Day 1: Arrivals

Fly to Paphos and settle in to your city centre hotel. Depending on flight arrival times, our welcome meeting meeting and included dinner will be held either this evening or tomorrow.

Day 2: Petra tou Romiou, Palaeopaphos and Paphos

We begin where the ancient Greeks began their own history of Cyprus; the place where Aphrodite was born. According to Hesiod’s Theogony, the goddess emerged from white sea foam and stepped ashore on Cyprus, bringing love and beauty to the world. Legend identifies Petra tou Romiou as the very place, a beautiful beach and rock formation where waves and foam crash against the rocks.

The importance of Aphrodite to Cyprus is evidenced at the nearby sanctuary of Palaeopaphos, her most revered and ancient sanctuary on the island. Figurines found in this area suggest an indigenous fertility cult from deep prehistory and a connection with the Near East, the likely origins of the widespread Graeco-Phoenician worship of Aphrodite-Astarte. We examine the sanctuary buildings and the interesting site museum with artefacts from Bronze Age to Roman times.

By Roman times Palaeopaphos had given way to Neapaphos, now simply Pahos, which became the capital of the island. A feast of UNESCO World Heritage awaits us here in the villas of the ruling elite, each adorned with magnificent mosaics which now rank amongst the best in the world. As we walk from room to room and house to house, the awe-inspiring scale of the decoration gradually unfolds, revealing a range of mythological scenes from antiquity.

Day 3: Kourion and Limassol

Kourion, is one of the most impressive and extensive archaeological sites of Cyprus with a beautiful setting overlooking the sea. We dedicate the whole morning to an exploration of the ancient Greek, Roman and Early Christian buildings, including its spectacular theatre, sumptuous mosaics, grand Basilica and bathhouses, and religious sanctuary dedicated to Apollo.

We spend the afternoon in nearby Limassol, where the attractive old town is a pleasant place for a relaxed lunch and time to explore the medieval castle and pleasant harbour.

Day 4: Ancient Amathous, Kolossi Castle & Tombs of the Kings

One of the ancient city kingdoms of Cyprus, Amathus flourished in Archaic and Classical times until outgrown by nearby Kourion. Excavations have uncovered an interesting range of buildings and the
site’s political history reminds us of the East meets West position of Cyprus with Phoenician, Persian, Greek and native Cypriot elements.

Kolossi Castle was a Crusader stronghold of great strategic importance to the Knights of the Order of St John of Jerusalem (the Hospitallers). It served as the Grand Commandery of the Knights and contained large facilities for the production of sugar from the local sugarcane, from which the Knights produced a sweet wine, known as Commandaria. Eight centuries later, this is now thought to be the oldest continually-produced and named wine in the world.

Heading back to Paphos, on the outskirts of the ancient city we find the Tombs of the Kings. This is where the Hellenistic and Roman rulers of Cyprus chose to be buried in elaborately carved burial tombs. Most are below ground but with courtyards open to the sky above. With their columns and capitals carved in the living rock, these peristyle tombs resemble Classical house designs – houses for the dead in the form of houses for the living.

Day 5: Transfer to hotel in Larnaca via Troodos Churches

Today we move from the west to the east of South Cyprus, crossing the Troodos Mountains which stretch across a third of the island and rise to 1,952 meters, forming the green heart of the island. This region is characterized by one of the largest groups of churches and monasteries of the former Byzantine Empire, now a UNESCO World Heritage site known as the “Painted Churches in the Troodos Region”. They are all richly decorated with murals which provide an overview of Byzantine and post-Byzantine art over a period of some 500 years, including elements that are unique to Cyprus. We stop at a selection ranging from small chapels to grand monasteries.

Leaving the mountains behind us, we arrive at the attractive coastal town of Larnaca, from where we can comfortably explore the eastern side of the island for our final 3 nights of the tour.

Day 6: Kalavasos, Khirokitia & Ancient Kition

The World Heritage site of Khirokitia and its neighbour Kalavasos-Tenta are Neolithic villages from some 9000 years ago, and are amongst the world’s best-preserved settlements of the Stone Age. Each village had scores of stone-built structures, including public buildings and circular private houses clustered into units around small courtyards. Both sites are important for our understanding of Neolithic societies, the development of farming communities, and the origins of proto-urban settlement.

After a break for lunch on the Larnaca seafront, we conclude the day exploring the archaeology of ancient Larnaca, known as Kition. By the Late Bronze Age, Kition was already one of the main urban centres of Cyprus. It went on to become one of the ten city-kingdoms of Iron Age times, which makes it important to our understanding of what used to be called the Mediterranean ‘Dark Ages’. The site is particularly interesting for its sacred precinct which includes a number of Bronze Age and Iron Age temples. Of note is the presence of Phoenician deities from about 850 BC, and a blend of Greek and Phoenician culture is apparent; Astarte was equated with Aphrodite, Melqart with Herakles. By the 5th century BC it is clear that Phoenicians were politically dominant in the city.

Day 7: Nicosia

Nicosia became the island’s capital in Byzantine times, when Arab raids around the coast gave
advantage to its more secure inland location. The Lusignan kings had a royal palace here, destroyed when the Venetians constructed the massive city walls which are still magnificently well-preserved and enclose the charming, vibrant streets of the Old Quarter. We also visit the fabulous Cyprus Archaeology Museum, full of all the best artefacts from Cyprus’s internationally important prehistoric and ancient past.

This evening we include a farewell dinner in our hotel, a celebration of our time together exploring the wonders of ancient Cyprus.

Day 8: Departures

We will transfer you to Larnaca airport if you are heading home, or to our hotel in Kyrenia if you are continuing with our tour of North Cyprus.

Please note that the itinerary may be subject to change or re-ordering according to the weather or other circumstances beyond our control.