Paphos

Petra tou Romiou (Greek: Πέτρα του Ρωμιού - "Rock of the Romans")

According to one legend, the rock is the birthplace of the goddess of love, Aphrodite. So Gaia (the goddess of the earth) convinced one of her sons Kronos to castrate his own father Uranus (the sky). From the seed and blood of Uranus castrated by Kronos, which fell into the sea and formed snow-white foam, Aphrodite was born near the island of Cythera (hence the nickname "foam-born"). The breeze brought her to the island of Cyprus (or she herself sailed there, because she did not like Kiefera), where she, who emerged from the waves of the sea, was met by Ores.

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Promenade of Paphos

The Paphos promenade is a popular place for a promenade around the city and its historical part - Kato Paphos. A paved promenade stretches from Paphos Castle to the Municipal Baths Beach. Since the 2nd century BC. e. the embankment was a major trading center of antiquity, and its harbor (Paphos harbor) was a significant port.

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The Tombs of the Kings (Greek: Τάφοι των Βασιλέων)

Is a large necropolis two kilometers northwest of Paphos harbor in Cyprus. The tombs got their name from their splendor and decoration, and not at all from the burial of kings there.

Underground tombs, many of which date back to the 4th century BC. e., are carved from the rock, and are believed by researchers to have been the burial place of the aristocracy and high officials until the 3rd century AD. Many tombs are decorated with Doric columns and wall frescoes, and some are carved into the rocks to mimic an ordinary house. On the wall of one of the vast tombs, a coat of arms with a double-headed eagle, the symbol of the Ptolemaic dynasty, is carved. Although burials continued throughout the Roman period of the island's history, the Tombs of the Kings served as a place of refuge for the first Christians, along with the catacombs of Ayia Solomoni.

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Paphos Castle (Greek: Κάστρο της Πάφου)

The Medieval Fortress is a Byzantine port fortress that was built by the Louisianas in the 13th century, destroyed by the Venetians in 1570 and later rebuilt by the Turks.

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Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Chrysopolitissa

Originally an early Byzantine basilica and then a medieval Catholic church, located near the harbor of Kato Paphos in the city of Paphos, Republic of Cyprus.

The church is one of the points of Christian pilgrimage and a symbol of ecumenism, among other things, thanks to the column located in its area, to which, according to legend, the Apostle Paul was tied during his scourging with a forty-pointed whip.

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View of the old lighthouse in Paphos Archaeological Park

The lighthouse in Kato Paphos was built at the end of the 19th century, not far from the city's port and castle. It became the first lighthouse built in Cyprus.

In itself, the place where the lighthouse is located is of great historical importance. King Nikokl (lived in the 4th century BC), who moved the capital from old Paphos (Palea Paphos, modern Kouklia) to new Paphos (modern Kato Paphos), built the first city port here. After the king of Egypt, Ptolemy subjugated the island, the port was expanded, but for security reasons it was surrounded by a wall from the sea. During the reign of the Romans, the residence of the proconsul, the Roman official who ruled Cyprus, was moved to Paphos. For Paphos, the time of the Roman Empire was the period of its highest prosperity. By the way, it was from the port of Kato Paphos in the 1st century AD. Apostle Paul set off on his first missionary journey to the cities of Asia Minor.

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An overturned ship lies on the seashore. Shipwreck

There’s something tantalising about shipwrecks and the story they silently hold to themselves. And there are a number of them that lay on the shores of the island.

As you drive along the coastal road, from the heart of Kato Paphos all the way to Saint George Peyia just past Coral Bay, you will come across two shipwrecks which adorn the shores.

The first one you’ll notice, from the height of Kissonerga Village, is the wreck of M/V Demetrios II which ran aground in March 1998 after enduring heavy seas during one of its voyages from Greece to Syria, loaded with a cargo of timber.

Although quite far out at sea, this makes an enchanting backdrop to the area.

Some years later, in 2011, a second wreck happened, right near the sea caves, a couple of kilometres further down from M/V Demetrios, and very close to the Akamas Peninsula.

EDRO III was travelling from Limassol to Rhodes in Greece when it ran aground. Built in the 1960s, registered in Freetown, Sierra Leone, the EDRO III is owned by an Albanian shipping company. Local authorities are hesitant to remove the ship from the rocks because the coastline is a protected natural park where turtles nest and endemic plant and animal species thrive.

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Details

Paphos (Greek: Πάφος) is a city in the southwestern part of the island of Cyprus.

According to Greek mythology, Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, was born on the beach of Petra tou Romiou (“Romean Rock”), located 15 km east of Paphos, who emerged from the sea foam. Most of the places in the city are associated with the name of the goddess. The most famous among them are the Rock of Aphrodite, the Temple of Aphrodite in the village of Kouklia, the Baths of Aphrodite and the Fountain of Love in Latchi.

The Apostle Paul preached the word of God in Paphos. In 51 BC. e. the famous orator Mark Tullius Cicero, who was the proconsul of Cyprus, lived in the city. Paphos is included in the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage List.

The international airport is located nearby.

The city is divided into two parts - Kato Paphos (Lower Paphos), also called Nea Paphos (New Paphos), and Pano Paphos (Upper Paphos), also called Ktima. Ktima is, in fact, the city center, where most of the city's administrative buildings are located. The lower town (Kato Paphos) stretches along the coast, where most of the sights, hotels, many souvenir shops, bars, restaurants and discos are located.

Paphos harbor

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Petra tou Romiou (Greek: Πέτρα του Ρωμιού - "Rock of the Romans")

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Promenade of Paphos

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The Tombs of the Kings (Greek: Τάφοι των Βασιλέων)

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Paphos Castle (Greek: Κάστρο της Πάφου)

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Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Chrysopolitissa

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