopi. Kourion declined from that time on and was rediscovered in 1876 when excavations began.
The site is dominated by its classical Roman theatre. The original was destroyed by that 4th century earthquake and what remains now is a reconstruction, used for outdoor cultural events.
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| There were also beautiful mosaics from the 5th century BC |
And that was it, because now Small Fry needed his second nap, and we needed to get to Larnaca by dinner time in order to catch our flight the next day. So we made an all too brief stop at Kolossi Castle, touched on the Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area, and zoomed on.
When Cyprus finally - and belatedly - received its independence from colonial administration in 1960, Britain negotiated terms that saw the newly formed Republic of Cyprus cede 158 sq km to its former colonial master. The territories are known as sovereign base areas and contain British military bases.
We made it in time for our Last Supper in Larnaca, and a quick walk along the pier before sundown.
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| Our final sunset |
Cyprus' past is full of stories of colonisers, raiders and armies generally coveting the small island's strategic position. It was fascinating learning about its history - and some of my history I suppose - along the way. And at the same time, we had a brilliant holiday. There was plenty of sun and sea, and great food. We met wonderfully open and friendly people who made life easy for us (mainly because SF is so cute). There was incredible scenery, excellent roads, high quality accommodation and plenty of things to visit and learn about. We came. We saw. We loved it.
