Cyprus

Cyprus - December 2000

With the excuse of celebrating David's Mum's 60th birthday, eleven of us set off for a week of winter sunshine in Cyprus. We stayed in two villas in the hills above Paphos.

Paphos

Paphos is an interesting mix of old and the new, with its ancient sites, busy harbour, appealing promenade, restaurants, and modern town centre, it is much more than just a tourist town.

Paphos harbour from the fort

Sunset over fort and harbour

Paphos Mosaics
West of the harbour at Paphos, in several houses lie the excavated Roman mosaics, it is believed that more still lie undiscovered. Click on an image below to view an enlarged version of the mosaic, then use your browser's Back button to return to this page.
Hermes and baby Dionysos	Theseus and the Minotaur	Mosaic from the House of Dionysos	Dionysos, Akme and King Ikarios

Tombs of the Kings

Although known as the Tombs of the Kings, these of tombs cut out of the rock show no evidence for royal use. An excellent time to go is late afternoon when the crowds have left, you can wander around the eight complexes of tombs dating from around 300BC in serenity, it's eerie, but not at all macabre.

Agios Georgios

The church of Agios Georgios stands on the headland overlooking the small fishing harbour of Moudhalis. Hidden along a path, and through some broken fence, behind the modern church lies the 6th century Byzantine basilica complex with some excellent geometric and animal floor mosaics.

Nicosia (Lefkosia)

Nicosia (Lefkosia) is the last divided city in the world, half Greek and half Turkish, split by The Green Line since 1974. It's a fascinating place to explore, with many old buildings and interesting museums, particularly the Cyprus Museum which gives the history and archaeology of the island in a compact series of galleries.

The blue railings lead to the platform for viewing into No Man's Land.

Northern Cyprus from the Woolworth Building

Go to the top floor of the Woolworths department store and you'll find an observatory, complete with powerful binoculars to get as close a look as you can into the Turkish sector.

Next to the Archbishop Makarios Palace and Agios Ioannis is the Folk Art museum.

We always manage to have a Greek Calendar on the wall at home, so couldn't resist taking a shot in that style.

Kourion

Sanctuary of Apollo Hylates
	The large and sacred complex of the sanctuary of Apollo Hylates lies to the west of the main Kourion site. Apollo was the god worshipped here in pre-Christian times as protector of the city and surrounding woodlands. Most buildings date from the Roman period, flattened in the earthquake of 365, and since partly restored.

Kourion Ancient City

Dating from Neolithic times, Kourion was an important town in the Roman, and Byzantine periods, but was abandoned after Arab raids in the seventh century. The main site is the theatre, which is still used for Shakespearean plays in the summer. Of just as much interest are the mosaics in the baths nearby, and further along the road the Basilica, Baptistry and more open-air mosaics.

Kourion Mosaics
The Roman Mosaics at Kourion date from around the fourth century. Click on the image to view enlarged version, then use your browser's Back button to return to this page.
Ktisis, Spirit of Creation	Gladiators Mosaic

Kolossi

You may know that we have a passion for castles, so we couldn't miss the opportunity to visit Kolossi, near Kourion.

Dating from the 13th century, the castle formed the headquarters of the Knights Hospitaller, though the buildings visible today date from only the 15th century.