16 Days on the Island of Cyprus
Land Only Price: $4695 (Cdn)
Maximum: 12 People
Day 1 |
Larnaca |
The group will assemble mid-afternoon at Larnaca airport where you will be met by your guide. Accommodations have been arranged in a centrally located hotel, ideal for exploring the town.
Day 2 |
Larnaca |
In the morning we will visit the remains of the Bronze Age and Phoenician temples of ancient Kition located in a northern suburb of Larnaca. We will then go on to visit two local museums, one the regional museum for the Larnaca district, the other a private museum of the Pierides family. After lunch, we will head out past the salt flats to Hala Sultan Tekke, the tomb of Mohammed’s aunt and one of the holiest sites in all Islam. A little further is the church of Panagia Angeloktisti, an architectural gem that houses a sixth century mosaic.
Hala Sultan Tekke, Larnaca
Day 3 |
Limassol |
In the morning, we will drive a short distance west to view the remains of the Neolithic villages of Khirokitia and Kalavasos-Tenta. These represent the settlements of the earliest inhabitants of Cyprus and date back to the period from about 8000-5500 BC. We will then head to Amathus, on the coast, where we will explore the ruins of the ancient city. Amathus was the chief centre of the native Cypriotes at a time when Greeks and Phoenicians were establishing themselves on the island. It has a well preserved agora (town marketplace) and there are the remains of the Temple of Aphrodite and an early Christian basilica on the acropolis.
The Agora at Amathus
Day 4 |
Limassol |
In the morning, we will visit the regional museum where the finds from Amathus are housed. You will be free to explore the Turkish quarter of Limassol before a visit to Limassol Castle, the site of the marriage of Richard the Lionhearted to Berengaria. In the afternoon we will visit Kolossi Castle founded by the Knights Templar, famous in the medieval period for Commandaria, a heavy sweet wine that was highly prized in the rest of Europe.
View from the Theatre at Kourion
Day 5 |
Kato Paphos |
We will start the day exploring the acropolis of ancient Kourion. This city kingdom was important throughout the Iron Age, through the Roman period and was only abandoned after the Arab raids in the 7th century. We will explore the Theatre, the Roman houses with mosaics, and the basilica, seat of one of the archbishops of the Early Christian church. Most notable will be our visit to the Eustolios Complex, which acted as a caravanserai for pilgrims coming to the basilica. It is decorated with a fabulous series of mosaics. After lunch on the famous Kourion beach, we will go to the Sanctuary of Apollo Hylates (“Apollo of the Woodlands”), charmingly situated amongst the surviving woodlands. We will then drive on to Paphos where we will stay for two nights. There is a decent photo opportunity at Petra tou Romiou, said to be the place where Aphrodite sprang forth from the foam.
The Sanctuary of Apollo Hylates
Day 6 |
Kato Paphos |
We will start the day with visits to the Archaeological Museum and the Byzantine Museum. Later, we will explore the Roman houses and palaces of Nea Paphos including the House of Dionysos, the House of Aion and the Villa of Theseus, all named for their glorious mosaics. At sunset we will visit the Tombs of the Kings, built in the Hellenistic period, these rock cut peristyle tombs have their best parallels in Ptolemaic Alexandria.
Tombs of the Kings. Nea Paphos
Day 7 |
Kato Paphos |
Today, we will head north along the coast to the area where the University of Edinburgh has been engaged in a regional study involving the excavation of many sites primarily dating to the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age at Lemba-Lakkous and Kissonerga-Mosphilia. In the afternoon we will visit the site of Maa-Palaekastro, a site believed to be the site where Mycenaean Greeks first settled at the end of the Bronze Age. We will drive north to the north coast of the Acamas peninsula and visit the ancient site of Marion, modern Polis where we will tour the remarkable sanctuaries, excavated by a team from Princeton. Afterwards, we will drive along the coast to the Baths of Aphrodite.
Chalcolithic Site of Lemba Lakkous
Day 8 |
Kakopetria |
In the morning we visit Paplaepaphos, which was once the capital of the city-state of Paphos before power shifted to Nea Paphos in the 4th Century. There we will explore the Sanctuary of Aphrodite and the museum as well as the Persian siege mound built against the northeast gate. Then we will drive up the Diarizos Valley and into the Troodos Mountains. There are nine churches in the Troodos that are listed as Unesco World Heritage sites on account of their architecture and murals. One of the finest is Ayios Nikolaos tis Stegis, just outside Kakopetria where we will spend the next two nights.
Temple of Aphrodite at Palaeopaphos
Day 9 |
Kakopetria |
Today we will continue to explore the Troödos mountains visiting the top of Mount Troödos, still one of the most important listening posts in the Middle East. We will drive through charming mountain villages stopping at some of the many painted Byzantine churches, including Ayios Ioannis Lampadistis and Panagia tis Asinou, before visiting the great monastery at Kykkos in the afternoon.
Troodos Mountains
Day 10 |
Nicosia |
Today we will cross the Green Line and drive north through the Morphou Plain and its orange groves to explore the sites on the western north coast. First we will visit the palace at Vouni , spectacularly perched on a cliff top and occupied in the Classical period. We will then visit the site of Soli, where a Canadian team excavated for many years exposing an Early Christian basilica and parts of the Classical town. In the afternoon, we will return to the south and proceed to Nicosia, with stops at the painted churches at Panagia tou Araka and Stavros tou Agiasmati along the way.
Petra tou Limiti from Vouni
Day 11 |
Nicosia |
While in Nicosia we will tour the Cyprus Museum, where most of the treasures of Cyprus’ archaeological past are housed, including finds from Khirokitia, the Neolithic wall painting of a man from Tenta, the foundation deposit from chalcolithic Kissonerga Mosphilia and much, much more. You will have the rest of the day free to walk around both halves of the city. There are a number of other museums and some splendid historic buildings to explore.
Storage Area outside the Cyprus Museum
Day 12 |
Kyrenia |
Crossing back into the north, we will visit the picturesque castle of Saint Hilarion. The site was first fortified by the Byzantines but these were greatly strengthened by the Lusignan kings during the Middle Ages. The views from the top are spectacular. After checking into our hotel, we will explore Kyrenia Castle and Shipwreck Museum home of the reconstructed Hellenistic shipwreck.
View of Kyrenia Harbour from the Castle. The prominent peak is St. Hilarion
Day 13 |
Kyrenia |
Today, we will drive east across the Mesaoria Plain to the Late Bronze Age sites of Enkomi and its Iron Age successor Salamis. The former has the temple of the Ingot God and was a major centre in the bronze industry. It was destroyed, apparently by an earthquake, in the eleventh century BC and the survivors moved down to the coast, settling at Salamis. Salamis went on to become one of the great cities of the Mediterranean world with magnificent public buildings including market places, temples, a theatre and a number of basilicas.
The Remains of the Roman Gymnasion at Salamis
Day 14 |
Karpas Peninsula |
After a stop at Bellapais Abbey, a beautiful set of ruins overlooking the Mediterranean, made famous by Lawrence Durrell in “Bitter Lemons”, we head east along the coastal road to Rizokarpaso on the Karpas Peninsula, an unspoilt bit of Cyprus with herds of wild donkeys and broad sandy beaches—the nesting grounds for hundreds of sea turtles. We will spend the night at Ayios Philon, the site of an ancient Roman town.
The Oasis Hotel at Ayios Philion
Day 15 |
Larnaca |
Today we will follow the old coast road to the ancient Roman site of Aphendrika. At one time it was one of the major cities on the island but today little remains apart from three ruined churches and the remains of the old harbour. We will continue on to Cape Andreas at the tip of the Karpas Peninsula before returning to Larnaca by way of Famagusta.
The Church of Ayios Philion
Day 16 |
End of Tour.
Note:
The price of the trip includes:
hotel taxes
accommodation based on double occupancy
overland transportation via mini bus
all visits and sightseeing as per itinerary
the service of your tour conductor, William Rowbotham or Margaret Morden
The price of the trip does NOT include:
gratuities for individual services
meals, apart from hotel breakfasts
all items and expenses of a purely personal nature
travel to and from Cyprus
10.02.2012