They spell it Pafos here. St Paul first came to Cyrpus with Barnabas at Salamis on the north-east coast, now under Turkish rule (so we can't go there). He then preached around the island, ending up at Paphos where he had a confrontation with a well-know sorcerer. Not much evidence of his visit here except an early christian basilica with St Paul's Pillar.
We acnhored at sea off Pafos harbour, and had to be tendered ashore. I chose just to do a local tour - I didn't feel like facing a 2 hour drive to Nicosia to see the divide capital. The 3 hour visit took us to some UNESCO World Heritage sites here. First was the House of Dionysos (god of wine). It is in a large archaeological park that covers several acres of hilltop right in the old city. The building is really just a shelter erected over the floor mosaics of a 2nd century mansion, believed to be the local Roman governor's residence. They speculate that expert artisans were brought from Alexandria to do the decorations, as the drawings depict scenes not known in local mythology. Certainly the mosiacs are extremely lifelike and detailed, telling a number of mythological stories, including a pre-Shakespearian version of Romeo and Juliet. Nearby the House of Theseus has mosaics depicting the
battle with the Minotaur.
Next to the harbour is a tiny Byzantine castle that has been destroyed and rebuilt several times. It is used as a backdrop to local cultural events. Next we visited the Tombs of the Kings. This is another archaeological park near the edge of the town and bordering the sea. There are numerous tombs here, carved out of the solid rock both above ground and below. They were meant for local rich families. The underground ones are built like a house with a central courtyard and tomb-rooms off to the side, all carved out of solid rock and featuring doric columns etc. Most impressive. Early Christians used some of them to hide from persecution, and drilled air holes through the roof to allow them to hide underground.
Lastly we visited the small village of Yeroskipou where there is a lovely small church Ayia Paraskevi, early Byzantine and dedicated to a local martyr. The original wall paintings had been plastered over and repainted over the centuries. They have now been able to peel back some of the plaster and restore patches of the original art work. No photos allowed, as usual, but nice memories. This village is also famous for its soft candy known as Cyprus Delights. We visited a local shop that has been making and selling the same product since 1895. Very tasty, but how boring!
And that is our last port of call. At 7 pm we sail for Athens, a 35 hour journey past many of the Greek Isles. Tomorrow I'll line up for a washing machine at some stage to ready my wardrobe for the next stage, then pack the suitcase for the first time in nearly two weeks. It has been really nice living out of a wardrobe for a change.
Just a few photos today, which can be found here.
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