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PAFOS ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM. House's Cypriot antiquities from the Pafos region during the Neolithic period to 1700 AD. T
HEOSKEPASTI CHURCH. Meaning 'Veiled by God' god is said to have sent a thick fog to hide the original church from Arab raiders. The present church was built in 1923.
The ruins of the Sanctuary of Aphrodite, dating from the 12th century BC through to the 3rd and the 4th century AD. The excavation of the site has produced a great many interesting finds housed in the Lusignan Museum.
YEROSKIPOU (meaning Sacred Grove) Not far from Paphos is the village of Yeroskipos, with its cluster of little gift shops strung along the roadside. It is well worth exploring and has a picturesque five-domed Byzantine church of Ayia Paraskevi and newly renovated Folk Art Museum. The history of the village's stretches back to ancient times; its name, comes from the classical Greek "Hieros Kipos" meaning "Sacred garden" it is believed that there used to be an extensive area of beautiful gardens, filled with fragrant flowers and pomegranate trees, dedicated to the goddess Aphrodite. Pilgrims would rest in the gardens on their journey to the sacred temple at Kouklia from the old harbour at Paphos. Sadly the gardens have long since gone. To day the village is filled with the sweet sugary fragrance from the number of small buildings where the famous "Cyprus Delights" (Turkish Delight) are made. Roadside stalls are piled high with brightly coloured boxes of these delicious sweets and the owners stand in the shop doorway and warmly invite you inside to watch the sweets being made. Cyprus Delights have been made in the village since 1895 and the little factories are all family concerns that have been handed down through the generations, understandable each family closely guards their secret recipes.
THE MUSEUM of POPULAR ART. The collection is housed in a fine example of a traditional building from about 200 years ago. There are fascinating exhibits of rural furniture as well as superbly carved pieces also clothes and everyday household objects, plus examples of the traditional domestic production of cotton, silk and linen, now sadly mostly forgotten.
AGIOS PARASKEVI. One of the oldest churches on the island. The layout of the church is in the shape of the Greek cross which is fairly unusual. The roof takes the form of five magnificent domes. During restoration work some early simple paintings were found on the interior walls dating around 728-843 from the inconoclastic period, which dates the original church much earlier than was first thought, to around the 9th century. |
