Wayfaring Travel Guide. Interesting vacation places, spa and resorts » Cyprus

The legend of Aphrodite’s Birth

Asya — Sat, 16 May 2009 07:29:44 +0000

The island of Cyprus is an ideal place for a relaxing holiday with excellent boutiques spas and magnificent natural beaches. The Rock of Aphrodite is a major tourist destination of the Cyprus. With a breathtaking view of the sea, it is considered to be the birthplace of the goddess Aphrodite.

The Rock of Aphrodite is a cluster of small and big rocks, almost near to the beach. There are several versions of the story of the Aphrodite’s birth, but the most famous legend is that the goddess of love and beauty, rose from the waves in this beautiful spot. This myth is, of course, most memorably depicted in Botticelli’s Birth of Venus (on display in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence).

The nearby village of Pissouri is with the total population of the area reaching just over 1,000 in the summer – it couldn’t be better for a secluded break. But there is a huge variety of restaurants – typical tavernas, oriental and fish restaurants, where you will involve plenty of wining and dining.

Cyprus Pafos Almyra Hotel

misha — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 19:42:51 +0000

Cyprus is beautiful island located in the Meditterranean Sea, south of Turkey. Almyra Hotel is magnificent hotel in Pafos and it is situated in eight acres on the Pafos beachfront. Pafos is a unique historical sity in Cyprus and also a birthpalce of Aphrodite, the Greek goddness of beauty.

Almyra Hotel has 158 guestrooms- all of them have Mediterranean or garden views. The hotel is very warm, sunny and has extra facilities for children. There’re also many extra large rooms which are lovely for sharing between friends and two swimming pools, whirlpool and sauna, watersports, tennis and table tennis, indoor gym, golf courses within 15 mins of the hotel, shopping atrium with designer items.

Notio restaurant, serving a fusion of Mediterranean and Japanese cuisine.
Mosaics restaurant, for breakfast and buffet dinner, offering freshly caught fish and themed international evenings. Ouzeri, traditional seasonal seaside restaurant, serving Greek delicacies for lunch.

Almyra Hotel also offering 5 meeting rooms with natural daylight, for up to 250 people, internet facilities (Wi-Fi), secretarial services. From this year the hotel offer a superb new services family facilities smiling dolphin kiddies club (summer and school holidays), playroom and playground, children’s menu, baby-sitting on request.

It’s perfect hot place to enjoy your holiday….!

The most known cloister of the island

Asya — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 11:38:42 +0000

The Kykkos monastery, which lies 20 km west of Pedoulas, is the most famous monastery in Cyprus. The Kykkos monastery was founded in 1092 by the by the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos and is dedicated to Virgin Mary and known for an icon of the mother of God believed to have been painted by St. Luke. The excursion to Kykkos Monastery is a main attraction. It is now the richest monastery in the island and possesses one of the three surviving icons ascribed to Saint Luke.

This icon, which is covered in silver gilt and enclosed in a shrine of tortoise shell and mother-of-pearl, holds an eminent position in the church, also see the Icon of Virgin Mary which in 1997 it is said was miraculously weeping for a whole month. Will then have the opportunity to visit the tomb of Archbishop Makarios III, the first President of Cyprus. His tomb is set among the pine forest of the Troodos foothills, 3Km west of Kykkos Monastery, where he served as a novice. Then on to Pedoulas village stroll through the villages small back streets.
The iconographic style of the icon of the Mother of God “Kykkotissa” differs from all other icon types of the Virgin Mary. It shows her with her child. Christ sits on the right side of the Virgin with his naked legs hanging down. At the beginning of the twelfth century, this icon type – “Kykkotissa” – was adopted by the Orthodox Christian world: by Cyprus, Egypt, Greece and larger areas in the Balkans. In the seventeenth century, thanks to the intellectual and cultural links with Cyprus, the “Kykkotissa” type was also adopted in Russia.
The icon was kept in the imperial palace at Constantinople. When Boutoumites heard the hermit’s wish he was taken aback because he considered such a thing impossible. Then Esaias explained to him that it was a matter of divine wish and they agreed to travel together to Constantinople for the realization of their aim.

Mosaic in a cloister of the Monastery. Tradition has it that Byzantine Emperor Alexios Comnenos I (1081-1118) was prompted to establish the monastery in 1100 after the hermit Isaiah, who lived in the Troodos mountains, revealed that his daughter could be healed from a rare incurable disease if he would consent to build a monastery and donate to it the icon of the Virgin he possessed, reputedly painted by the Apostle Luke.
An important thing to note is that women have to cover their legs otherwise will not be permitted to go in, although it’s ok for men to wear shorts which caught a lot of women out.The Kykkos monastery is a very well worth visit, especially if combined with a visit to Troodos mountain as it is only about 5 minutes away and on the same route.

An amazing Gothic erection

Asya — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 10:00:51 +0000

Lala Mustafa Pasa which was constructed between the years 1298-1312 in the Lusignan period is one of the most beautiful Gothic structures of the Meditteranean region. The Lusignan kings would be inaugurated as the King of Cyprus at the St. Sophia Cathedral in Nicosia first, and following this they would be crowned as the King of Jerusalem at the St. Nicholas Cathedral in Famagusta. These ceremonies continued to be held until 1571 when the cathedral was turned into a mosque by the Ottoman Turks.
The architecture of the western front of the building has been influenced by the architecture of the Reins Cathedral. It has an unparalleled window with Gothic style tracery. The 16th century gallery in the courtyard is today used as a reservoir for ablutions. The apsis of the cathedral is in the Eastern style and is composed of three parts as in most Cyprus churches. The windows in the top part have been well preserved. There are two chapels at the side. The cumbez tree in front -a tropical fig tree- is a rare tree in the north of the island.

The spectacular ruins give a fascinating insight into long-lost civilizations and include a magnificent amphitheatre, Roman baths, a gymnasium and royal tombs. The mosaics are particularly beautiful. Just inland from Famagusta are the church and monastery dedicated to St. the founder of the apostolic Cypriot AD. Barnabas a Cypriot from Salamis, visited the island accompanied by and St. Mark and was later martyred in Salamis in 52AD. The church of St. Nicolas is preserved exactly as it was since abandoned in 1976. There is a wonderful collection of 18th century icons and the monastery cloisters now houses an archaeological museum.

Visit the Sacred and Religious sites of Paphos

nerdeff — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 14:03:13 +0000

With a long history involving everyone from the Greeks and apostles to the Crusaders and Ottoman Turks, Cyprus is positively brimming with fascinating and historical religious sites. Paphos is a coastal town in the southwest of Cyprus. In Antiquity two locations denoted Paphos (Old Paphos and New Paphos) which left its mark in history with number of houses excavated and several beautiful mosaics revealed.
Paphos is the mythical birthplace of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, sexual intercourse, and beauty, and the founding myth is interwoven with the goddess at every level. In Greco-Roman times Paphos was the island’s capital, and it is famous for the remains of the Roman Governor’s palace, where extensive, fine mosaics are a major tourist attraction. The Apostle Paul visited the town during the first century. The town of Paphos is included in the official UNESCO list of cultural and natural treasures of the world’s heritage.In the founding myth, even the town’s name is linked to the goddess, as the eponymous Paphos was the son of Pygmalion and his ivory cult image of Aprodite, which was brought to life by the Goddess as “milk-white” Galatea. The author of Bibliotheke, the Hellenistic encyclopedia of myth long attributed to Apollodorus, gives the genealogy. Pygmalion was so devoted to the cult of Aphrodite that he removed the statue to his palace and kept it on his couch. The daimon of the goddess entered into the cult image, and the living Galatea bore Pygmalion a son Paphos and a daughter Metharme. Cinyras, perhaps the son of Paphus, but perhaps the successful suitor of Metharme, founded the city under the patronage of Aphrodite and built the great temple to the goddess there. According to another legend preserved by Strabo (xi. p. 505), whose text, however, varies, it was founded by the Amazons.

Place to see at Paphos:

* Aphrodite’s Sanctuary – The Greeks agreed that Aphrodite had landed at the site of Paphos when she rose from the sea. According to Pausanias (i. 14), her worship was introduced at Paphos from Syria; but it is much more probable that it was of Phoenician origin. Before archaeology commenced it was understood that the cult of Aphrodite had been established before the time of Homer (ca 700 BC), as the grove and altar of Aphrodite at Paphos are mentioned in Odyssey (viii. 362). Archaeology has established that Cypriots venerated a fertility goddess before the arrival of the Greeks, in cult that combined Aegean with Eastern mainland aspects. Female figurines and charms found in the immediate vicinity date as far back as the early third millennium. The temenos was well established before the first structures were erected in the Late Bronze Age: “There was unbroken continuity of cult from that time until 391 AD when the Roman Emperor Theodosius I outlawed all pagan religions and the sanctuary fell into the ruins in which we find it today.”

Here the worship of the goddess centred, not for Cyprus alone, but for the whole Aegean world. The Cinyradae, or descendants of Cinyras, Greek by name, but of Phoenician origin, were the chief priests. Their power and authority were very great; but it may be inferred from certain inscriptions that they were controlled by a senate and an assembly of the people. There was also an oracle here. Few cities have ever been so much sung and glorified by the poets. The remains of the vast temple of Aphrodite are still discernible, its circumference being marked by huge foundation walls. After its overthrow by an earthquake, it was rebuilt by Vespasian, on whose coins it is represented, as well as on earlier and later ones, and especially in the style on those of Septimius Severus. (Engel, vol. i. p. 130.) From these representations, and from the existing remains, Hetsch, an architect of Copenhagen, has attempted to restore the building.

* Byzantine Museum of Arsinoe – The Byzantine Museum of Paphos is housed in a building owned by the Bishopric of Paphos next to the Bishopric itself and to the Church of Saint Theodoros. It was founded on the initiative of Bishop Chrysostomos II of Paphos in 1983, with the aim of preserving, protecting and projecting treasures of Byzantine art of the Paphos diocese. The greatest part of the exhibition space is taken up by representative icons from the entire diocese, dating from the 12th to the 19th centuries. Two double-panelled icons stand out, one of the Virgin Theoskepasti and Saint James Perse from the end of the 12th century, and the other of Saint Marina and Saint George from Filousa Kelokedaron, dating from 13th century. In the Museum there are also on exhibit detached wall frescoes from the Church of St. Theodoros in Choulou from the beginnings of the 12th century, sacred heirlooms, sacerdotal vestments, manuscripts and old printed books.

* Catacombs – The city contains many catacomb sites dating back to the early Christian period. The most famous is Saint Solomoni Church, originally a Christian catacomb retaining some of its twelfth century frescoes. A sacred tree at the entrance is believed to cure the ailments of those who hang a personal offering on its branches.

* Church of St. Paul’s Pillar (Hrysopolitissa) – This extensive site, which is still being excavated, was home to one of Pafos’ largest religious structures. What’s left are the foundations of a Christian basilica (built in AD 4), which demonstrate the size and magnificence of the original church. Green-marble columns lie scattered around the site and mosaics are still visible. The overall area is loosely roped off, so you can’t get a total picture of the remains.

* Nea Paphos Archaeological Site – The remains of villas, palaces, theatres, fortresses and tombs give the site its exceptional architectural and historic value. The mosaics of Nea Paphos are among the most beautiful in the world.

* Tombs of the Kings – The Tombs of the Kings is a large necropolis lying a little over a mile (two kilometres) north-west of Paphos harbour in Cyprus. The underground tombs, many of which date back to the 4th century BCE, are carved out of the solid rock, and are thought to have been the burial sites of Paphitic aristocrats and high officials up to 3 CE (the name comes from the magnificence of the tombs; no kings were in fact buried here). Some of the tombs feature Doric columns and frescoed walls. Archaeological excavations are still being carried out at the site. The tombs are cut into the native rock, and at times imitated the houses of the living.

* Agios Neophytos Monastery Palea – North-east of Paphos lies Ayios Neophytos Monastery, famous for its `Encleistra’, Enclosure, carved out of the mountain by the hermit himself, which boasts some of the finest Byzantine frescoes of the 12th and 15th centuries. Near by too is the painted village church of Emba (Empa).

The best weather is in the summer months, though it can get uncomfortably hot – 33C/91F in August. If you’re prepared to take a slight risk with the weather and go in late May or early September, temperatures should still be good, you’ll save money and avoid the crowds. Google Earth Placemark – Visit the Sacred and Religious sites of Paphos