Paphos - a walk through the city with exciting discoveries

Our hotel was located in Paphos, a city in the west of Cyprus. This location proved to be ideal, as some of the most interesting sights are located in the Paphos region.
We have made several trips into and around the city and I would like to introduce some interesting, curious and also beautiful points.

A wooden bench sits inside a rectangular metal frame along the coastal path in Paphos, offering a framed view of the Mediterranean Sea and a distant ship.

We walk from our hotel along the coast to the port of Paphos. The lighthouse immediately catches our eye.

Lighthouse

On a large colourful flower meadow the lighthouse of Paphos rises in a closed area . You can only get close to it by visiting the archaeological site, which is located around the lighthouse. The lighthouse is 20 metres high and was built in 1888 during the British colonial period. The modern lighthouse shines 17 nautical miles (just over 31 km) out into the sea.

You cannot visit the lighthouse. So it is not only worth paying for the entrance to the excavation site. But if you want to see the beautiful mosaics at the excavations, you should climb the small hill to the lighthouse. The view is really nice and there are some information boards about the local bird species there.

Paphos Fortress

If you follow the riverside path, you will arrive at Paphos harbour. Directly at the harbour there is a Byzantine fortress. The Paphos Fortress was built to secure the port.
In 1570 the Venetians destroyed the building during the Ottoman invasion. The Ottomans rebuilt the fortress. During the British rule in Cyprus, the fort was used as a salt deposit.
In 1935 the fort was declared a protected monument, but unfortunately it was severely damaged in the earthquake of 1953.

A view of the medieval Paphos Castle (Pafos Festung) in Cyprus, a square stone fortress standing at the edge of the harbor with a small stone bridge leading to its entrance.

I only went as far as the ticket office into the small entrance. From there you could look into both large and for me optically empty rooms. I saw some visitors on the roof of the building. For that I felt that the entrance fee of 2,50€ was too high and we preferred to go further.

Address:

Harbour,
Paphos, Cyprus

Opening hours:

16.9. – 15.4.: 8:30 – 17
16.4. – 15.9.: 8:30 – 19:30

Entrance fees:

Adult: 2,50€.

Saint Solomoni Catacombs

We walk along the main road from the harbour towards the old town. Only 700m away from the harbour we pass a more than interesting tree. Everywhere in the branches hang remains of fabric. This tree is considered a holy tree and is said to have healing powers. The colourful fabrics represent offerings of the believers to Saint Solomoni.

A large tree in Paphos, Cyprus, is heavily adorned with hundreds of colorful fabric strips and ribbons tied to its branches, standing behind a low stone wall and black metal railings.

A staircase right next to the tree leads down to the catacombs of Fabrica. They were built in the 4th century B.C. These caves were dug into the hill directly under the Roman city wall and were later used as chapels. Legend has it that the Jewish woman Solomoni sought refuge from Roman persecution in the caves here. The Romans bricked up the entrance to the caves and Solomoni died an agonising death. When the cave was opened 200 years later, Solomoni emerged alive.

The entrance to the Agia Solomoni Catacombs in Paphos features two stone archways covered in hundreds of colorful prayer ribbons tied to the gates and surrounding rock walls.

I descend the stairs and stand in front of some dark chambers. I discover a clue that there may be rockfall and I carefully pull my head back.
Some of the chambers are closed with doors, and here too there are colourful remnants of fabric hanging.

Too bad, if I had known that the tree has healing powers, I would have attached some cloth.

Discovered in Paphos

Our walks in Paphos take us past some interesting places. Whether they are tourist destinations, I may doubt. But for us, these places were clearly among the visual highlights of the city.

A sunlit stone plaza in the Old Town of Paphos, Cyprus, featuring the historic Agios Theodoros Cathedral with its prominent bell tower and arched portico alongside traditional white and tan stone buildings.

A vibrant street art installation in the Old Town of Paphos features dozens of colorful, hand-knitted mandalas in various sizes and patterns suspended against a tan building wall. This creative display, part of the "Walking all over Paphos" experience, brightens the urban landscape next to a stone building and a small garden bed.

Published 23 October 2020