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Published: April 4th 2024
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Agios Neophytos Monastery
The oldest sections of Agios Neophytos Monastery are partly in caves and hollows Ruins, tombs, ruins, monastery, ruins, a cat and more ruins
On this trip my plan was to stay in Larnaca the entire time and explore the island by going on daytrips from there. I could take bus both to Ayia Napa and to Nicosia, so those two places I could easily get to. Since the most remote parts of Cyprus could be reached by car in three hours or so from Larnaca I decided to rent a car for three days.
I thought I had an excellent plan until I realised that they drive on the left side of the road. I guess I should have seen that one coming but I didn't. I was actually less afraid of driving on the left side of the road than I was of changing gears with my left hand. When I picked up the car I therefore asked to have the vehicle I had reserved replaced with a similar one with an automatic transmission. Once I had that done I decided to give it a try. It turned out to be easier than I expected to drive on the left. It did help a lot that the
traffic situation in Cyprus was kind to a person like me. Uncomplicated roads, not much traffic and people generally driving slow and friendly. I drove around Cyprus for three days and I didn't have any accident.
The first day I had the car I went to Paphos, a city on the west coast of Cyprus. It is a town that has a long history and is practically littered with historical sites and various ruins. But the first place I visited was not a ruin, it was a former monastery that has been turned into a museum.
Agios Neophytos Monastery Agios Neophytos Monastery is located 10 km north of Pafos. It was built in the 12th century monastery and the oldest sections are partly in caves and hollows. In the caves there are some very old frescoes. Unfortunately I wasn't permitted to take photos of them.
Tombs of the Kings Tombs of the Kings is an area where wealthy people were buried in tombs carved out of the rock. Some of the tombs are believed to be well over 2,000 years old.
Hammam I had some trouble finding a place to
Tombs of the Kings
Entrance of a tomb park the car. So I ended up parking it on a street in town and from there I walked to the various sites I wanted to visit. Near where I parked there was the ruins of a hammam, a bathhouse from when Cyprus was part of the Ottoman Empire. Most likely the hammam dated from the 17th or 18th century. This ruin is a very good example of the many minor historical sites that are scattered all over Paphos. In most other cities a site like this would be listed as a major tourist attraction. In Paphos there wasn't even any sign there saying what it is. I had to look it up on Google Maps to find out something about it.
The catacombs of Agia Solomani The catacombs of Agia Solomani is another minor site in Paphos. At a casual glance it feels somewhat similar to the Tombs of the Kings, but much smaller. However, in the catacombs of Agia Solomani there are fragments of frescoes preserved. This makes me believe that this site not only is smaller, but also is of much later date.
Paphos Archaeological Park Paphos Archaeological Park is
Tombs of the Kings
Entrance of a tomb a large area with hundreds of archaeological finds. It is a large site with a wide range of historical remains including Roman villas, an amphitheatre, temples, palaces and tombs. If a visitor wants to see the entire site and not rush through it they can easily spend several hours there. I focused on the most interesting sites and walked through some sections very quickly. Some remote parts of the site I skipped altogether.
Sanctuary of Aphrodite Paphia Sanctuary of Aphrodite Paphia is another historical site, this one with the ruins of a sanctuary dedicated to the goddess Aphrodite.
Hope you enjoyed the cat photos I added. I know that it is three pictures of the same cat. But she is so lovely that I wanted to include them all. Also I feel that they made the blog entry a bit less dull, so they are there for a good purpose.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Cyprus
You certainly are wetting our appetite for a trip to Cyprus!