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Published: March 15th 2024
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Building with murals
Building with murals in Larnaca Cats, historical sites, flamingos and more
December is a very dark, cold and wet month in Sweden. Since Ake doesn't like when it is dark, cold and wet and since he also usually has time off from work in the end of December he always tries to go abroad this time of the year. This year Emma couldn't go with him so he had to travel alone. And he went to Cyprus.
Cyprus is a country and an island in the Mediterranean Sea. The northern part of Cyprus has since the 1970-ies been occupied by Turkey. Since I have already
visited North Cyprus I felt no need to go there on this trip. Instead my plan was to focus on visiting the south. Here in this blog entry I will write about what I did and saw (and in one case what I didn't see) in the first three days when I was sightseeing in Larnaca and Ayia Napa.
Larnaca My flight ticket took me to the city
Larnaca which is in the southeast of Cyprus. It is a very nice city to stay in and I enjoyed it there. One of the
Cat
Cat in Larnaca reasons that I liked Larnaca was that I stayed in a very nice and friendly hostel. The place was only 3 minutes' walk away from the waterfront and the beach, so its location was very central and convenient. Also many of the guests in the hostel were like me travelling solo and were happy to go out together in the evening for a bite to eat or to have a drink.
In short, Larnaca is a nice and friendly place and is very much alive also outside of the tourist season. It is also a good city to stay in if you want to explore the rest of the unoccupied part of Cyprus. There are also a few things worth seeing in town. The things I saw that I found the most interesting in central Larnaca are the following:
=>
Church of Saint Lazarus - A pretty church that gets many visitors thanks to its convenient location in the city centre.
=>
Larnaca Castle - This is a small castle/fort that is located only about 150 meters from Church of Saint Lazarus.
=> The waterfront with its beach, restaurants and cafés.
Outside the city centre
Church of Saint Lazarus
Church of Saint Lazarus in evening light I visited the following places
=>
Kamares Aqueduct - it was built in the mid 18th century and was in use as late as 1939.
=>
Hala Sultan Tekke Mosque - a complex including a mosque and a mausoleum among other things.
=>
Larnaca Salt Lake - several shallow salt lakes, mud plains and shrub areas that attract flamingos and other birds.
When I was in Larnaca I really wanted to see the
Salt & Pepper Museum, but sadly it was closed the days I was there. In the museum they have thousands of salt and pepper shakers on display. We have visited, and written about, similar kinds of museums elsewhere in the world (
A pig museum in Stuttgart, a
toilet museum in Delhi and a
petrol museum in Älvsbyn for example) and we tend to like them. So it was a bit of a disappointment to me that I didn't get to see the salt and pepper shakers in Larnaca.
I just have to show you this tacky Christmas decoration they had on a pier in the city centre.
I am not a big fan of Christmas decorations. But if you are going to have them, I say make them
Portico
Portico outside Church of Saint Lazarus big, tacky with flashing lights.
Ayia Napa Ayia Napa is a popular tourist destination in the east of Cyprus. It is probably a lively place during the time of the year when the charter companies run their tours to Cyprus. But in December very few tourists visit Ayia Napa. The town was a very quiet and desolate place. Most restaurants and other businesses were closed for the season and the streets were almost completely empty. I am happy that I didn't make Ayia Napa my primary destination because I would have been disappointed and bored.
But there are some interesting things there worth seeing, and they are probably more rewarding to visit at this time of the year when there are few tourists around. So maybe I picked the right time of the year after all...
=> Makronissos Tombs - an archaeological site with rock cut tombs.
=> Ayia Napa Monastery - a former monastery in central Ayia Napa that after ongoing renovations will become a museum.
=> A
natural bridge - It is also referred to as the Love Bridge.
=> Ayia Napa Sculpture and Cactus Park -
Portico
Portico outside Church of Saint Lazarus It was a nice park with many sculptures. There are so many sculptures there that a visitor should make sure you have plenty of time to spend to see and appreciate them all.
I have also thrown in two photos of cats. Cats are cute so the photos make the blog entry better. But it is no coincidence that I have taken photos of cats, because there were cats everywhere in Cyprus. I'll write more about the many cats in Cyprus in a later blog entry.
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Shanghai Sheri
Schroeder family
Fun collection of photos
Interesting that churches, mosques and a monastery (Buddhist? Christian??) all are represented. I'm curious about the demographics there. Thanks for sharing your trip! Oh my cod! hahahaha