Paphos is one of the most beautiful cities of Cyprus and the capital of the homonymous region. It’s divided into “Ano Paphos” and “Kato Paphos”, with the former being the commercial part of the city and the latter the tourist one, as it’s located by the coast. It has always been the city that was and is still loved by archaeologists and fans of history, due to its numerous historic monuments. It’s worth noting that Paphos was destroyed and rebuilt twice, once in the 1st century and the other in the 7th, as well as during the Ottoman occupation. Today, it’s a modern and beautiful city, which has nothing to envy from the rest of Europe. The museums in the city of Paphos are not one, not two but twelve, something that justifies the love of archaeologists for it. After all, it’s one of the few cities in the world that has been completely included in the UNESCO World Heritage Map. The impressive Byzantine castle and the huge tombs of the kings of the 4th century are a pole of attraction. Finally, as soon as the sun goes down, the city transforms into a huge party, especially in the area of Kato Paphos, where most of the beach bars are located.
A few things about Paphos
The name of Paphos is directly connected with the ancient goddess Aphrodite, as Paphos was the name of her daughter with Pygmalion. Nevertheless, there are five other contenders for the city’s name! Geographically, it’s located 8 miles west of the old town, which was destroyed by an earthquake in the 12th century BC. It was originally a small village, but when the historic Salamis began to decline, Paphos then took the reins and became the capital of the wider area. Finally, for lovers of religious history, Apostle Paul was imprisoned in the city of Paphos, when he brought the message of Christ to the island in 45 AD.
